BHP sees growth, strong returns from petroleum business

[BENGALURU] BHP Group on Monday said its petroleum business would deliver the company strong returns and cash flow through the 2020s and beyond, as it sees growth at its oil assets.

The business might generate core earnings of more than 60 per cent over the next decade, with an average annual volume growth of up to 3 per cent, Geraldine Slattery, president operations petroleum, said at a briefing in Sydney.

The world's biggest miner expects fiscal 2020 conventional petroleum production of 110 million to 116 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe), with unit costs of US$10.50 to US$11.50 per barrel, reiterating an earlier guidance.

Petroleum's growth options currently include the Scarborough project which is operated by Woodside Petroleum, Trion in the Gulf of Mexico, and Trinidad & Tobago North assets, among others.

REUTERS