Energy, Utilities & Water  August 3, 2015

Noble Energy suffers second quarterly loss in row; production to increase

Noble Energy Inc. (NYSE: NBL), one of the major oil and natural gas producers in Northern Colorado, on Monday posted a second-straight quarterly loss and noted that it had decreased production in the second quarter from a record first.

The Houston-based firm, whose largest onshore drilling operations are in the Denver-Julesburg Basin, saw a net loss of $109 million, or 28 cents per share, for the period ending June 30. That’s after a profit of $192 million, or 53 cents per share, for the same period a year ago.

Revenue, for the second quarter in a row, was cut nearly in half versus the year before thanks to an oil price crash that even eased a bit during the second quarter before prices began sliding again over the past month. Sales came in at $730 million, down from nearly $1.4 billion last year despite production increasing over the prior year.

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Production in the second quarter averaged 299,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, up 3 percent versus the previous year. That figure was down, however, from the 318,000 barrels per day produced in the first quarter of this year.

Crude oil prices were flirting with six-month lows Monday. Still, Noble officials reiterated their planned capital expenditures for 2015 of $2.9 billion, and said they anticipate third-quarter production of between 345,000 and 365,000 barrels per day thanks to the addition of assets from the acquisition of Rosetta Resources. Fourth-quarter production of 375,000 to 400,000 barrels per day is expected.

The company continued to reduce the costs of production, with total production costs in the second quarter falling to $7.83 per barrel, down 17 percent from a year earlier and down 13 percent from just a quarter earlier. Those costs include lease operating expense, production and ad valorem taxes, and transportation and gathering costs.

In the Denver-Julesburg Basin, much of which is in Northern Colorado, production averaged 108,000 barrels per day, up 10 percent from a year earlier despite heavy rainfall and isolated flooding in the area. Noble operated four drilling rigs in the basin during the quarter and drilled 44 wells.

Noble’s share price had dipped 3.6 percent to $33.97 in early afternoon trading Monday.

Noble Energy Inc. (NYSE: NBL), one of the major oil and natural gas producers in Northern Colorado, on Monday posted a second-straight quarterly loss and noted that it had decreased production in the second quarter from a record first.

The Houston-based firm, whose largest onshore drilling operations are in the Denver-Julesburg Basin, saw a net loss of $109 million, or 28 cents per share, for the period ending June 30. That’s after a profit of $192 million, or 53 cents per share, for the same period a year ago.

Revenue, for the second quarter in…

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