Seplat Petroleum revenues fall by 22 percent in 2015

26 Jan 2016
Chibuike Oguh

Summary

Despite weaker oil revenues, Seplat said it achieved notable growth in its gas business.

Austin Avuru, CEO, Seplat Petroleum

Seplat Petroleum, the indigenous oil and gas company, has announced that it expects to earn between $550 million to $600 million in the 2015 full year, according to a trading and operations update released on the Nigerian Stock Exchange on Monday.

The expected revenues for 2015 are about 22 percent lower than the company’s earnings in the 2014 full year results when it reported revenues of $775 million.

More than 70 percent decline in oil prices in the past 19 months has slashed the earnings of oil and gas companies worldwide.

Seplat said its expected revenues of between $550 million to $600 million in 2015 is based on an average oil price of $47 per barrel and oil production of 43,372 barrels per day. By comparison, the average oil price was $97.2 per barrel in 2014 and oil production of 30,823 barrels per day.

“With a growing consensus that low oil prices are set to remain for at least the near term, we remain focused on what is in our control and steps we can take to maximise profitability,” said Austin Avuru, Seplat’s Chief Executive Officer.

Despite its weaker oil revenues, Seplat said it achieved notable growth in its gas business because of the commissioning of the additional capacity at the company’s Oben gas plant in Edo State. Seplat said strong demand in Nigeria’s domestic gas market has allowed it supply for about a third of the country’s estimated current active power generation.

“Our gas business takes on additional importance by providing a revenue stream that is de-linked to the oil price together with revenue continuity in the event of disruptions to third party oil export infrastructure,” Avuru said.

Founded in 2009, Seplat is a leading Nigerian oil and gas exploration and production company. The company has interests in several oil blocks in the Niger Delta, including OML 4, 38, 41, 53, 58 and OPL 283. Seplat is listed in both the Lagos and London stock exchanges.

Chibuike Oguh is Financial Nigeria's Frontier Markets Analyst


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