Conoco Moves into Black in Q3

US major ConocoPhillips turned last year’s Q3 loss of $1bn into this Q3’s profit of $0.4bn, it said October 26.

Excluding special items, Q3 adjusted earnings were $0.2bn, compared with last year’s adjusted loss of $0.8bn. Special items for the current quarter were primarily driven by a net gain from previously announced disposals and a tax benefit related to its decision to exit Nova Scotia deepwater exploration, partially offset by premiums on early debt repayment.  

Output excluding Libya was 1.202mn barrels of oil equivalent/day, which was an underlying growth of 1.4% year-over-year after excluding closed or signed asset disposals.

Full-year capital expenditure is forecast to be a tenth lower, at $4.5bn, than its initial guidance; but it is maintaining full-year output guidance despite impacts from Hurricane Harvey, which were offset by increased volumes from our globally diverse portfolio.

Production and operating expenses have been cut by 20% it said percent and adjusted operating costs by 15%. It expects over $16bn of disposals this year.

It secured the final project financing loan guarantee for APLNG in Australia after successful two-train lenders’ test. It exceeded the target, it said.

CEO Ryan Lance said the major was “pleased with our financial and operational performance for the quarter and the outstanding resilience of our employees during Hurricane Harvey.” However as with the other majors, the company is still cautious about commodity prices: “We remain committed to our disciplined strategy. We are focused on free cash flow generation, strong financial returns, shareholder value creation and distributions through the cycles.”

William Powell