Moscow, August 29 - Neftegaz.RU. For the 1st 6 months of 2019, profit attributable to Lukoil shareholders was RUB 330.5 billion, up 19.6% year-on-year. Profit growth was constrained by higher DD&A charge as a result of adoption of the IFRS 16 Leases and the launch of new production facilities as well as lower non-cash foreign exchange gain.
For the 6 months of 2019 Lukoil's average hydrocarbon production excl. the West Qurna-2 project was 2,352 thousand boe per day, which is 2.8% higher year-on-year. The growth was mainly driven by the development of gas projects in Uzbekistan, as well as oil production growth in Russia due to change in the terms of the external limitations of Russian companies' production volumes.
Lukoil´s production of liquid hydrocarbons excl. the West Qurna-2 project totaled 1,788 thousand barrels per day, which is 1.4% higher year-on-year.
Gas production was 17.4 billion cu m, which is 8% higher year-on-year. The main driver of gas production growth was the development of projects in Uzbekistan.
In the 1st half of 2019 production of refined products at Lukoil's refineries increased by 2.8% year-on-year to 31.8 million tonnes, which was mainly due to higher utilization rates at the refineries in Nizhny Novgorod and Bulgaria. The product slate was improved at European refineries - fuel oil output shrank by 18%, while the light product yield increased by 5 p.p. to 77%.
