Japanese gas explorer, prospector and transporter INPEX (JPX: 1605), which is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, announced a solid upswing in revenues, operating income and net income.

INPEX had a massive upswing of 42 percent in net sales for the three months ended June 30, up from 202,351 million Japanese yen in the three months ended June 30, 2018 to 287,401 million yen.

Operating income rose by 40.7 percent to146,277 million yen in the three months to the end of June, up from 103,956 million yen in the prior corresponding period. Meanwhile, INPEX's net income rose by 76.6 percent to 29,696 million yen, up 76.6 percent from the 16,812 million reported in the prior corresponding period.

The company stated that the increase in revenues was driven by an increase in crude oil and gas volumes and an increase in the unit sales price.

INPEX reported a 35 percent increase in the volume of crude oil (7,165 thousand barrels), to 29,231 thousand barrels. The sales volume of natural gas increased by 184.6 percent to 100,199 million cubic feet of gas.

The amount of sales generated in Japan, other Asia and Oceania, and the Middle East and Africa, increased due to an increase in sales volumes and/or a rise in natural gas prices.

However, net sales and operating income declined in Eurasia due to lower sales volume and the price of crude oil. Net sales generated in the Americas also declined due to decreases in sales volumes and the price of crude oil.

Cost of sales for the three months to the end of June 30 this year increased by 51.5 percent to 41.2 billion yen.

Earlier this year, in July, INPEX received official approval from the Indonesian government for its development plan for the Abadi LNG project. Indonesia also approved the application for a seven-year time allocation and a 20-year extension to the Production Sharing Contract for the Masela Block. The term now expires in 2055. The revised plan also changes the project from an offshore floating LNG project to an onshore LNG project.

"The approval of the revised POD by the authorities is a significant milestone for the Abadi LNG Project," said Takayuki Ueda, President and CEO of INPEX.

Meanwhile, further south, INPEX also reported earlier this year that it had been awarded an exploration permit for a maritime block off the northwest coast of Australia. The depth of water is between 60 meters and 500 meters and it covers a surface area of 3,460 square meters.

In June, INPEX announced the first shipment of liquefied natural gas from Prelude, which is the world's first Floating Liquefied Natural Gas facility. Prelude is stationed 475 kilometers northeast of Broome in Western Australia. Prelude FLNG gathers, processes, stores and offloads gas and condensate at sea. Prelude is a joint venture between several energy companies including INPEX and Shell, among others.

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