VIENNA: Austrian oil and gas group OMV said on Tuesday its Libyan operations were not currently affected by strikes that have shut down export terminals and oilfields.
"We see very little impact on OMV of the strikes," Jaap Huijskes, head of OMV's exploration and production operations, told a news conference, adding that OMV's operations were concentrated in the west of the country, which is not affected.
"At the moment it's fully on," he said.
OMV's Libyan operations account for some 10 percent of the company's total production when running at full strength.
The outages at ports and fields caused by striking employees and jobless people demanding work have brought the worst disruption to OPEC member Libya's oil industry since the civil war in 2011.
Meanwhile, surprisingly strong refining and marketing results helped take the sting out of a steeper-than-expected drop in second-quarter underlying profit at OMV on Tuesday.
OMV said its results were hurt by lower sales volumes and crude prices, a weak dollar and write-offs, mainly in the exploration and production areas on which it is focusing.
OMV, which like its peers has been hit by declining demand in Europe, said underlying operating profit fell 15 percent to 733 million euros ($974 million) and underlying net income fell 29 percent to 321 million euros.
Average forecasts in a Reuters poll were 743 million euros and 336 million euros respectively.
OMV said lower sales volumes in Libya, Britain and New Zealand hurt its profits, as had exploration expenses that rose 72 percent to 98 million euros mainly due to write-offs in Tunisia and Britain and increased seismic activities in Norway.
Its upstream exploration and production business, which it is expanding, reported disappointing results, as did its gas and power segment, but its downstream refining and marketing operations reported a 24 percent rise in underlying profit.
OMV said marketing - which includes the filling stations it is selling off - had made a strong contribution thanks to better cost positions and higher margins in retail.
Cash flow from operating activities more than doubled to 1.2 billion euros, thanks to an efficiency program that reduced working capital and disposals of assets including hundreds of filling stations.
Shares in OMV rose 1 percent to 34.87 euros in early trading, and were the biggest gainers in a flat European oil and gas index.
"Despite weaker-than-expected results of the E&P and G&P segments, we believe the market will appreciate the improvements achieved in the downstream segment, as well as the strong cash generation in 2Q," wrote analyst Oleg Galbur of RCB.
The company said it expected refining margins to remain at lower levels this year due to subdued demand and persisting overcapacity, and retail volumes would remain under pressure due to the weak economic environment in its core markets.
OMV reported last month its second-quarter refining margin fell 18 percent to $2.48 per barrel on weaker spreads, and production slipped due to issues in Austria, Kazakhstan and Libya.
OMV says no impact from Libyan strikes
