Italian energy firm Eni said its liquefied natural gas (LNG) sales in the first quarter of this year were flat compared to 2023.
Eni sold 2.7 bcf (2 million tonnes of LNG) in the first quarter of this year, according to its quarterly results report released on Wednesday.
Quarterly sales rose compared to 2.4 bcm in the previous quarter.
Eni sold 9.6 bcm of LNG last year and this compares to 9.4 bcm in 2022 and 10.9 bcm in 2021.
During the first quarter, Eni shipped the first LNG cargo from its Tango floating LNG facility moored in Congolese waters and this shipment recently arrived at Snam’s FSRU-based facility in Piombino.
In the first quarter, Eni’s natural gas sales, including LNG, were 15.45 bcm, up 4 percent year-on-year, due to higher gas volumes marketed in Italy (up 8 percent), Eni said.
Outside Italy, gas volumes were substantially unchanged compared to the first quarter in 2023 as result of higher sales in the Iberian Peninsula and Germany, offset by lower volumes marketed in Turkey and France, it said.
Natural gas production was 4,937 mmcf/d in the first quarter, up 8 percent year-on-year, mainly due to the Neptune acquisition and the ramp-up of the Coral floating LNG project, offset by mature fields decline, Eni said.
Gas and LNG earnings dip
Eni’s gas and LNG business reported an adjusted operating profit of 325 million euros ($347.7 million) in the January-March period, down 77 percent year-on-year.
“The significant reduction from the Q1 ’23 Ebit, was due to a significantly less favorable price scenario (PSV and TTF approximately down by 50 percent compared to Q1’23) and reduced volatility which affected trading and optimization opportunities,” Eni said.
Overall, Eni reported proforma adjusted EBIT of 4.12 billion euros, net profit of 1.58 billion euros, and adjusted cash flow before working capital changes of 3.9 billion euros.
Adjusted net profit reached 2.90 billion euros in the first quarter of 2023, while it was 1.64 billion euros in the prior quarter.