ConocoPhillips posts smaller loss from prior quarter as oil prices recover

(Reuters) – U.S. oil producer ConocoPhillips on Thursday posted a smaller quarterly loss than the prior quarter close on the heels of a blockbuster shale deal, as crude oil prices recovered from the pandemic-driven historic lows.

Its all-stock deal for Concho Resources Inc , valued at $8.3 billion as of Wednesday’s close, started a wave of consolidation in the shale industry earlier this month as producers look to buy rivals hit hard by weak oil prices.

Crude prices hit a rock bottom in March and April as global travel came to a standstill due to the coronavirus crisis, forcing oil producers to cut output and save cash, while many were forced to merge with big players to survive.

Houston-based Conocophillips said on Thursday its quarterly production, excluding Libya, fell 19.4% to 1.01 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), while it earned $30.94 for each barrel of oil equivalent (boe) sold.

The company’s adjusted net loss shrank to $331 million, or 31 cents per share, in the third quarter ended Sept. 30, from $994 million, or 92 cents per share, in the second quarter.

(Reporting by Nishara Karuvalli Pathikkal and Shariq Khan in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)