MELBOURNE, Aug 23 (Reuters) - Oil Search Ltd OSH.AX reported an 89 percent drop in half-year profit, slammed by weak oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices, and said it planned to review its expansion options in Papua New Guinea.
"While oil prices appear to have bottomed, we are maintaining our focus on careful capital management and driving out costs, to ensure our current commitments and LNG growth opportunities can be funded without having to access additional equity capital," Managing Director Peter Botten said in a statement.
Net profit slid to $25.6 million for the six months to June from $227.5 million a year ago and was well below three analysts' forecasts around $44 million, even as Oil Search cut its production costs by 8 percent.
Oil Search was trumped by ExxonMobil Corp XOM.N last month in a $2.5 billion bid for InterOil Corp IOC.N , with the global giant looking to tie together its PNG LNG project with the rival Papua LNG project, in which InterOil owns a 36.5 percent stake.
Papua New Guinea is seen as one of the most attractive places in the world to develop LNG projects following a collapse in oil and gas prices, thanks to the quality of its gas, low costs and proximity to Asia's big LNG consumers.
Oil Search shares fell as much as 2 percent in early trade in a steady broader market .AXJO .