Medco almost doubles 3Q net profit<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Publicly listed oil and gas company PT Medco
\nEnergi Internasional booked Rp 530 billion (US$56 million) in net
\nprofit in the third quarter of this year, almost twice the Rp 282
\nbillion recorded during the same period last year.<\/p>\n
Medco's third quarter revenue increased by 82 percent to Rp 2
\ntrillion from Rp 1.1 trillion for the corresponding period last
\nyear, the company said on Saturday.<\/p>\n
\"These significant increases in revenue and net income were
\nprimarily due to an increase in average crude oil production in
\nthe first nine months of 2000,\" Medco said in a press statement.<\/p>\n
Medco said that a strong cash flow allowed the company to
\nsettle some of its debts as of September 30, this year, thus
\nlowering its outstanding debt to Rp 331 billion.<\/p>\n
The company said that revenue from its oil and gas production
\nrepresented 80 percent of its total revenue, compared to only 64
\npercent last year.<\/p>\n
By the end of September, its crude oil production had risen by
\n62 percent to 65,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) from 40,000 bpd
\nin the same period last year, Medco said.<\/p>\n
\"The continuing strong crude oil prices for the period
\ncontributed significantly to Medco Energi's overall revenues,\"
\nthe company said.<\/p>\n
According to Medco, average crude oil prices during the nine
\nmonths of this year reached $28 per barrel of oil, compared to
\n$16 in the corresponding period last year.<\/p>\n
Medco said that the growth in crude oil production came from
\nthe Semoga fields in South Sumatera, which the company discovered
\nin 1996.<\/p>\n
In the first nine months of 2000, Kaji Semoga's oil production
\nrose by 67 percent to 53,300 bpd from 31,900 bpd during the same
\nperiod in 1999.<\/p>\n
However, during the same period gas sales dropped by an
\naverage of 67.3 percent from 74.4 million cubic feet per day
\n(mmcfd), the company said.<\/p>\n
The company blamed the plunge in gas sales on lower than
\nexpected demand from fertilizer and methanol plants.<\/p>\n
The company also said that revenues from its offshore and
\nonshore drilling services dropped to Rp 193 billion from Rp 209
\nbillion last year.<\/p>\n
Medco also reported a drop in its methanol businesses, due to
\na 2 1\/2 month shutdown of its methanol plant while undergoing a
\nmajor turnaround.<\/p>\n
It said that for the third quarter of 2000, its methanol sales
\nfell to 100,860 metric tons from 206,600 in the same period last
\nyear.<\/p>\n
Consequently, this year's methanol revenue fell to Rp 76.5
\nbillion from Rp 143 billion last year.<\/p>\n
For this year's third quarter, Medco's direct costs rose by 31
\npercent to Rp 766 billion from Rp 585 billion, the company said.<\/p>\n
Medco gave no explanation for the costs increase.<\/p>\n
As for the year 2000, Medco said it predicted that crude oil
\nproduction would reach an annual average of 67,000 bpd and gas
\nsales 70 mmcfd, as a result of continued oil development drilling
\nin all of its operating areas.<\/p>\n
In October, Medco's average crude oil production reached
\n72,200 bpd while gas production reached 67.3 mmcfd, the company
\nadded.<\/p>\n
Medco also estimated that its rig utilization would increase
\nslightly, as more oil companies were planning to increase
\ndrilling activities because of favorable oil price predictions.<\/p>\n
Methanol prices, Medco said, had improved considerably since
\nthe end of the first semester, and this trend was expected to
\ncontinue for the rest of this year.<\/p>\n
Following the turnaround, the company's methanol plant is
\nproducing an average of 930 tons of methanol per day, up from the
\nprevious 800 tons.<\/p>\n
Medco is Indonesia's largest private oil and gas company, and
\nranks fourth in size among all of the production sharing partners
\nof state oil and gas firm Pertamina. (bkm)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/medco-almost-doubles-3q-net-profit-1447893297",
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