VIENNA, Nov. 10 (UPI) -- Though higher oil prices helped the bottom line, Austrian energy company OMV said turmoil in the Middle East dragged on third quarter profits.
The company said net income declined from $395 million in the third quarter of 2010 to $317 million for the current third quarter.
"The first nine months of this year have been dominated by the consequences of the political turmoil in North Africa and the Middle East, which have led to major production shortages from Libya and Yemen," said OMV's Chief Executive Officer Gerhard Roiss in a statement.
OMV said its operations in Libya ceased in March 2011 as NATO-led forces moved in under a United Nations-mandated military operation. The company said production has "recently" started but was still 30 percent less than its 30,000 barrel-per-day production levels reached in 2010.
OMV said it was negotiating with authorities in Libya to resume full activity but noted it was premature to provide guidance on a full return to service.
Attacks on export pipelines in Yemen have taken service there "out of commission," the company said.
"In spite of these developments we managed to deliver a favorable set of results driven mainly by the high oil price, which has helped to counterbalance the aforementioned missing production," added Roiss.
