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BHP 201904170003A
Operational Review for the nine months ended 31 March 2019
BHP Group Plc
Registration number 3196209
Registered in England and Wales
Share code: BHP
ISIN: GB00BH0P3Z91
NEWS RELEASE LOGO
Release Time IMMEDIATE
Date 17 April 2019
Release Number 09/19
BHP OPERATIONAL REVIEW
FOR THE NINE MONTHS ENDED 31 MARCH 2019
. Production guidance for the 2019 financial year remains unchanged for
petroleum, copper, metallurgical coal and energy coal. Iron ore production
guidance decreased to between 265 and 270 Mt (100% basis), reflecting
impacts of Tropical Cyclone Veronica.
. Group copper equivalent production/(1)/ was broadly unchanged over the nine
months ended March 2019, with volumes for the full year also expected to be
in line with last year.
. Full year unit costs for Petroleum, Escondida and Queensland Coal are
expected to be in line with guidance/(2)/. Unit costs for Western Australia
Iron Ore are now expected to be below US$15 per tonne/(2)/, reflecting
impacts of Tropical Cyclone Veronica. Unit costs for New South Wales Energy
Coal are now expected to be approximately US$51 per tonne/(2)/, following
changes to the mine plan.
. All major projects under development are tracking to plan.
. In Petroleum, the Atlantis Phase 3 project in the US Gulf of Mexico was
approved and the Bele-1 exploration well in Trinidad and Tobago encountered
hydrocarbons (drilling still in progress) during the quarter.
Mar YTD19 Mar Q19
Production (vs Mar YTD18) (vs Dec Q18) Mar Q19 commentary
---------- -------------- ------------ ------------------
Petroleum (MMboe)/(1)/......... 92 29 Lower seasonal gas sales at Bass Strait partially offset by
(0%) (-5%) higher Trinidad and Tobago volumes following maintenance in
the previous quarter.
Copper (kt)................... 1,245 420 Increased production from Olympic Dam as surface operations
(-3%) (+1%) returned to full capacity following acid plant outage in
August 2018, offset by impact of expected lower copper
grades at Escondida.
Iron ore (Mt)................. 175 56 Volumes at Western Australia Iron Ore (WAIO) reflected the
(0%) (-3%) impact of Tropical Cyclone Veronica.
Metallurgical coal (Mt)....... 31 10 A solid underlying operating performance at Queensland Coal
(0%) (-4%) was offset by the impacts of wet weather.
Energy coal (Mt).............. 20 7 Increased production at New South Wales Energy Coal (NSWEC)
(0%) (+1%) was offset by the impact of adverse weather at Cerrejon.
BHP Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Mackenzie, said: "During the March 2019
quarter, we had a strong operational performance despite weather impacts across
Australia and Chile. We approved Atlantis Phase 3 and now have five major
projects under development. Those projects, our work on transformation,
technology and culture, and our successful petroleum and copper exploration and
appraisal programs will grow value and returns for years to come."
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BHP Operational Review for 1
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Summary
Operational performance
Production and guidance are summarised below.
Mar YTD19 Mar Q19 Mar Q19 Previous Current
vs vs vs FY19 FY19
Production Mar YTD19 Mar Q19 Mar YTD18 Mar Q18 Dec Q18 guidance guidance
--------------------------------- --------- ------- --------- --------- --------- -------------- --------------
Petroleum (MMboe)................ 92 29 0% 3% (5%) 113 - 118 113 - 118 Upper end of range
Copper (kt)...................... 1,245 420 (3%) (8%) 1% 1,645 - 1,740 1,645 - 1,740 Unchanged
Escondida...................... 848 268 (6%) (15%) (6%) 1,120 - 1,180 1,120 - 1,180 Lower end of range
Other copper/(i)/.............. 397 152 1% 7% 15% 525 - 560 525 - 560 Olympic Dam:
Lower end of range
Iron ore/(ii)/ (Mt).............. 175 56 0% (3%) (3%) 241 - 250 235 - 239 Lowered due to
Tropical Cyclone
Veronica
WAIO (100% basis).............. 198 64 (2%) (5%) (3%) 273 - 283 265 - 270 As above
Metallurgical coal (Mt).......... 31 10 0% (5%) (4%) 43 - 46 43 - 46 Unchanged
Queensland Coal (100% basis)... 54 17 (1%) (5%) (3%) 75 - 81 75 - 81 Unchanged
Energy coal (Mt)................. 20 7 0% 11% 1% 28 - 29 28 - 29 Unchanged
NSWEC.......................... 13 5 5% 24% 6% 18 - 19 18 - 19 Unchanged
Cerrejon....................... 7 2 (8%) (10%) (7%) 10 10 Unchanged
(i) Other copper comprises Pampa Norte, Olympic Dam and Antamina.
(ii) Increase in BHP's share of volumes reflects the expiry of the Wheelarra
Joint Venture sublease in March 2018, with control of the sublease area
reverted to the Jimblebar Joint Venture, which is accounted for on a
consolidated basis with minority interest adjustments.
Major development projects
During the March 2019 quarter, the BHP Board approved US$696 million (BHP share)
in capital expenditure for the Atlantis Phase 3 project in the US Gulf of
Mexico.
At the end of March 2019, BHP had five major projects under development in
petroleum, copper, iron ore and potash, with a combined budget of US$11.1
billion over the life of the projects.
Petroleum
Production
Mar YTD19 Mar Q19 Mar Q19
vs vs vs
Mar YTD19 Mar Q19 Mar YTD18 Mar Q18 Dec Q18
--------- ------- --------- ------- -------
Crude oil, condensate and natural gas liquids (MMboe)... 42 13 (5%) (5%) (9%)
Natural gas (bcf)....................................... 299 93 4% 12% (1%)
--------- ------- --------- ------- -------
Total petroleum production (MMboe)...................... 92 29 0% 3% (5%)
--------- ------- --------- ------- -------
Petroleum - Total petroleum production was flat at 92 MMboe. Guidance for the
2019 financial year remains unchanged at between 113 and 118 MMboe, with volumes
expected to be towards the upper end of the guidance range.
Crude oil, condensate and natural gas liquids production decreased by five per
cent to 42 MMboe due to natural field decline across the portfolio and a 70 day
planned dry dock maintenance program at Pyrenees completed during the September
2018 quarter. This decline was partially offset by higher uptimes at our Gulf of
Mexico assets and stronger field performance in Atlantis.
Natural gas production increased by four per cent to 299 bcf, reflecting
increased tax barrels at Trinidad and Tobago in accordance with the terms of our
Production Sharing Contract and higher uptime at North West Shelf.
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This was partially offset by planned maintenance at Trinidad and Tobago in the
December 2018 quarter, the impact of Tropical Cyclone Veronica and natural field
decline across the portfolio.
Projects
Capital Initial
Project and expenditure production
ownership US$M target date Capacity Progress
------------------------ ----------- ----------- ------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------
Mad Dog Phase 2 2,154 CY22 New floating production facility with On schedule and budget. The overall
(US Gulf of Mexico) the capacity to produce up to 140,000 project is 46% complete.
23.9% (non-operator) gross barrels of crude oil per day.
Atlantis Phase 3 696 CY20 New subsea production system that Project approved on 13 February 2019.
(US Gulf of Mexico) will tie back to the existing Atlantis
44% (non-operator) facility, with capacity to produce up
to 38,000 gross barrels of oil
equivalent per day.
On 13 February 2019, the BHP Board approved the development of the Atlantis
Phase 3 project in the US Gulf of Mexico. The project includes a subsea tie back
of eight new production wells and is expected to increase production by an
estimated 38 Mboe/d (100 per cent basis) at its peak. This decision follows
sanction by BP (the operator).
The Bass Strait West Barracouta project is tracking to plan and study work
continues on the Ruby project in Trinidad and Tobago with an investment decision
expected during the 2019 calendar year.
Petroleum exploration
Exploration and appraisal wells drilled during the March 2019 quarter are
summarised below.
Formation Total well
Well Location Target age BHP equity Spud date Water depth depth Status
------------- ----------------- ------ ------------ ---------- ----------------- ----------- ---------- --------------------------
Trion-2DEL Mexico Oil Eocene 60% (BHP 15 November 2018 2,379 m 4,659 m Hydrocarbons encountered;
Block AE-0093 Operator) Plugged and abandoned
Trion-2DEL Mexico Oil Eocene 60% (BHP 4 January 2019 2,379 m 5,002 m Hydrocarbons encountered;
ST01 Block AE-0093 Operator) Plugged and abandoned
Bele-1 Trinidad & Tobago Gas Pliocene 70% (BHP 2 March 2019 2,102 m 3,693 m Hydrocarbons encountered;
Block 23(a) Operator) Drilling ahead
In Mexico, we spud the Trion-2DEL appraisal well in November 2018 and
encountered oil in line with expectations. This was followed by a downdip
sidetrack which encountered oil and water, as predicted, further appraising the
field and delineating the resource. Following the recent encouraging results in
the Trion block, an additional appraisal well (3DEL), to further delineate the
scale and characterisation of the resource, has been approved and is expected to
be drilled in the second half of the 2019 calendar year.
The Deepwater Invictus rig mobilised to Trinidad and Tobago for Phase 3 of our
deepwater drilling campaign. This includes three wells testing three prospects
in our Northern licences around the Bongos discovery. Bele-1, the first of these
wells, was spud on 2 March 2019 and encountered hydrocarbons. Drilling is still
in progress and our assessment is ongoing.
In the US Gulf of Mexico, following the Samurai-2 discovery in 2018, Murphy, the
Operator, has commenced pre-FEED activities. In the Western US Gulf of Mexico,
our Ocean Bottom Node(3) seismic acquisition survey and node recovery has been
completed. This will be incorporated into our ongoing analysis which we will
continue to progress over the next 24 months.
Petroleum exploration expenditure for the nine months ended March 2019 was
US$438 million, of which US$215 million was expensed. A US$750 million
exploration and appraisal program is being executed for the 2019 financial year.
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Copper
Production
Mar YTD19 Mar Q19 Mar Q19
vs vs vs
Mar YTD19 Mar Q19 Mar YTD18 Mar Q18 Dec Q18
--------- ------- --------- ------- -------
Copper (kt)..................... 1,245 420 (3%) (8%) 1%
Zinc (t)........................ 75,643 20,848 (10%) (18%) (14%)
Uranium (t)..................... 2,590 1,106 16% (1%) 19%
Copper - Total copper production decreased by three per cent to 1,245 kt.
Guidance for the 2019 financial year remains unchanged at between 1,645 and
1,740 kt.
Escondida copper production decreased by six per cent to 848 kt as expected
lower copper grades were partly offset by record concentrator throughput.
Production guidance remains unchanged at between 1,120 and 1,180 kt for the 2019
financial year, with volumes expected to be towards the lower end of the range.
Pampa Norte copper production decreased by 11 per cent to 172 kt and reflects
planned maintenance and a production outage at Spence following a fire at the
electro-winning plant in September 2018, and the impact of heavy rainfall in
northern Chile in February 2019 at both Spence and Cerro Colorado. This was
partially offset by record ore milled at both operations after implementing
maintenance improvement initiatives. Production guidance at Spence and Cerro
Colorado remains unchanged for the 2019 financial year, at between 160 and
175 kt and 60 and 70 kt respectively.
Olympic Dam copper production increased by 22 per cent to 115 kt as a result of
the major smelter maintenance campaign in the prior period, which was partially
offset by an unplanned acid plant outage in August 2018. Following completion of
the acid plant remediation works, surface operations ramped up between October
2018 and February 2019. Production guidance remains unchanged at between 170 and
180 kt for the 2019 financial year, with volumes expected to be towards the
lower end of the guidance range.
Antamina copper production increased by five per cent to 110 kt due to higher
head grades. Production guidance for the 2019 financial year remains unchanged
at approximately 135 kt for copper and approximately 85 kt for zinc.
Projects
Capital Initial
Project and expenditure production
ownership US$M target date Capacity Progress
----------- ------------- ------------ ------------------------------------ -------------------------------------
Spence Growth Option....... 2,460 FY21 New 95 ktpd concentrator is On schedule and budget. The overall
(Chile) expected to increase Spence's project is 47% complete.
100% payable copper in concentrate
production by approximately
185 ktpa in the first 10 years of
operation and extend the mining
operations by more than 50 years.
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Iron Ore
Production
Mar YTD19 Mar Q19 Mar Q19
vs vs vs
Mar YTD19 Mar Q19 Mar YTD18 Mar Q18 Dec Q18
--------- ------- --------- ------- -------
Iron ore (kt)........... 175,343 56,117 0% (3%) (3%)
Iron ore - Total iron ore production was broadly unchanged at 175 Mt (198 Mt on
a 100 per cent basis). Production guidance for the 2019 financial year has been
reduced to between 235 and 239 Mt, or 265 and 270 Mt on a 100 per cent basis,
reflecting a 6 to 8 Mt impact from Tropical Cyclone Veronica. As a result,
full year unit costs are now expected to be below US$15 per tonne, an increase
from previous guidance of less than US$14 per tonne, due to the lower volumes,
direct costs of remediation, increased demurrage, rehandle to manage stockyards
and opportune maintenance at the mines during port downtime. In addition,
private royalties are also expected to be higher as a function of higher iron
ore prices.
At WAIO, volumes reflected record production at Jimblebar and the impact from
the Mt Whaleback fire in the prior period. This was offset by the impacts of
planned maintenance in the September 2018 quarter, a train derailment on 5
November 2018 and Tropical Cyclone Veronica in March 2019. While our facilities
did not sustain major damage as a result of the cyclone, the port ramp up was
slowed by localised flooding, processing wet material and equipment assessments.
Mining and processing operations at Samarco remain suspended following the
failure of the Fundao tailings dam and Santarem water dam on 5 November 2015.
Projects
Capital Initial
Project and expenditure production
ownership US$M target date Capacity Progress
----------- ------------- ------------ ------------------------------------ -------------------------------------
South Flank................ 3,061 CY21 Sustaining iron ore mine to replace On schedule and budget. The overall
(Australia) production from the 80 Mtpa project is 29% complete.
85% (100 per cent basis) Yandi mine.
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Coal
Production
Mar YTD19 Mar Q19 Mar Q19
vs vs vs
Mar YTD19 Mar Q19 Mar YTD18 Mar Q18 Dec Q18
--------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
Metallurgical coal (kt)... 30,507 9,877 0% (5%) (4%)
Energy coal (kt).......... 20,058 6,751 0% 11% 1%
Metallurgical coal - Metallurgical coal production was broadly flat at 31 Mt (54
Mt on a 100 per cent basis). Guidance for the 2019 financial year remains
unchanged at between 43 and 46 Mt (75 and 81 Mt on a 100 per cent basis).
At Queensland Coal, increased yields at South Walker Creek and higher wash-plant
throughput at Poitrel following the purchase of the Red Mountain processing
facility supported record production at BMC. Despite record stripping, BMA's
production decreased slightly due to the scheduled longwall move at Broadmeadow
in the December 2018 quarter and unfavourable weather impacts in the March 2019
quarter.
On 27 March 2019, BMA completed the sale of the Gregory Crinum Mine to Sojitz
Corporation.
Energy coal - Energy coal production was broadly flat at 20 Mt. Guidance for the
2019 financial year remains unchanged at approximately 28 to 29 Mt.
New South Wales Energy Coal production increased five per cent supported by
record stripping performance. Production guidance remains unchanged at between
18 and 19 Mt for the 2019 financial year. However, following optimisation of the mine
plan through the construction of Multiple Elevated Roadways (MERs) which will
reduce future cycle times, the focus on higher quality products and challenges with labour hire
attraction and retention, unit costs for New South Wales Energy Coal are now
expected to be approximately US$51 per tonne, an increase from previous
guidance of between US$43 and US$48 per tonne. Ongoing labour hire challenges
are being addressed, including through the initial deployment of BHP Operations
Services in the June 2019 quarter.
Cerrejon production decreased by eight per cent due to adverse weather and its
impacts on mine sequencing. Production guidance remains unchanged at
approximately 10 Mt for the 2019 financial year.
Other
Nickel production
Mar YTD19 Mar Q19 Mar Q19
vs vs vs
Mar YTD19 Mar Q19 Mar YTD18 Mar Q18 Dec Q18
--------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
Nickel (kt)............... 58.7 19.2 (13%) (9%) 6%
Nickel - Nickel West production decreased by 13 per cent to 59 kt as operations
were suspended following a fire at the Kalgoorlie smelter in September 2018. The
smelter returned to operation on 1 October 2018, with final repairs and ramp up
completed in the March 2019 quarter. Production guidance for the 2019 financial
year remains unchanged and is expected to be broadly in line with the 2018
financial year.
Potash project
Investment
Project and ownership US$M Scope Progress
--------------------- ---------- -------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------
Jansen Potash..... 2,700 Investment to finish the excavation and The project is 83% complete and within the
(Canada) lining of the production and service approved budget. The main activity for the
100% shafts, and to continue the installation of quarter remained centred on removing the
essential surface infrastructure and boring equipment from both shafts.
utilities.
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BHP Operational Review for 6
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Minerals exploration
Minerals exploration expenditure for the nine months ended March 2019 was US$122
million, of which US$84 million was expensed. Greenfield minerals exploration is
predominantly focused on advancing copper targets within Chile, Ecuador, Peru,
Canada, South Australia and the South-West United States.
During March 2019, BHP signed a non-binding letter of intent with Luminex for an
earn-in and joint venture agreement on Luminex's Tarqui 1 and 2 mining
concessions in Ecuador. Negotiations to complete a binding agreement will be
undertaken over the next two months.
On 15 April 2019, BHP secured a five per cent interest in Midland Exploration Inc.,
which has copper exploration tenements in Canada.
Following identification in November 2018 of a potential iron oxide, copper and
gold (IOCG) mineralised system at Oak Dam, 65 kilometres to the south east of
Olympic Dam, BHP has commenced a further drilling program to define the extent
of mineralisation.
Variance analysis relates to the relative performance of BHP and/or its
operations during the nine months ended March 2019 compared with the nine months
ended March 2018, unless otherwise noted. Production volumes, sales volumes and
capital and exploration expenditure from subsidiaries are reported on a 100 per
cent basis; production and sales volumes from equity accounted investments and
other operations are reported on a proportionate consolidation basis. Numbers
presented may not add up precisely to the totals provided due to rounding.
Copper equivalent production based on 2018 financial year average realised
prices.
The following footnotes apply to this Operational Review:
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(1) Excludes production from Onshore US.
(2) 2019 financial year unit cost guidance: Petroleum |
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