Italy's ENI sees returning to full Libyan oil production in 12 months
 

London (Platts)--27Oct2011/632 am EDT/1032 GMT

Italy's Eni said Thursday adjusted earnings rose 7% during the third quarter as higher oil and gas prices offset lower production volumes while it resumes output from Libya.

Eni said adjusted net profit for the quarter rose to Eur1.79 billion ($2.51 billion) compared with Eur1.68 billion in the year-ago quarter.

Eni reported adjusted operating profit for the quarter of Eur4.61 billion, up 12% from the year-earlier quarter.

The company reported liquids and gas production of 1.47 million b/d of oil equivalent for the third quarter, down by 13.6% from the same three months of last year, reflecting continued disruption to its Libyan output. "Considering that no damage has been reported at Eni's production plants and transportation facilities, management believes that it is likely that oil production will flow at the pre-crisis plateau in about 12 months," the company said.

Eni said it hopes to achieve full gas production in Libya sooner, in a "few months."

Eni has already resumed activities in Libya restarting its Abu-Attifel field and gas exports through the GreenStream pipeline under the Mediterranean.

During the quarter, gas sales fell down by 3.4% to 17.96 billion cubic meters reflecting sharply lower sales in Italy due to the loss of Libyan imports.

Downstream, Eni reported adjusted operating profit of Eur26 million, up by Eur12 million on the third quarter of 2010, driven by slightly improved refining margins and efficiency gains, the company said.

Refining margins in the Mediterranean area recorded a slight recovery with the Brent margin up by 37% to $2.90/barrel, Eni said.

--Robert Perkins, robert_perkins@platts.com

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