OMV's Quarterly Profit Halves As Libya Unrest Cuts Output
VIENNA, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Austrian oil and gas group OMV said on Wednesday its fourth-quarter operating profit more than halved as production and sales in Libya dropped to almost nothing due to repeated disruption from oil-field protests and port blockades.
Production is now running at about 70 percent of pre-civil war levels, OMV said, and reaffirmed its 2014 group production target range of 320,000 to 340,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d).
Libya accounted for about 10 percent of OMV's production before the 2011 uprising that toppled Muammar Gaddafi.
OMV said it lost one-third of its production in Libya last year, it produced almost nothing there in the fourth quarter and the security situation remained very hard to predict.
Shares in OMV fell 3 percent to 32.74 euros by 1337 GMT, lagging a weaker European oil and gas index.
Profits were also hit by refining margins close to record lows due to sluggish economic recovery and persistent overcapacity on European markets, and gas prices squeezed by regulatory reforms.
Quarterly operating profit - earnings before interest and tax adjusted for special items and inventory holding gains or losses (clean CCS EBIT) - fell 54 percent to 444 million euros ($611 million).
According to Thomson Reuters data, analysts had expected 461 million euros on average.
At its Exploration and Production (E&P) unit, operating profit - which accounts for more than half of OMV's total - fell 63 percent to 257 million euros, mainly due to lower sales from Libya and a New Zealand field shutting for refurbishment.
12
View Full Article
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Generated by readers, the comments included herein do not reflect the views and opinions of Rigzone. All comments are subject to editorial review. Off-topic, inappropriate or insulting comments will be removed.
- Weatherford CEO's Rebound Plan Relies On Getting Smaller
- Iran Says Oil Market Is Too Tight For US Zero Exports Target
- China's Squeezed 'Teapots' Eye Petchem Path To Riches
- Baker Hughes: US Drillers Add Oil Rigs For Second Week In Three
- Venezuela Hands China More Oil Presence, But No Mention Of New Funds
- Falcon Oil Declares Commercial Flow Test Results for Shenandoah Well
- Macquarie Strategists Expect Brent Oil Price to Grind Higher
- Japan Failing to Meet Corporate Demand for Clean Power: Amazon
- UK Oil Regulator Publishes New Emissions Reduction Plan
- Pennsylvania County Joins List of Local Govts Suing Big Oil over Climate
- PetroChina Posts Higher Annual Profit on Higher Production
- US, SKorea Launch Task Force to Stop Illicit Refined Oil Flows into NKorea
- McDermott Settles Reficar Dispute
- Russian Navy Enters Warship-Crowded Red Sea Amid Houthi Attacks
- USA Commercial Crude Oil Inventories Increase
- New China Climate Chief Says Fossil Fuels Must Keep a Role
- Oil Demand Outpaces Expectations, Testing Calculus on Peak Crude
- House Passes Protecting American Energy Production Act
- TotalEnergies Restarts Production in Denmark's Biggest Gas Field
- USA Oil and Gas Job Figures Jump
- Republican Lawmakers Say IEA Has Abandoned Energy Security Mission
- Blockchain Demands Attention in Oil and Gas
- Houthis Warn Saudi Arabia of Retaliation If It Backs USA Attacks
- Macquarie Sees USA Oil Production Exiting 2024 at 14MM Barrels Per Day
- Summer Pump Prices Set to Hit $4 a Gallon Just as Americans Hit the Road
- Chinese Mega Company Makes Major Oilfield Discovery
- VIDEO: Missile Attack Kills Crew Transiting Gulf of Aden
- Norway Regulator Blasts Proposal to Halt New Oil and Gas Permits
- Chinese Mega Company Makes Another Major Oilfield Discovery
- New China Climate Chief Says Fossil Fuels Must Keep a Role
- What Is the Biggest Risk to Offshore Oil and Gas Personnel in 2024?
- Vessel Sinks in Red Sea After Missile Strike
- Exxon Rights in Stabroek Do Not Apply to Hess Merger with Chevron: Hess
- Analysts Reveal Latest Oil Price Outlook Following OPEC+ Cut Extension
- Equinor Makes Discovery in North Sea