Marathon Oil Corp. (NYSE: MRO) beat analysts’ estimates for fourth-quarter profit on Feb. 13, on the back of higher oil production at its U.S. shale assets and said it expects oil production to grow 10% in 2019.
The company has been looking to divest its North Sea assets and focus on the rising shale oil production in the United States. The U.S. recently surpassed Saudi Arabia and Russia to become the world’s top crude producer.
For the first quarter of 2019, Marathon forecast total oil production between 195 barrels per day (bbl/d) and 215 bbl/d, with U.S. oil production of 175 bbl/d to 185 bbl/d. The U.S. production outlook range accounts for extreme weather conditions experienced early in the quarter, it said.
The company’s net income was $390 million, or 47 cents per share, in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, compared to a loss of $28 million, or 3 cents per share, a year earlier.
On an adjusted basis, the company earned 15 cents per share, beating analysts’ estimates of 14 cents per share.
U.S. production rose to 306,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) from 262,000 boe/d in the reported quarter.
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U.S. shale producer Pioneer Natural Resources Co. (NYSE: PXD) reported adjusted profit of $1.18 per share in the fourth quarter, down from $1.22 in the same quarter of the prior year, the company said Feb. 13.
The Irving, Texas-based company, which operates in the Permian Basin, collected revenue of $2.68 billion in the fourth quarter compared with $1.53 billion in the same period the prior year.
Pioneer produced 320,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) in the fourth quarter, compared with 305,000 boe/d in the same period the year before. Average prices fell to $38.16 per barrel of oil equivalent from $38.68 the year before.
The company forecasts first-quarter production between 315,000 boe/d and 331,500 boe/d.
Its net income attributable to common stockholders was $324 million in the fourth quarter, compared with $665 million in the same period the year before.
