Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: APC) on Nov. 1 posted a wider quarterly loss than Wall Street expected due in part to a loss on hedging and a jump in exploration expenses.
Shares of the Houston-based oil and gas producer, which operates in several U.S. shale fields as well as Algeria, fell 2.4% to $48.20 in after-hours trading even as oil prices inched higher. So far this year, Anadarko's stock has lost 29% of its value.
The company posted a third-quarter net loss of $699 million, or $1.27 per share, compared with a net loss of $830 million, or $1.61 per share, in the year-ago period.
Excluding one-time items, such as hedging losses and impairment charges, Anadarko lost 77 cents per share. By that measure, analysts expected a loss of 56 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Anadarko spent $565 million on dry holes during the quarter, more than double the year-ago period. The exploration charge reflects how much the company spent trying unsuccessfully to find oil or natural gas.
Anadarko's average daily sales volumes fell 20% to 626,000 barrels of oil equivalent due in part to asset sales and U.S. hurricanes that shuttered some output during the quarter.
Production jumped 37% in the Permian Basin, the largest U.S. oil field, to 37,000 barrels per day (bbl/d) of oil. Anadarko said it is on track to pump about 50,000 bbl/d in the Permian by the end of the year.
The company said last month it would spend $2.5 billion to buy back its stock, roughly 10% of its float. The deal was seen as a sign the company would focus more on shareholder returns, rather than increasing output at any cost.
"Looking to 2018, we will continue to demonstrate financial discipline as a foundational principle," Anadarko CEO Al Walker said in a Nov. 1 press release.
Recommended Reading
Analysis: Middle Three Forks Bench Holds Vast Untapped Oil Potential
2025-01-07 - Williston Basin operators have mostly landed laterals in the shallower upper Three Forks bench. But the deeper middle Three Forks contains hundreds of millions of barrels of oil yet to be recovered, North Dakota state researchers report.
E&P Highlights: Dec. 16, 2024
2024-12-16 - Here’s a roundup of the latest E&P headlines, including a pair of contracts awarded offshore Brazil, development progress in the Tishomingo Field in Oklahoma and a partnership that will deploy advanced electric simul-frac fleets across the Permian Basin.
E&P Highlights: Jan. 27, 2025
2025-01-27 - Here’s a roundup of the latest E&P headlines including new drilling in the eastern Mediterranean and new contracts in Australia.
E&P Highlights: Jan. 21, 2025
2025-01-21 - Here’s a roundup of the latest E&P headlines, with Flowserve getting a contract from ADNOC and a couple of offshore oil and gas discoveries.
Integrating OCTG Management from Planning to Well
2024-12-10 - Tenaris’ Rig Direct provides improved collaboration and communication, and more uptime.