U.S. oil producer Apache Corp. reported a smaller-than-expected fourth-quarter loss on Feb. 24 and raised its spending forecast, as commodity prices recovered from pandemic-lows.

Brent crude prices averaged around $45 in the last three months of 2020 after hitting record lows earlier, as vaccine rollouts built confidence about travel demand bouncing back to pre-pandemic levels.

Despite the rising prices, Apache said it expects oil production to fall by a percent this year, joining rival Occidental Petroleum Corp. in predicting a decline as the companies focus on balance sheet clean-ups instead of pumping more oil.

The company raised its project spending forecast to $1.1 billion for this year as oil prices have improved since its previous outlook of keeping upstream expenses below a billion dollars.

In 2020, Apache spent $988 million on upstream projects, sharply below its original estimate of as much as $1.9 billion.

Apache’s adjusted loss of 5 cents per share was smaller than analysts' average expectation of an 11 cents loss.