This article was originally published by Seeking Alpha on August 25, 2014.
Summary: Papua New Guinea focused InterOil has beefed
up its balance sheet. The company is moving ahead with its drilling program to
develop its massive acreage and has bigger ambitions as it eyes Asian markets.
The future of
InterOil (NYSE:IOC), the Papua New Guinea focused independent oil and gas
company, as a major exporter of liquefied natural gas, or LNG, from the island
nation is looking better.
The company's
major asset includes its interest in the island nation's Elk and Antelope gas
field, one of the largest gas fields in Asia estimated to hold as much as 7
trillion cubic feet of gas, and exploration licenses covering more than 16,000
square kilometers, mainly in the Eastern Papuan Basin. As compared to the
Western Basin, the Eastern Basin is relatively under-explored, but it is home
to Elk and Antelope fields.
The company
has recently released its second quarter results in which it swung to a profit
of $52.3 million from a loss of $13.2 million in the same quarter last year,
largely due to the $49.5 million gain on sale of assets to Puma Energy. In terms
of continuing operations, the company's loss came in at $15.7 million, nearly
flat from the same quarter last year.
Monetization
Earlier in
June, InterOil sold its refinery and petroleum products distribution business
to Singapore based Puma Energy to $525.6 million. The deal made Puma Energy the
owner of the only refinery on PNG. For InterOil, the deal allowed the company
to monetize... read full article at Seeking Alpha.
