LISBON, Feb 16 - Portuguese oil firm Galp said on Monday sales of refined products rose nearly 13 percent in the fourth quarter from a year earlier to 4.3 million tonnes, after the incorporation of Agip's fuel distribution network.
Sales were also up 12.4 percent when compared with the third quarter of this year, Galp (GALP.LS) said in a statement. The company in October completed the acquisition of Exxon Mobil Corp's (XOM.N) Agip network in Portugal and Spain.
Galp refined 20.78 million barrels of crude oil, or about 231,000 barrels per day, in the fourth quarter, up 8.5 percent from a year earlier and 2.8 percent more than in the third quarter.
Exports rose 44 percent from the same period of 2007 to 600,000 tonnes.
The company said that a time lag of about one week in adjusting local fuel prices to falling world oil prices allowed its refining and distribution unit to book a 105 million euro ($135.6 million) positive impact on gross margin in the quarter.
Natural gas sales in the quarter fell 24 percent to 1.225 billion cubic metres from a year ago. The company said an arbitrage process related to one of the natural gas contracts led to a new pricing formula with retroactive effects to May 2007, with a net negative impact of 103 million euros on its Gas and Power division's fourth-quarter operating profit. Galp's electricity generation fell about 15 percent to 360 gigawatt hours.
The company, which is mainly an oil refiner but has vast oil producing ambitions, also pumped 15,500 barrels per day of crude on average in the quarter, 1.3 percent less than a year ago. Galp's oil production is mainly in Angola, but it is a partner in various major oil finds in Brazil that are being developed.
Galp is scheduled to report its fourth-quarter earnings on March 4.
Sales were also up 12.4 percent when compared with the third quarter of this year, Galp (GALP.LS) said in a statement. The company in October completed the acquisition of Exxon Mobil Corp's (XOM.N) Agip network in Portugal and Spain.
Galp refined 20.78 million barrels of crude oil, or about 231,000 barrels per day, in the fourth quarter, up 8.5 percent from a year earlier and 2.8 percent more than in the third quarter.
Exports rose 44 percent from the same period of 2007 to 600,000 tonnes.
The company said that a time lag of about one week in adjusting local fuel prices to falling world oil prices allowed its refining and distribution unit to book a 105 million euro ($135.6 million) positive impact on gross margin in the quarter.
Natural gas sales in the quarter fell 24 percent to 1.225 billion cubic metres from a year ago. The company said an arbitrage process related to one of the natural gas contracts led to a new pricing formula with retroactive effects to May 2007, with a net negative impact of 103 million euros on its Gas and Power division's fourth-quarter operating profit. Galp's electricity generation fell about 15 percent to 360 gigawatt hours.
The company, which is mainly an oil refiner but has vast oil producing ambitions, also pumped 15,500 barrels per day of crude on average in the quarter, 1.3 percent less than a year ago. Galp's oil production is mainly in Angola, but it is a partner in various major oil finds in Brazil that are being developed.
Galp is scheduled to report its fourth-quarter earnings on March 4.
