Inpex Slumps to First Annual Loss in 12 years

Yuka Obayashi
Wednesday, February 10, 2021

Japan's biggest oil and gas explorer Inpex Corp posted a net loss of 111.7 billion yen ($1.1 billion) in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic hammered oil prices, cutting its sales and forcing it to book hefty impairment losses.

The result marks Inpex's first net loss since its foundation in 2008 through the merger of Inpex, Teikoku Oil and Inpex Holdings.

"It was a very tough year," Daisuke Yamada, Inpex's managing executive officer, told a news conference. "A plunge in oil prices hit our earnings hard."

Annual sales fell by 400 billion yen, or 34% from a year earlier, to 771 billion yen, 90% of which was due to lower oil prices, he said.

Pandemic-related travel restrictions cut fuel demand and triggered a plunge in oil prices last year. The average Brent crude price in 2020 fell by 33% from 2019 to $43.21 a barrel, the company said.

That led to an impairment loss of 189.9 billion yen on its oil and gas assets, including a 129 billion yen writedown on the Prelude floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) project operated by Shell off northwestern Australia.

But with oil prices recovering sharply, Inpex predicted a return to a net profit of 100 billion yen this year, assuming an average Brent price of $53 a barrel.

Sales are expected to increase 14.5% to 883 billion yen, it said.

The company forecast its oil sales volume to drop 4.7% year on year but its sales volume of gas to rise 3%, despite scheduled maintenance around May-June at the Ichthys LNG project that it operates in Australia.

($1 = 104.7100 yen)

(Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Jan Harvey)


Categories: Finance Energy LNG Industry News Activity Production Asia

Related Stories

US Pressure on India Could Propel Russia's Shadow Oil Exports

Hanwha Ocean Enlists ABB for Singapore’s First Floating LNG Terminal

POSH Set to Tow Nguya FLNG from China to Eni’s Congo Field

Synergy Marine Group Completes Conversion of LNG Vessel to FSRU

Seatrium Signs FLNG Vessel Upgrade Deal for Golar LNG

Cheniere, JERA Ink Long-Term LNG Sale and Purchase Agreement

Inpex Kicks Off FEED Work for Abadi LNG Scheme Offshore Indonesia

ADNOC Signs Long-Term LNG Deal with Hindustan Petroleum Corporation

CNOOC Brings New Offshore Gas Field On Stream

CNOOC Finds Oil and Gas in South China Sea

Current News

Sponsored: UAE Breaks Ground on GW-Scale Renewable Energy Hybrid

Pertamina Joins Petronas in Ultra-Deepwater Asset off Indonesia

Malaysia’s Petronas and Oman’s OQEP Strengthen Oil and Gas Ties

Southeast Asia’s 2GW Cross-Border Offshore Wind Scheme Targets 2034 Buildout

Pharos Energy Kicks Off Drilling Campaign Offshore Vietnam

Viridien to Shed More Light on Malaysia’s Offshore Oil and Gas Potential

US Pressure on India Could Propel Russia's Shadow Oil Exports

Energy Drilling’s EDrill-2 Rig Starts Ops for PTTEP in Gulf of Thailand

RINA Wins FEED Contract for Petronas’ Flagship CCS Project in Malaysia

ABL Secures Rig Moving Assignment with India's ONGC

Subscribe for AOG Digital E‑News

AOG Digital E-News is the subsea industry's largest circulation and most authoritative ENews Service, delivered to your Email three times per week

https://accounts.newwavemedia.com