Malaysia’s oil and gas giant Petronas said it has sold 8 percent less LNG in the second quarter of 2015, as compared to the same quarter a year ago.
The company’s LNG sales were at 6.92 million tonnes, down by 0.6 million tonnes on year due to lower production at its LNG complex in Bintulu, Petronas said on Friday.
In the first half of this year, Petronas sold 14.96 million tonnes of LNG, down from 15.15 million tonnes a year ago.
Petronas made RM11.1 billion in profits after tax, on the back of RM61 billion revenue in the second quarter of 2015.
This is lower by 3 percent and 7 percent respectively, compared to the previous quarter mainly due to lower LNG volumes and prices, it said.
According to Petronas, the three-month average Japan Crude Cocktail (JCC) reported a decrease of 14 percent in LNG prices where average price for the chilled gas in the second quarter was at US$57 per barrel as compared to US$66 per barrel in the previous quarter.
Petronas President and Group CEO Datuk Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin said that the company does not foresee a reprieve from the low oil prices in the near future
“ I do not expect our cash flow from operations this year to meet our CAPEX and dividend commitments. This means that we will have to persevere through with more austerity measures, and will have to draw on our cash reserves,” he said.
“ Cost management and efficiency will continue to be a key focus across the organisation ,” Wan Zulkiflee added.
1 RM = 0.24526 USD
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LNG World News Staff; Image: DSME