“Despite the low oil price, especially in the fourth quarter, in 2014 we achieved the second-best result in the company’s history,” says the Wintershall Chairman of the Executive Board, Rainer Seele. The income from operations before special items (EBIT) remained at a high level of 1.795 billion euros (2013: 1.856). Despite several months of interruptions to production in Libya, Wintershall managed to increase the oil and gas production to 136 million boe (2013: 132). The higher volumes, especially in Russia and Norway, were only partially able, however, to compensate for the lower prices.
The good result in 2014 was delivered by a diversified portfolio in comparison with competitors, low costs for production and reserves replenishment, as well as by a focus on attractive technology and exploration projects. “This enables us to make significant contributions to the results of the BASF Group even when the oil price is low,” explains Seele.