EL DORADO, Arkansas, July 29, 2015 - Murphy Oil
Corporation (NYSE: MUR) announced today a net loss of $73.8 million
($0.42 per diluted share) in the 2015 second quarter, down from net
income of $129.4 million ($0.72 per diluted share) in the second
quarter a year ago. The net loss from continuing operations
in the 2015 second quarter was $89.0 million ($0.51 per diluted
share) compared to a profit of $142.7 million ($0.79 per diluted
share) earned in the second quarter a year ago.
Adjusted earnings (loss), which excludes both the
results of discontinued operations and certain other items that
affect comparability of results between periods, in the second
quarter of 2015 showed a loss of $83.1 million ($0.48 per
diluted share). This was a decrease of $244.8 million
($1.38 per diluted share) compared to the prior year's quarter
primarily attributed to significantly lower realized sales prices
in the current quarter compared to a year ago.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and
amortization (EBITDA) for continuing operations totaled $321.9
million in the second quarter 2015, down from $792.3 million
in the second quarter of 2014. EBITDA per barrel of oil
equivalent (boe) sold was $18.17 in the 2015 quarter compared to
$40.20 in the 2014 quarter. Earnings before interest, taxes,
depreciation, amortization and exploration expenses (EBITDAX)
totaled $386.9 million in the second quarter 2015, down from
$927.1 million in the second quarter of 2014. EBITDAX
per barrel of oil equivalent (boe) sold was $21.84 in the 2015
quarter compared to $47.04 in the 2014 quarter. Both EBITDA
and EBITDAX were greatly impacted by the drop in WTI and Brent oil
prices by 44% between the comparative quarterly periods.
Second quarter 2015 highlights
were as follows:
-
Completed the sale of the remaining U.K.
downstream assets.
-
Initiated a $250 million stock repurchase on May
20, 2015 and completed it on July 7, 2015 with 5,967,313
shares retired.
-
Achieved first production ahead of schedule and
on budget from the two-well Medusa subsea expansion.
-
Completed the first of two subsea wells ahead of
schedule in the Kodiak development with drilling results to
plan.
-
Completed five-well drilling campaign at Belum
gas field offshore Sarawak, Malaysia.
-
Delivered 36 new wells online in the Eagle Ford
Shale (EFS).
-
Achieved above plan second quarter production
from the Montney with new well completions from the first
quarter.
-
Reduced the average cost to drill and complete
EFS wells by 21% from last year to $4.95 million per
well.
Roger W. Jenkins, President and Chief Executive
Officer, commented, "We continue to streamline our portfolio with
the final sale of the U.K. downstream assets. Our recent gas
discovery at Permai in Block H Malaysia will reduce complexity and
development costs in our floating LNG project. We achieved
first production from the Medusa subsea expansion ahead
of schedule, which along with the Kodiak completion milestone,
reduced our risk for Gulf of Mexico (GOM) future
production levels. We remain focused on organizational
efficiency, capital allocation and reducing operating expenses.
We addressed general and administrative costs by reducing our
workforce by 7%. Murphy remains well-positioned financially
to carry out our plans and evaluate opportunities to improve our
business going forward."
Operations Summary
North America
Onshore
In the Eagle Ford Shale, second quarter 2015 production, which was
comprised of 90% liquids, averaged near 60,800 barrels of oil
equivalent per day (boepd) net. As planned, we continue to
operate four drilling rigs and two completion spreads and we expect
to stay near this level of activity for the rest of the year.
We brought 36 new wells on line in the second quarter and
have brought 58% of our total estimated wells for the year online
in the first half. Production in the third quarter of 2015 is
estimated to average over 59,000 boepd with the 2015 full year
outlook now expected to average near 59,000 boepd, slightly ahead
of annual production for 2014.
In Western Canada, natural gas production from the
Montney in the second quarter of 2015 was 192 million cubic feet
per day (mmcfd). We continue to see above plan sub-surface
performance from our new wells in the Montney.
Global Offshore
In our global offshore business we continue to
reduce our exploration focus areas to the GOM and Southeast Asia.
We have restructured the exploration function to report to
our Global Offshore business leader as we concentrate our
exploration efforts and better allocate capital across the offshore
business while lowering overall exploration costs.
In Malaysia, in the second quarter we completed a
five-well drilling program for natural gas at the Belum field in
shallow water offshore Sarawak. The Belum field has lower
nitrogen content that will blend into our current gas production
fields and allow us to de-risk our 250 mmcfd contractual
volume on demand. We are currently drilling oil wells at the Permas
shallow water development. Sarawak gas production for the
second quarter was 111 mmcfd supported by strong gas
nominations and liquids production was near 14,700 bopd. We
successfully finalized the planned outage in early second
quarter at our Sarawak facilities to complete regulator-required
inspections and major maintenance. Production offshore Sabah
averaged near 30,900 boepd for the second quarter with 85%
liquids. At the Gumusut-Kakap main facility, planned
maintenance activities to install gas handling and injection
systems commenced on June 9 and were recently completed ahead
of schedule. Early this month, we had a gas discovery at the
Permai exploration well in Block H where we operated the well with
a 42% working interest, our eighth consecutive success in the area
around the Rotan field floating LNG project.
In the GOM, production for the quarter was over
22,900 boepd with 61% liquids. The Medusa two-well
expansion achieved first oil in the second quarter with the wells
starting up on April 30 and June 19, respectively.
Development work at the non-operated Kodiak project
continues, where the first of two wells has been drilled and
completed to plan and fabrication of topside facilities is
underway. The Sea Eagle prospect in Mississippi Canyon Block
692 failed to encounter commercial quantities of hydrocarbon and
will be expensed as a dry hole. The well, which we operated
with a 35% working interest, was not included in our second quarter
guidance as it was expected to reach total depth in the third
quarter. Our drilling operations team completed the well 30
days ahead of schedule and $25 million gross under budget with the
sixth generation drillship, Ocean Black Rhino.
Recognizing our lack of exploration success, we
plan to focus rig commitments on our lower risk appraisal
wells in blocks where we have had prior exploration success. We
will allocate capital to higher return opportunities near existing
infrastructure, such as Thunder Bird and Dalmatian South,
and not invest in the higher risk, higher cost wells at this
time.
Production &
Guidance
Second quarter production averaged 201,952 boepd, ahead of our
guidance of 197,000 boepd, primarily attributed to new well
performance in the Eagle Ford Shale and risked startup of the
Medusa expansion project. Details for third quarter and full
year 2015 guidance can be found in the attached tables.
Production for the third quarter is estimated to be 200,000
boepd. We have increased our full year production guidance to
a range of 200,000 to 208,000 boepd. Capital expenditures
remain unchanged from previous guidance and are currently forecast
to be $2.3 billion for 2015.
Earnings Conference
Call
The public is invited to access the Company's conference call to
discuss second quarter 2015 results on Thursday, July 30 at 12:00
p.m. CDT, either via the Internet through the Investor Relations
section of Murphy Oil's website at http://ir.murphyoilcorp.com or
via the telephone by dialing 1-888-296-4174. The telephone
reservation number for the call is 5679022. Replays of the
call will be available through the same address on
Murphy Oil's website, and a recording of the call will be
available through August 3, 2015, by calling 1-888-203-1112 and
referencing reservation number 5679022. A replay of the
conference call will also be available on the Murphy website for
30 days after the event and via Thomson StreetEvents for their
service subscribers.
Financial Data
Summary financial data and operating statistics for the second
quarter 2015 with comparisons to 2014 are contained in the
following tables. Additionally, a schedule indicating the
impacts of items affecting comparability of earnings between
periods and schedules comparing EBITDA and EBITDAX between periods
are included with these tables as well as guidance for the third
quarter.
This press release contains
forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements, which
express management's current views concerning future events or
results, are subject to inherent risks and
uncertainties. Factors that could cause one or more of these
forecasted events not to occur include, but are not limited to, a
failure to obtain necessary regulatory approvals, a deterioration
in the business or prospects of Murphy, adverse developments in
Murphy business' markets, and adverse developments in the U.S. or
global capital markets, credit markets or economies in
general. Factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those expressed or implied in our forward-looking
statements include, but are not limited to, the volatility and
level of crude oil and natural gas prices, the level and success
rate of our exploration programs, our ability to maintain
production rates and replace reserves, customer demand for our
products, adverse foreign exchange movements, political and
regulatory instability, and uncontrollable natural hazards.
For further discussion of risk factors, see Murphy's 2014 Annual
Report on Form 10-K on file with the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission. Murphy undertakes no duty to publicly
update or revise any forward-looking statements.
This news release also contains
certain historical non-GAAP measures of financial performance that
management believes are good tools for internal use and the
investment community in evaluating Murphy Oil Corporation's overall
financial performance. These non-GAAP measures are broadly
used to value and compare companies in the crude oil and natural
gas industry. Please see the attached schedules for
reconciliations of the differences between non-GAAP measures used
in this news release and the most directly comparable GAAP
financial measures.
The Securities and Exchange
Commission requires oil and gas companies, in their filings with
the SEC, to disclose proved reserves that a company has
demonstrated by actual production or conclusive formation tests to
be economically and legally producible under existing economic and
operating conditions. The SEC permits the optional disclosure
of probable and possible reserves; however, we have not disclosed
the Company's probable and possible reserves in our filings with
the SEC. Investors are urged to consider closely the
disclosures and risk factors in our most recent annual report on
Form 10-K and in other reports on file with the SEC, available from
Murphy Oil Corporation's offices or website at
http://ir.murphyoilcorp.com.
For further information contact Kelly Whitley,
Vice President, Investor Relations and Communications at
281-675-9107.
2Q 2015 Schedules Accessible
at the Link Below.
2Q 2015 Earnings
Schedules
This
announcement is distributed by NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions on
behalf of NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions clients.
The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely
responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the
information contained therein.
Source: Murphy Oil Corp via Globenewswire
HUG#1942319
Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024