The Australia Pacific LNG project continues to boost its revenue due to higher gas prices, according to shareholder Origin Energy.
ConocoPhillips has a 47.5 percent share in the project and operates the 9 mtpa LNG export facility on Curtis Island near Gladstone, while Origin owns a 22.5 percent stake and is the upstream operator. China’s Sinopec owns a 25 percent share in APLNG as well.
Origin said in its quarterly report that APLNG revenue for the October-December period had increased 15 percent on the prior quarter and 42 percent on the corresponding quarter in 2021, driven by higher realized oil prices.
APLNG revenue reached about A$3.18 billion ($2.23 billion) in the October-December period and Origin’s share of revenue for the quarter was $876 million.
Origin received $783 million in cash distribution from APLNG for the six months to December 31, 2022.
According to Origin, three JKM-linked spot LNG cargoes were delivered in the quarter, consistent with the same quarter in 2021.
The APLNG average realized LNG price, including contracted and spot sales, reached $15.94/MMBtu, compared to $14.04/MMBtu in the prior quarter and $11.80/MMBtu in the same quarter last year.
APLNG’s realized oil price excluding Origin’s hedging cost in the December quarter was $114/bbl, up from $104/bbl in the September quarter and up from $71/bbl in the same quarter in 2021.
However, production dropped 1 percent compared to the previous quarter to 165.6 PJ in the November-December period due to the cumulative impact of wet weather on well access, Origin said.
“For the December quarter, Australia Pacific LNG delivered increased revenue as a result of higher realized oil prices, while wet weather and an unplanned non-operated downstream outage resulted in a small decline in production,” Origin CEO Frank Calabria said in the report.
“Australia Pacific LNG continued to be a major supplier to the domestic market, providing Australian businesses with 31.6 PJ of gas during the quarter, at average prices well below those paid by international customers,” he said.
In November last year, Origin received a takeover offer from a consortium consisting of Canada’s Brookfield Asset Management and a unit of US-based energy investor EIG.
After that, the consortium and Origni extended the exclusivity period for the offer until January 24.
Origin did not provide an update regarding this deal in the report.