24 Oct 2014

PNG's Oil Search promises bigger dividends

5:00 pm on 24 October 2014

Papua New Guinea oil producer, Oil Search, is promising higher dividend payments to shareholders after lifting production 81 percent during the September quarter.

The company produced 6.67 million barrels of oil equivalent during the three-month period, with revenue up 58 percent to 538 million US dollars.

The sharp jump in production is due to PNG LNG, which shipped its first cargo ahead of schedule in May.

Oil Search owns 29 percent of the ExxonMobil-operated project that is expected to double the size of the PNG economy.

The company says shareholders can look forward to higher dividends as it plans to pay out between 35 and 50 per cent of profits from now on.