BP Announces First Gas From 2 Offshore Wells In Egypt

Energy giant BP (LON:BP) Plc (NYSE:BP) recently announced that it has commenced gas production from first two fields of West Nile Delta project, located offshore Egypt. First gas from the Taurus and Libra fields marked the start-up of the second upstream project among the seven developments BP planned for this year.

The fields comprise nine wells that have been producing gas and condensate at a rate of 700 million standard cubic feet of gas per day and 1000 barrels per day, respectively. The reported numbers are almost 20% higher than what the company initially estimated. The produced gas will likely be distributed in Egypt through the national gas grid.

Both Taurus and Libra fields came online eight months ahead of time and the project did not exceed the budget. Investors should know that The West Nile Delta development comprises five gas fields and is undergoing development under two different projects. Once all the fields start production to full capacity by 2019, the combined output could reach up to almost 1.5 billion cubic feet per day. The peak output will meet 30% of the current gas production of Egypt.

Apart from seven projects for this year, the integrated energy company is expected to bring online nine developments between 2018 and 2021. These projects are currently under construction. Most importantly, BP’s output is anticipated to grow by an average of 5% between 2016 and 2021. These developments will likely support the company with growing and sustainable free cashflows, which it can distribute among shareholders.

Headquartered in London, BP is an integrated energy company. The company’s stock outperformed the Zacks categorized Oil & Gas-International Integrated industry year to date. During the aforesaid period, the stock lost almost 6% as against 4.4% decrease for the broader industry.

Also, the oil spill incident of 2010 in the BP-operated Macondo Prospect continues to affect the company. Although BP has cleared the huge litigation expenses related to the spill, it had to divest some of its best operating properties. The asset sales might hinder BP’s future cash generating opportunities going forward.

As a result, the company carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).

Some better-ranked players in the energy sector include Statoil (OL:STL) ASA (NYSE:STO) , McDermott International Inc. (NYSE:MDR) and W&T Offshore Inc. (NYSE:WTI) . Statoil and McDermott sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), while W&T Offshore carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

McDermott beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters with an average positive surprise of 387.50%.

W&T Offshore had an average positive earnings surprise of 69.21% in the last four quarters.

Statoil is expected to witness year-over-year earnings growth of 1,983.33% for 2017.

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