Summary
2002 Fourth Quarter Activities Report
Santos advances to record 2002 production
Australian-based oil and gas group, Santos Limited, today announced record production and sales volumes for the year ended 31 December, 2002.
The Company also achieved higher sales revenue of $1.48 billion – the second highest annual revenue for Santos since its formation nearly 50 years ago.
The record performance is detailed in the Companys 2002 Fourth Quarter Activities Report.
Santos today reported:
A 2.9% increase in full year production to a record 57.3 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe) from the Companys expanding Australian and international operations. This compared with 55.7 mmboe for full year 2001
2002 full year sales volumes rose 3.1% to a record 56.8 mmboe from 55.1 mmboe in the previous 12 months
Sales revenue for the year totalled $1.48 billion, a 1.3% increase on the 2001 result of $1.46 billion, and fractionally below the record $1.49 billion in sales achieved in 2000 – a period of sustained record oil prices.
Santos’ Managing Director, Mr John Ellice-Flint, said the record annual production was a most positive result, which benefited from a continuing strong performance during the December quarter.
Total revenue of $399.6 million for the final three months of 2002, was the third highest on record for any quarter and 19.8% ahead of the comparable 2001 period, he said.
This $66 million improvement was achieved through an average Australian dollar oil price of $49.17 per barrel for the quarter compared with $33.97 for the previous corresponding period.
Increased sales in the Victorian market saw total gas sales quantities for the quarter rise 7.0% to 56.6 Petajoules (PJ) compared with 53.0 PJ for the last three months of 2001.
