Oil Search 1Q Revenue Rises To US$153.3M On Higher Oil Price

Oil Search Ltd. (OSH.AU) on Thursday reported a 14% rise in first quarter revenue as higher oil prices offset a fall in production.

Revenue for the three months to March 31 rose to US$153.3 million from US$133.9 million a year earlier as production slipped 11% to 1.79 million barrels of oil equivalent from 2.0 million BOE.

The Papua New Guinea-focused oil and gas producer said its average realized oil price for the quarter was US$108.58 per a barrel, up 22% from a year earlier.

It stuck to its annual production forecast of 6.2 million-6.7 million BOE.

Oil Search is a partner in the US$15 billion PNG LNG project operated by Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM), which wants to ship its first cargo in 2014.

Good progress was made during the first quarter, with the first foundation poured for the LNG processing area shortly after March 31, Oil Search said in a statement.

The joint venture is continuing to evaluate a logistics plan for new drilling at the Hides prospect in late 2011 to support a possible expansion of the project to three LNG production trains, Oil Search said.

-By Ross Kelly, Dow Jones Newswires; 61-2-8272-4692; Ross.Kelly@dowjones.com

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