据7月22日报道，巴布亚新几内亚离岸公司Oil Search宣布，由于疫情传播，一个拟议液化天然气(LNG)项目的技术人员们已被遣散，这给该公司在巴布亚新几内亚的未来业务的发展带来不确定性。
该项目由巴布亚新几内亚政府、Oil Search、道达尔(Total)和埃克森美孚(ExxonMobil)共同组建，计划在5月份谈判结束后将继续推进。由于新冠肺炎疫情及其对油气价格的影响，该项目被搁置，道达尔和埃克森美孚撤出了大部分技术和商业人员。
该项目的暂停是Oil Search遭遇的最新挫折。该公司今天公布了半年度财务数据，业绩喜忧参半。从今年第一季度末到第二季度末，总营收下降了26%，而上半年的营收与2019年上半年相比下降了19%。尽管在这段时间内产量略有增长，2020年上半年的总产量比2019年上半年增长了4%，总销售额增长了2%，但公司已经疲于应对疫情带来的石油天然气价格暴跌危机。
Oil Search报告指出，油价从2019年6月的68.67美元/桶暴跌至2020年6月的23.05美元/桶，同期液化天然气和天然气价格从9.30美元/百万英热下跌至7.34美元/百万英热。
这些价格崩溃迫使该公司削减运营成本,其总经理Keiran Wulff指出:“继3月份采取果断措施，将2020年的资本支出减少约40%，4月初，我们通过发行股票筹集了大约7亿美元，从而大大地改善了资产负债表。配售部分的认购明显超额，我们确保所有配售股份都分配给现有股东，以最大限度地减少稀释。我们非常高兴，这次加薪得到了股东的大力支持，特别是在当前这样的市场状况下。”
文件夹 摘译自 Offshore Technology
原文如下：
Oil Search, Total and Exxon “demobilise” PNG exploration amid Covid-19
Papua New Guinean offshore company Oil Search has announced that technical staff at a proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) project have been “demobilised” due to the spread of Covid-19 in the country, casting some doubts over the company’s future in Papua New Guinea.
The plan, a joint venture between the Papua New Guinea Government, Oil Search, and industry majors Total and ExxonMobil, was set to go ahead following the completion of discussions in May. Known as the P’nyang Gas Agreement, the project has since been shelved due to the Covid-19 pandemic and its impact The suspension of the project is the latest setback for Oil Search, which published its half-year financial figures today, with mixed results for the company. Total revenue fell 26% between the end of the first quarter of 2020 and the end of the second quarter of the year, while half-year revenue is down 19% compared to the first six months of 2019. These struggles are in spite of a slight increase in production over this period, with total production up 4% and total sales up 2% in the first half of 2020 compared to the first half of 2019, as the company struggles to deal with the plummeting oil and gas prices that have rocked the industry amid the pandemic.
Oil Search’s reporting noted that the average oil price per barrel crashed from $68.67 in the June 2019 quarter to $23.05 in the June 2020 quarter, while LNG and gas price fell from $9.30 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) to $7.34 per MMBtu over the same period.
These price collapses have forced the company to cut costs across its operations, with managing director Keiran Wulff noting that: “Following the decisive steps taken in March to reduce 2020 capital expenditure by approximately 40%, in early April we strengthened our balance sheet materially by raising approximately $700 million through an equity issue.
“The placement component was significantly oversubscribed and we ensured that all placement shares were allocated to existing shareholders to minimise dilution,” Wulff continued. “We were very pleased that the raise was strongly supported by our shareholders, particularly given market conditions.”