Peter Uzoho
Oando Plc has announced its unaudited results for the third quarter ended September 2019, which showed that its profit after tax increased by 26 per cent to N13.1 billion, up from the N10.4 billion recorded in same period of 2018.
However, the oil and gas company’s turnover decreased by 18 per cent to N413.8 billion, compared with the N505.1 billion realised in same period of 2018.
But its total borrowing decreased by eight per cent to N193.1 billion, from N210.9 billion in the comparable period of 2018, while its production grew by eight per cent to 43,045 boe/day from 40,039 boe/day in year-to-date (YTD) September 2018.
The increase in production, according to a statement from the oil and gas company, was driven by an 11 per cent increase in natural gas production and an eight per cent increase in crude oil production.
“Without a doubt 2019 has been another challenging year for the company, not just in terms of external factors beyond its control but an ongoing conundrum with the regulator.
“Despite this the company’s results show that a management team that has worked aggressively to maintain a trend of positive results reflected in higher production and profit after tax,” the statement added.
Oando recently announced that the NNPC/NAOC/OANDO Joint Venture (of which Oando Energy Resources, the upstream subsidiary of Oando Plc, holds a 20 per cent working interest), had made a significant gas and condensate find in the deeper sequences of the Obiafu-Obrikom fields in OML 61, onshore Niger Delta.
Preliminary evaluation had indicated that the discovery amounted to about one trillion cubic feet of gas and 60 million barrels of associated condensate in the deep drilled sequences.
The statement added: “the full impact of this discovery will be determined and communicated to the market on conclusion of the next annual independent reserves and resources evaluation.”
