Oz Cooper Reports Drop in 2Q Revenue

Australian oil and gas explorer Cooper Energy January 23 reported a 14% year-on-year drop in revenue for the three months to December 31 (2Q2019).

Revenue during 2Q was A$14.4mn compared with A$16.8mn in the same quarter of previous year. Half year sales revenue of A$36.2mn was up 16% year-on-year due to higher prices for gas and oil, Cooper said.

Production during 2Q was 0.29mn barrel of oil equivalent, down 23% year-on-year while 1H output was 0.66mn boe, down 19% compared with the same period of previous year. Full year production guidance of 1.4mn boe is unchanged, Cooper said.

The company said that its Sole gas project, located in Victoria’s Gippsland Basin, is 86% complete.

“The Sole Gas project has progressed to be 86% complete at end December and we have committed to an offshore exploration program that can generate the next wave of growth,” Cooper’s managing director David Maxwell said. “We have flexibility to pursue the growth opportunities in our portfolio and have acted quickly, securing a rig and committing to drill two attractive gas prospects in our offshore Otway acreage.”

Cooper will begin supplying the gas from the Sole gas field from January 2020 for the life of the project. Production from the Sole gas field is scheduled to commence in July 2019.

“We expect the coming six months to be as momentous as any in the company’s history as Sole is completed; we drill the Annie and Elanora prospects in the offshore Otway Basin; conclude gas contracts and, prepare to acquire the Minerva gas plant with the upside it offers for our operating margin, cash generation and production,” he added.