ConocoPhillips Joins Peers in 4Q Profit Slide

US major ConocoPhillips joined its peers February 4 in reporting dramatically lower 4Q 2019 profits, with earnings less than half what they were a year earlier, at $700mn versus $1.9bn in 4Q 2018.

Last week, both ExxonMobil and Anglo-Dutch major Shell reported sharply lower 4Q earnings, while Chevron reported a significant loss in the final three months of the year.

For all of 2019, ConocoPhillips’ earnings rose to $7.2bn from $6.3bn, but when accounting for special items – in this case a non-cash impairment related to a planned US asset disposition – adjusted earnings slipped to $4.0bn from $5.3bn.

“Strong 2019 performance capped off a highly successful three-year period in which we transformed our business model and significantly improved our underlying performance drivers across the company,” CEO Ryan Lance said. “We’ve positioned ConocoPhillips to deliver sustained value through price cycles due to our strong balance sheet, focus on free cash flow generation, compelling returns of and returns on capital and our commitment to environmental, social and governance leadership.”

Global production – excluding Libya – averaged 1.29mn boe/day in the fourth quarter, down from 1.31mn boe/day in 4Q 2018. Adjusting for closed dispositions and acquisitions, however, raised underlying production by 24,000 boe/day, largely due to production growth in the company’s Big 3 (Eagle Ford, Permian and Bakken) and development programs and major projects in Alaska, Europe and Asia Pacific.