PetroEnergy expects slight profit dip

PETROENERGY Resources Corp. (PERC) is expecting a slightly lower net income for the first half of 2018 as its wind farm in Nabas, Aklan failed to match its performance during the same period last year, company officials said.
Francisco G. Delfin, Jr., PetroEnergy vice-president, said the company is expecting “a little dip” in its first-semester profit, although recovery is expected in the second half.
“We expect to recover in the second half even if the preliminary figures on the first half are slightly lower than the first half 2017,” he told reporters.
He declined to give PetroEnergy’s expected profit for the first six months, but in the same period last year, the company reported a 180% increase in its consolidated net income to $6.55 million. The company reports its financial data in dollars for ease in accounting for its overseas oil revenues.
He said the growth drivers for the rest of the year are the company’s renewable energy projects, especially its 36-megawatt (MW) Nabas wind project in Aklan.
“As we enter the second half of the year, presumably we will increase generation from our wind farm —the Nabas plant. In fact, that increase has already started,” he said.
Last year’s strong performance was driven by higher income contribution from its renewable energy projects, including the 20-MW Maibarara geothermal power project in Batangas, and the 50-MW solar power project in Tarlac.
Mr. Delfin said the full operations of the 12-MW second phase of Maibarara geothermal plant is among the growth drivers this year.
“And if oil prices continue to remain between the $70-$80 price per barrel, we should be able to sustain the profitability and the revenue of our Gabon operations as well,” he said.
PetroEnergy previously said that its petroleum asset in Gabon, West Africa produces about 16,000 barrels of oil per day from four producing fields.
Carlota R. Viray, PetroEnergy assistant vice-president for finance, said the Nabas wind farm has started to pickup only in June and July, but its output during the early months of the year was slight lower than the previous year’s when the plant experienced strong winds.
PetroEnergy has a total renewable energy power generation portfolio to 118 MW. It expects the installed power capacity to reach 200 MW by 2021, the year when it should have invested a total of P6.755 billion for a number of new and expansion projects.
Ms. Viray said that by 2021 solar power would be the company’s biggest contributor in terms of installed capacity at 80 MW.
She placed wind power’s contribution at 50 MW, with geothermal accounting for 32 MW of the total. She said the remaining capacity would come from several small hydropower projects that the company was studying.
The company declined to disclose details of the proposed hydropower projects because of a non-disclosure agreement it had signed ahead of the final investment decision. — VVS