Lower natural gas prices hurt Bill Barrett’s earnings

Bill Barrett Corp., a Denver-based oil and gas producer that operates wells in Weld County, reported Thursday net income of $3.3 million for the second quarter, down sharply from $32.6 million in profits in the previous second quarter.
Lower natural gas prices were to blame. In response, the company has been shifting increasingly into oil production. 

“The second quarter was again challenging due to low commodity prices,” CEO Fred Barrett said in a statement.
Net income for the first half of 2012 came to $39.2 million vs. $47.9 million in the first half of 2011, according to the company’s earnings statement.

Operating and other revenue in the second quarter fell 19 percent to $160.3 million.

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The company’s drilling activity includes three rigs in the Denver-Julesburg Basin’s Niobrara formation. The company produced about 1,350 barrels of oil-equivalent per day in the D.J. Basin in Colorado and Wyoming.

Bill Barrett shares, trading around $19 Thursday, have lost more than half of their value in the past year.