Kulczyk & JKX gas output rises in 3Q12, Regal drops

Ukraine’s total domestic gas production inched up 0.6% yoy to 15.1 bcm in 9M12, Interfax reported yesterday, citing the Energy Ministry. KUB-Gas, the 70% Ukrainian subsidiary of Kulczyk Oil (KOV PW) boosted output 2.8x yoy to 160.1 mcm in 9M12 while the local subsidiary of JKX Oil & Gas (JKX LN) slashed production 20.7% yoy to 241.1 mcm. Regal Petroleum (RPT LN) produced 56.8 mcm of gas in 9M12 (up 3.9x yoy as the company did not operate in 1H11).

Gas production, mcm
                       1Q12  2Q12  3Q12  3Q12qoq
—————————————————–
Kulczyk Oil, net 33.4   38.3    40.4    5.7%
JKX Oil&Gas*    82.4  77.9    80.8    3.6%
Regal Petroleum 21.6  17.9   17.2   -4.2%
—————————————————–
*Does not include the company’s Russian and Hungarian assets.
Source: Energy Ministry, Concorde Capital calculations

Roman Dmytrenko: Ahead of official company press releases, our calculations show that Kulczyk continued to raise its gas production throughout 3Q12. We also note an encouraging increase in output in Ukraine from JKX Oil & Gas in 3Q12, which combined with the start of operations at its Russian wells in 2H12 should somewhat flatten the 21% yoy drop in its overall output for 1H12.