Canadian oil sands producer MEG Energy Corp. reported a bigger-than-expected quarterly loss on March 7, as the company sold its bitumen crude at lower prices because of transportation bottlenecks.
Alberta oil producers have endured record discounts on benchmark Canadian heavy crude because of congestion on export pipelines that led to a glut of crude building up in storage tanks.
MEG, whose key operations are in the Athabasca oil sands region in Alberta, said bitumen production fell to 87,582 barrels per day (bbl/d) in the fourth quarter from 90,228 bbl/d a year earlier, while average realized prices for bitumen fell to C$13.90 per barrel from C$48.30.
Bitumen is a low-grade crude oil which is composed of complex, heavy hydrocarbons.
MEG estimates rail volumes to average 20,000 bbl/d in the first quarter, increasing to 30,000 bbl/d by the third quarter of 2019.
Adjusting for certain one-time items, the company posted a loss of 40 Canadian cents per share against expectations of a loss of 24 Canadian cents, according to IBES data from Refinitiv. (US$1 = C$1.34)
Recommended Reading
Hart Energy’s Unconventional Activity Tracker (Week of March 30, 2020)
We’ve entered the Tom Petty zone of rig count decline. Talk to drilling contractors and they report business is Free Falling, Free Falling. Tight formation rig count dropped 39 this past week, including 22 in the Permian, five in the Eagle Ford and six in Oklahoma’s Anadarko Basin.
Equinor Says Sverdrup Oil Field Output to Beat Expectations
Western Europe’s biggest producing oil field is now expected to hit a daily output rate of 470,000 barrels in early May, above the 440,000 barrels per day (bbl/d) peak that had initially been penciled in for mid-year, the company said.
Norway Proposes Oil Exploration Blocks, None in Barents Sea
All the blocks are offered in the western part of the Norwegian Sea, with interested parties asked to submit comments in a public hearing by May 11, the oil and energy ministry said.