SANTOS has assured investors its multi-billion-dollar LNG projects planned for Gladstone and Papua New Guinea are on track and that the company does not believe controversy over land-ownership and access will threaten either.
The Adelaide oil and gas company yesterday reported a big jump in first-half profit from $198 million last year to $504m in the six months to June 30. The profit was boosted by a sale of a stake in Gladstone LNG.
Underlying profit rose 12 per cent to $236m, beating market expectations of about $200m.
Chief executive David Knox said he was confident controversy over coal seam gas extraction - which concerns land access, water contamination and emissions - in Queensland would not delay his plans for Gladstone.
"The community has some legitimate concerns," Mr Knox said.
"The industry as a whole needs to lift its performance and raise the bar, but unfortunately there's also a lot of misinformation in the public debate, most of it due to a lack of understanding and some which is deliberately pushed by people who will never support the resources industry."
He also said he was confident the PNG LNG project would produce in 2014, despite the country's mining minister yesterday saying the country would give ownership of resources to landowners.
Santos declared a first-half dividend of 15 cents per share, down from 22c, as it conserves capital for its large growth projects.
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