Encana Corp. (NYSE: ECA) on July 21 posted a quarterly profit that handily beat estimates and the company said it was expecting a strong 2018 even with current commodity prices.
Oil prices began to rise late last year after a two-year slump and are now hovering around $50 per barrel as an OPEC-led production cut and a rebound in demand slowly erode a global glut.
Encana has benefited from downsizing its operations to focus on four core North American assets: the Montney and Duvernay in western Canada, and the Eagle Ford and Permian in the U.S.
RELATED: Caerus Picks Up Encana’s Piceance Assets In $735 Million Deal
The company raised its forecast for production growth from core assets in 2017 to between 25% and 30% from the more than 20% growth it had forecast in May.
Encana reported operating earnings of 18 cents per share, which largely beat analysts' average estimate of 4 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Calgary, Alberta-based Encana posted net earnings of $331 million, or 34 cents per share, in the second quarter ended June 30, compared with a loss of $601 million, or 71 cents per share, a year earlier.
Operating earnings, which exclude most one-time items, doubled to $180 million.
However, Encana said core asset production fell to 246,500 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) from 268,300 boe/d in the year-ago quarter.
Total oil and gas production fell to 316,000 boe/d, including total liquids production of 124,900 barrels per day, from 368,300 boe/d a year earlier.
Recommended Reading
Shipping Traffic Freezes Up in Port Waters After Baltimore Bridge Collapse
2024-03-26 - U.S. port of Baltimore traffic was suspended until further notice following a bridge collapse. At least 13 vessels expected to load coal were anchored near the port at the time of the incident.
US Leads Global Oil Production for Sixth Straight Year-EIA
2024-03-11 - The Energy Information Administration says it is unlikely that the record will be broken by another country in the near term.
EIA: Oil, Gas Output to Fall Across Lower 48 in February
2024-01-18 - Daily oil and gas output is forecasted to decline from shale basins across the Lower 48 in February—except from the mighty Permian Basin, according to new Energy Information Administration figures.
The Secret to Record US Oil Output? Drilling Efficiencies—EIA
2024-03-06 - Advances in horizontal drilling and fracking technologies are yielding more efficient oil wells in the U.S. even as the rig count plummets, the Energy Information Administration reported.
Oil Prices Edge Up on Big US Crude Withdrawal, China Stimulus
2024-01-24 - U.S. crude storage withdrawal, Chinese economic stimulus and geopolitical tensions countered concerns over tepid demand.