PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Oil and gas producer Beach Energy has reported a 13% increase in sales revenue for the quarter ended September, despite a 1% drop in production volumes.

The ASX-listed Beach on Friday reported that production for the three months to September had reached 6.77-million barrels of oil equivalent, down slightly from the 6.84-million barrels produced in the June quarter, as volumes from the Western Flank and BassGas operations declined.

Despite the fall in production volumes, sales revenue for the quarter reached A$361-million, up from the A$320-million reported at the end of the June quarter, as the realised oil price increased by 38%, from A$46.9/lb to A$64.6/lb.

“In a period where the world has been anything but normal, I’m very pleased to see a great level of stability from our diverse portfolio of production assets,” said Beach MD and CEO Matt Kay.

“It was a quarter in which production met expectations, demonstrating that our team can continue to operate effectively during what has been a period of high disruption, particularly in Victoria.

“Sales revenues were up 13%, and Beach continues to operate in a net cash position, ensuring we remain in a robust position heading into the second quarter,” said Kay.

The oil and gas producer has maintained its production guidance for the full 2021 at between 26-million and 28.5-million barrels of oil equivalent, with capital expenditure for the full year also remaining at between A$650-million and A$750-million.

Kay noted that the first quarter established Beach to start drilling of two exploration prospects, the Enterprise 1 in the Otway basin, and Ironbark 1 in the Carnarvon basin, with the company also planning to reach a final investment decision on the Waitsia Stage 2 project by the end of the calendar year.

“Drilling has already commenced at the Enterprise 1 onshore-to-offshore well in the Victorian Otway basin, and operator BP is expected to spud the Ironbark 1 frontier exploration well in the coming days.

“The drill bit continues to perform for Beach, as we participated in 17 wells with a success rate of 94%, including six gas exploration wells at an 83% success rate.”