Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) reported its third-quarter profit on Wednesday, which saw a 44% decline from the previous year due to falling energy prices. Nevertheless, the company’s results outperformed the expectations of Wall Street analysts, thanks to higher-than-anticipated oil and gas production.
During the quarter, net production increased by nearly 20% to reach 421,000 barrels of oil and gas per day (boepd) compared to the previous year, and it rose by approximately 6% compared to the prior quarter. While prices for its crude oil were down by 13.6%, and gas prices plummeted by 70% in comparison to the year-ago quarter, the company’s average realized prices for oil saw an 11.6% gain, and natural gas prices were up by 20% compared to the quarter ending on June 30.
Marathon Oil also provided an optimistic outlook, stating its expectations to achieve total oil and gas production and capital spending for the year at the higher end of the previous guidance ranges. Previously, the company had forecasted net production to be in the range of 385,000 boepd to 405,000 boepd, with capital spending on projects ranging from $1.9 billion to $2 billion.
Additionally, the company highlighted a recently signed liquefied natural gas sales agreement linked to the European natural gas market, which is anticipated to result in a significant improvement in its Equatorial Guinea gas business in the coming year.
The adjusted third-quarter profit for Marathon Oil reached $466 million, or 77 cents per share, surpassing the average analyst estimate of 71 cents per share, as per LSEG data. In the year-ago period, the company had posted a profit of $832 million, or $1.24 per share.
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