Marathon Oil got off to a hot start in Q1 of 2018. Like its peers, Marathon benefited from strong drilling results across much of its U.S. plays, which helped increase output 9% from Q4 of 2017, enabling the company to beat analysts expectations. With Q1 in the books Marathon expects its full-year production to come in well ahead of its initial forecast, even as it continues to tighten its belt on spending.
While production in the Eagle Ford Shale declined slightly, Marathon more than made up for that in its other operations. Leading the way was the STACK Shale Play of Oklahoma where their production jumped 17% while output in the Delaware Basin has skyrocketed nearly 50%, though off a low base. The Bakken was equally impressive during the quarter, not for the percentage of the gain but for the fact that the company drilled several record-setting wells in the region. Marathon’s monster wells in the Bakken along with solid results in the Delaware Basin and STACK allowed the company to earn $154 million of adjusted net income, or $0.18 per share, which was $0.04 per share ahead of the analysts’ consensus estimate. Meanwhile, the company produced an even more impressive $649 million in operating cash flow, which covered its capital expenses with room to spare. In addition to those successes Marathon has been acquiring acreage in the Austin Chalk and at last report, they have accumulated at least 130,000 acres in leasehold and drilled one test well to date.
Marathon Oil delivered in a major way during the first quarter thanks to better-than-expected drilling results across most of its plays, including completing record-setting wells in the Bakken. That quick start has positioned the company to produce even more oil and gas this year for the same amount of capital, which should allow it to generate a ton of cash flow given that crude prices in the U.S. are closing in on $70 per barrel. Keep your eyes on Marathon, if Q1 is any indication, they will have a fantastic 2018.
For more information on Q1 results for MRO follow the below link to their Q1 press release click here
While production in the Eagle Ford Shale declined slightly, Marathon more than made up for that in its other operations. Leading the way was the STACK Shale Play of Oklahoma where their production jumped 17% while output in the Delaware Basin has skyrocketed nearly 50%, though off a low base. The Bakken was equally impressive during the quarter, not for the percentage of the gain but for the fact that the company drilled several record-setting wells in the region. Marathon’s monster wells in the Bakken along with solid results in the Delaware Basin and STACK allowed the company to earn $154 million of adjusted net income, or $0.18 per share, which was $0.04 per share ahead of the analysts’ consensus estimate. Meanwhile, the company produced an even more impressive $649 million in operating cash flow, which covered its capital expenses with room to spare. In addition to those successes Marathon has been acquiring acreage in the Austin Chalk and at last report, they have accumulated at least 130,000 acres in leasehold and drilled one test well to date.
Marathon Oil delivered in a major way during the first quarter thanks to better-than-expected drilling results across most of its plays, including completing record-setting wells in the Bakken. That quick start has positioned the company to produce even more oil and gas this year for the same amount of capital, which should allow it to generate a ton of cash flow given that crude prices in the U.S. are closing in on $70 per barrel. Keep your eyes on Marathon, if Q1 is any indication, they will have a fantastic 2018.
For more information on Q1 results for MRO follow the below link to their Q1 press release click here
