French energy major TotalEnergies (NYSE: TTE) reported on Thursday a third-quarter net income above expectations, thanks to higher oil prices and stronger refining margins in the summer.
TotalEnergies' adjusted net income stood at $6.5 billion for the third quarter, down by 37% on the year, but up by 30% sequentially, and above an analyst consensus estimate of $6.18 billion.
Oil and gas production rose and, coupled with the "good availability of European refining assets," boosted operating income at TotalEnergies' upstream and downstream businesses.
TotalEnergies raised its oil and gas production to nearly 2.5 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d), up 5% year-on-year, thanks to the start-up of oil projects in Brazil, Nigeria, and Iraq, and gas projects in Oman (Block 10) and Azerbaijan (Absheron).
"During the quarter, confirmation of exploration successes in Suriname and Namibia opened the way to new oil developments contributing to future cash flow growth," the company said in a statement.
TotalEnergies also boasted higher net operating income in its power division.
"For the first time, Integrated Power adjusted net operating income and cash flow both exceed $500 million," CEO Patrick Pouyanné commented.
Year-to-date cash flow at the division at the end of the third quarter was close to $1.5 billion, in line with Integrated Power's objective to generate around $2 billion of cash flow in 2023, he added.
"Year-to-date shareholder distribution is close to 43% at the end of September, in line with the recently increased annual guidance of more than 40%," the chief executive noted.
Looking forward, TotalEnergies said that "oil prices remain buoyant at around $90/b at the beginning of the fourth quarter, supported by OPEC+ actions on supply and a tense geopolitical context."
In the gas and LNG business, TotalEnergies sees natural gas prices remaining very reactive to production disruptions despite the fact that Europe entered the winter heating season with high inventories.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
Tsvetana is a writer for Oilprice.com with over a decade of experience writing for news outlets such as iNVEZZ and SeeNews. More