NorthAmOil: ConocoPhillips raises production forecast despite profit miss

US-based ConocoPhillips has raised its production forecast for the whole of 2023 slightly to 1.80-1.81mn barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), from prior guidance of 1.78-1.80mn boepd.

This came even as the company fell short of analyst expectations on profit, posting earnings of $2.2bn, or $1.84 per share. Analysts had expected earnings of $1.95 per share, according to Refinitiv data cited by Reuters. The result was a drop from earnings of $5.1bn, or $3.96 per share, in the second quarter of 2022.

The decline came as no surprise, with many oil producers seeing a year-on-year reduction after benefiting from high oil and gas prices in the second quarter of 2022 following the start of the war in Ukraine. Since then, oil and gas prices have steadily declined. Indeed, the average price of ConocoPhillips’ output in the second quarter of 2023 fell 38% y/y to $54.50 per barrel of oil equivalent (boe).

In contrast to its financial performance, ConocoPhillips reported better-than-expected results for production in the second quarter of the year. The company’s output rose by 6% y/y to 1.81mn boepd, coming in at the higher end of its guidance and hitting a record high. It also achieved record production from its Lower 48 operations in the US, despite being edged out by Pioneer Natural Resources for the spot of second-largest producer in the prolific Permian Basin.