India's GEECL sees 66% drop in annual profit
Indian coalbed methane (CBM) explorer Great Eastern Energy Corp (GEECL) on July 14 reported a sharp 65.5% yr/yr decline in its profit after tax during the 12 months to March 31 (2020-21) thanks to a drop in sales volume.
GEECL’s profit after tax dropped from $6.99mn to $2.41mn (pre mark to market/deferred tax expense) during the year. It sold 7.87mn ft3/day of gas in 2020-21 compared with 10.31mn ft3/day in the previous year.
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The company reported a cash profit of $6.48mn during the year, down from $11.66mn a year back. Revenue dropped from $36.25mn to $26.3mn. GEECL said that COVID-19 lockdown measures had had an adverse impact on the gas sales.
The company plans to invest $2bn in full-scale development of its shale resources in its Raniganj (South) CBM block in the east Indian state of West Bengal, it said last year. In 2018, the government of India tweaked the rules to permit exploration and exploitation of all types of hydrocarbons including shale resources under existing CBM contracts.