Seplat Declares Loss As Revenue falls To $179m, Crude Production, Cash, Others Drop

Seplat Energy Plc’s operations dropped in the first quarter of this year after crude oil production fell 49,258 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), which is a drop of 4.8 per cent compared to 51,720 boepd produced in first quarter last year.

Although crude oil prices were up by 4.7 per cent between January and March 2024 at $86.17, the company’s revenue shrank to $179.8m from $331m of last year.

“The YoY decline in reported crude oil revenue was attributed to the timing of liftings, exacerbated by the overlift reported in 3M 2023,” Seplat books revealed.

The fall is also a reflection of the drop in the company’s production in OMLs 4, 38 & 41, OML 40, OML 53, OPL 283.

The profit before tax declined by 19.5 per cent, amounting to $69.3m, compared to $86.1m in the first quarter of 2023.

“Primarily due to the significant deferred taxation charge in the period, a net loss of $1.9m was recorded as opposed to a net profit of $57.5m in the third quarter of 2023.

“After adjusting for deferred taxes, profit after tax totals $55.3m, against $58m in the third quarter 2023,” Seplat said.

Balance sheet cash down to $335.8m as against the $450.1m posted in same period of 2023. The oil company said its net debt at end March increased to $385m from the debt of $305.

The Chief Executive Officer, Roger Brown, said, “Seplat Energy continued its trend of strong operational performance in the first quarter. Oil production on OMLs 4, 38, 40 and 41 outperformed expectations, benefitting from low pipeline losses and deferments, which were ahead of plan. Cash flow was down in the first quarter, but this is largely due to timing difference of lifting oil from the terminals.

“The business remains strong, production is firmly on track this year and price realisations remain supportive of cash generation.”

The CEO said the company faces several growth opportunities for 2024.

“The first of these to start generating revenue for Seplat is Sibiri, which came on stream just a few weeks after the FDP approval was received from Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC). At Abiala (a marginal field within OML 40), the drilling programme is on track to start during the second quarter.

“We were delighted to see resumption of operations on the Trans Niger Pipeline in April, approximately four months ahead of plan. Access to the pipeline will enable us to increase production from OML53, as well as providing the primary export route for condensate from AGPC, which remains on track for first gas in 3Q 2024,” he added.