Oil Search doubles Q3 revenue

Sydney-listed Oil Search on October 26 said its revenue more than doubled during the three months to September 30 (Q3) on the back of higher realised oil and LNG prices.

The company’s revenue came in at $408.8mn, compared with $189mn a year earlier, representing an increase of 116%. The average realised LNG and gas price was up 136% year/year while the average realised oil and condensate price was up 97% yr/yr.

The ExxonMobil-operated PNG LNG continued to perform more than 20% above nameplate capacity, producing at a rate of 8.5mn metric tons/yr in Q3. Oil Search has a 29% stake in the project.

Oil Search and Santos last month signed a merger deal following the completion of mutual due diligence. Oil Search said the next steps include the first court hearing in PNG and the despatch of documents related to the scheme to its shareholders. The merger is expected to be completed by the end of this year. 

The combined entity will be among the world’s top 20 oil and gas companies and have assets across Australia, Timor-Leste, Papua New Guinea and North America. It will have production of about 116mn barrels of oil equivalent/yr based on 2021 output, and reserves and resources of 4.87bn boe. Santos expects the merger to unlock pre-tax synergies of $90-115mn/yr.