Nido Petroleum posts lower revenues

MANILA, Philippines – Upstream oil firm Nido Petroleum Pty. Ltd. of Australia recorded lower revenues in the first half due to a decline in production in its gas fields.

Exploration projects for other oil fields are under way to increase available resources, the company said.

In a disclosure to the Australian bourse, Nido said revenues from crude oil production sank to $9.94 million in the first half from $35.9 million a year ago.

Oil sales came from operations in the Galoc, Nido and Matinloc offshore oil fields, all in Northwest Palawan.

“The decrease in oil revenues relating to the Galoc oil field was primarily due to the planned shutdown to install the bow-mounted, non-disconnectable turret mooring and riser system,” Nido said.

In November, Galoc Production Co. temporarily stopped operations at the oil field to give way for upgrades. It resumed commercial operations in April.

The Galoc oil field is estimated to contain 10 million barrels of oil and the Galoc consortium is planning to drill additional wells to increase production reserves by five million barrels. It has produced more than six million barrels of oil.

This resulted in a gross profit of $3.79 million in the first half, way below the $19.39 million last year.

Net loss narrowed to $1.75 million from $6.11 million a year ago due to foreign exchange gains, and the absence of finance costs and one-time expenses.

Nido said it has numerous ongoing exploration projects that will confirm the presence of oil in its projects.

For instance, Nido is interpreting the 3D seismic survey data of the Galoc oil field and the Galoc North prospect.

“The data will allow full evaluation of the Galoc North exploration prospect, considered a potential near-field drilling opportunity to the Galoc field,” the company said.

For Service Contract (SC) 54B, Nido has secured the Department of Energy (DOE) approval to extend an exploration program that will integrate new seismic data.

Nido is also re-processing the Kawayan 3D seismic survey data for SC 63. It will also interpret available data for SC 58.

Nido has more than two million hectares of exploration and development assets in the Northwest Palawan basin.

To date, there are 27 petroleum service contracts in the Philippines involving Shell Philippines Exploration, Nido and BHP Billiton.

The DOE is pursuing energy independence and sustainability through the development of indigenous energy resources like coal, petroleum and natural gas.