Shale producer APA misses fourth-quarter profit estimates
APA Corp, a U.S. shale oil producer, missed Wall Street's expectations on Wednesday for its fourth-quarter profits as low commodity prices offset a higher production.
Brent crude futures declined 3% in 2020 as the economy of the major consumer, China, remained weak. The OPEC+ producer's group also postponed their planned supply increases to 2026 and extended the deep cuts in output until the end of the year.
The company produced 488,000 barrels equivalent to oil per day (boepd) in the fourth quarter. This is higher than the 414,000 that it produced one year ago.
APA reported that it averaged $72.42 per barrel of oil, compared to $81.36 a year ago.
In January, the company announced that it had curtailed production by about 23,500 boepd in the fourth quarter because of weak prices. APA has curtailed its production for all four quarters of fiscal year 2024.
The average realized price for natural gas fell to $2.20 per 1,000 cubic feet, from $2.92 in the previous quarter. This is due to the persistent weakness of natgas in the Permian Basin.
According to data compiled and analyzed by LSEG, the Houston-based firm posted an adjusted profit per share of 79 cents for the three-month period ended December 31. This compares with the average analyst expectation of 97 cents. Reporting by Vallari Shrivastava, Bengaluru. Editing by Alan Barona & Shounak Dasgupta
(source: Reuters)
