Statoil reports 2013 income of $25 billion, to reduce 2014-16 spending

Statoil ASA reported its 2013 net operating income was $25 billion along with plans to reduce capital expenditures by more than $5 billion from 2014-16.

Adjusted earnings in 2013 were $26.4 billion compared with $31.3 billion, including divestments and redetermination.

Statoil from 2014-16 will invest an average $20 billion/year, a reduction of 8% from previous estimates primarily due to strict prioritization and increased capital efficiency, the company said.

Through a comprehensive improvement program, the company expects to save $1.3 billion/year through 2016.

Statoil expects to drill 50 wells in 2014 and 20 high-impact wells from 2014-16, purposing $3.5 billion for exploration.

Fourth-quarter 2013 net income was $2.4 billion, a 14% increase from $2.1 billion in fourth-quarter 2012.

Fourth-quarter net operating income was $7.1 billion compared with $7.4 billion in fourth-quarter 2012.

E&P activity

Statoil expects 3% average rebased organic production growth from 2013-16.

Equity production reached 1.94 million boe/d in 2013 compared with about 2 million boe/d in 2012, decreasing because of divestments and redetermination.

Equity production outside Norway increased to a record 723,000 boe in 2013 after starting up and ramping up new fields, and added 1.25 billion boe from exploration. The company completed 59 exploration wells, 26 of which were discoveries.

Statoil said it made the world’s largest conventional oil discovery by volume in 2013 in Bay du Nord offshore Canada (OGJ Online, Sept. 26, 2013).

The company announced divestments in 2013 with net proceeds of more than $4 billion, including the divestments of assets on the UK and Norwegian continental shelves to OMV (OGJ Online, Nov. 1, 2013; Nov. 4, 2013), and the agreement to reduce ownership in the Shah Deniz project in Azerbaijan and the South Caucasus Pipeline.