News: ORG UPDATE 1-Australia's Origin Energy quarterly APLNG revenue slumps on weak prices

(Adds details on LNG, electricity markets)

Jan 29 (Reuters) - Origin Energy (ORG) on Friday reported a 45% plunge in second-quarter revenue from its stake in the Australia Pacific LNG (APLNG) project as the COVID-19 crisis weighed on oil and gas prices.

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices came under pressure last year as lockdowns crimped demand for the commodity, but the outlook for the market has improved with gas prices hitting record highs in the beginning of 2021.

Origin's share of LNG from the APLNG project in Queensland was sold at an average price of $5.20 per metric million British thermal unit (mmBtu) in the three months ended Dec. 31, compared with $9.38 a year earlier, the company said.

APLNG is a joint venture between Origin, ConocoPhillips COP.N and China's Sinopec 600028.SS .

Origin's revenue came in at A$398 million ($305.58 million), down from A$716.5 million a year ago. But the figure was 6% higher than the previous quarter and beat an RBC estimate of A$358 million.

The company, eastern Australia's biggest LNG producer, said output rose 1% to a record of 68.3 petajoules.

Origin's energy markets business, which has been hit by stiff competition, posted a slight drop in volumes due to mild weather and lower usage by businesses.

($1 = 1.3024 Australian dollars)