Santos Australia reports 7% decline in first-quarter revenue

Santos, an Australian oil and natural gas company, reported a 7% drop in its first-quarter revenue on Thursday. The fall was attributed to lower crude oil sales and weaker realised prices of domestic gas and LNG contracts linked to oil.

Since China's first 15% retaliatory tax shut down U.S. imports, in February, global LNG prices have fallen. Meanwhile, mounting trade tensions are causing concern about demand erosion on major gas markets that could face economic contraction.

According to Jarden’s data compilation, the average realized price for Santos’ liquefied gas plummeted to $11.57 per 1 million British thermal unit (mmBtu). This is down from $12.68 last year and below Visible Alpha’s consensus estimate of $11.46.

The quarter's crude oil sales volume was 1.3 million barges, down from 1.5 millions barrels one year earlier.

Woodside Energy, the company's co-owner, attributed the drop in sales to the fact that no crude oil was lifted from the Pyrenees Project off Western Australia in the third quarter, as well as lower third-party purchasing.

The second largest independent gas producer in the country reported sales revenue of $1.29 billion for the three-month period ended March 31, missing Visible Alpha's consensus estimate of $1.32billion. The company reported $1.40billion in sales revenue last year.

(source: Reuters)