NUR-SULTAN
Kazakhstan’s state oil and gas company KazMunayGas reported a sharp rise in net profit to 286 billion tenge ($681 million) in the first quarter of 2021, from 70 billion tenge in the same period last year, driven by a rise in the average oil price, an increase in revenues and a decrease in operating costs.
KazMunayGaz is the country’s operator for exploration, production, refining and transportation of hydrocarbons, representing the state’s interests in the oil and gas industry of Kazakhstan.
The company said that its revenues amounted to 1.433 billion tenge in January-March, up 4.1 percent from the same period in 2020.
“The main positive impact on the revenue dynamics was the increase in the price of Brent oil by 22.0 percent year-on-year and the weakening of the average exchange rate of the tenge against the U.S. dollar by 7.2 percent year-on-year, as well as an increase in the trading volumes of KazMunayGaz International NV,” the company said in a report.
It said that revenue growth was restrained by the limitation of production at certain fields in accordance with the OPEC+ agreement, as well as a decrease in revenue of KazTransGas JSC, due to a decrease in gas export and international transit volumes, as well as the average gas sales price.
In March alone, output was 7.3 million tonnes or 1.475 million barrels per day (bpd).
Output in March slightly exceeded Kazakhstan’s OPEC+ obligations, but the energy ministry said last month that deviation from commitments would be compensated for in the future, taking into account major repairs for large projects in the summer.
KazMunayGaz said that the share of profits of the company’s joint ventures and associates increased to 218 billion tenge in the first quarter of 2021 from 65 billion tenge in January-March 2020.
The company’s total debt rose in the first quarter by 0.6 percent to 4.102 billion tenge as of March 31, while net debt amounted to 2,602 billion tenge.