Statoil delivers better than expected profits in the first quarter

headquartersStatoil headquarters.Photo: Norway Today Media

Statoil quadruples profit

 

In the first quarter, Statoil had an adjusted operating profit of US$3.31 billion, a quadrupling compared to the same period last year.

In the first quarter of last year, the result was $857 million. The result was better than analysts had expected, according to several media.

Statoil said that the results in the first quarter are characterized by solid earnings and strong cash flow from its operations in all sectors. The debt ratio in the company also decreased from 35.6 to 30%.

‘Our solid financial results and strong cash flow from all sectors were driven by higher prices, good operations and underlying production growth of 5%. Production from the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS) was the highest in five years, driven by high regularity and increased production in new fields’, said CEO of Statoil ASA, Eldar Sætre.

Sætre emphasised that the international portfolio delivered positive results, and that the cash flow per capita after tax was on par with the Group’s Norwegian portfolio.

‘We continue to reduce costs through efficiency, and are on track to achieve another billion dollars in annual cost improvements in 2017,’ said Sætre.

The adjusted exploration costs for the quarter were 202 million dollars, a decrease of 78 million dollars from the first quarter of 2016.

Further discovery – higher prices

Statoil made seven discoveries from the nine exploratory wells they drilled in the first quarter.

‘For the most part, these can quickly be launched into profitable production. We are also beginning our exploration program in the Barents Sea, where we will test more prospects during the next six months.

During the first quarter, we approved three development plans and operations, and we submitted two further projects for approval to Norwegian authorities, a clear expression of our commitment to continued industrial development on the Norwegian continental shelf’, said Sætre.

Average oil prices in the first quarter were US$49.00, compared with only US$29.00 in the first quarter last year. The company announced that they will yield a dividend of US$0.22 per share.

 

Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today