PERTH (miningweekly.com) - ASX-listed oil and gas company AWE has told shareholders that a final investment decision for its Ande Ande Lumut (AAL) oil project, in Indonesia, was scheduled for the second half of the year, as the company continued with its plans to sell down a 50% equity stake in the project.

“We have made considerable progress on the AAL development project in Indonesia, and we recently appointed a financial adviser to assist with the partial sell-down, which is planned to be completed ahead of the final investment decision,” said AWE MD Bruce Clement.

The AAL project is estimated to host some 76-million barrels of recoverable oil, and AWE has previously said an independent audit on the oilfield’s contingent resource would be undertaken as part of the sales process.

AWE also reported that the joint venture (JV) partners in the BassGas project, in Victoria, were expected to approve the sequencing of the next stage of the midlife-enhancing project by mid-2013, which would result in the installation of a compression module or development drilling during 2013/14, with the remainder to be completed in 2014/15.

The midlife enhancement project cost the JV partners some A$490-million, with Phase 1 of the project involving the upgrade of the Yolla platform from an unmanned offshore platform to a manned platform, and installing export compression and condensate pumping models.

Meanwhile, AWE told shareholders on Wednesday that its after-tax net profit for the first half of 2013 decreased to A$13.2-million, compared with the A$29.7-million reported in the previous corresponding period.

The reduced profit was as a result of lower sales revenue from the BassGas operation, and nonrecurring profit arising from divestments during the previous corresponding half.

Oil and gas production during the six months to December was down 20%, to 2.34-million barrels of oil equivalent, largely owing to the shut-in of the Yolla platform.

Sales revenue for the period was more resilient, and was down only 8% during the interim period to A$145.1-million, owing to the sustained oil prices and increased volumes from the Sugarloaf and Casino operations.