ConocoPhillips joins peers in Q2 earnings decline

US major ConocoPhillips said August 3 it had Q2 2023 earnings and adjusted earnings of $2.2bn, down from $5.1bn in the same period a year ago.

Its peers, including ExxonMobil, Chevron and Shell, earlier reported weaker second quarter results, largely due to declining commodity prices in the wake of robust markets last year as Europe scrambled to replace natural gas supplies from Russia.

Total production in the second quarter averaged 1.8mn barrels of oil equivalent (boe)/day, up about 113,000 boe/day from a year ago, with organic growth from the Lower 48 and other development programmes offsetting reservoir declines and downtime.

Production from the Lower 48 reached a record 1.06mn boe/day, led by 709,000 boe/day from the Permian Basin.

Within its Q2 financial report, ConocoPhillips also said it had entered into a 20-year offtake agreement with Mexico Pacific in relation to its Saguaro Energia LNG export project on the west coast of Mexico. The agreement, for 2.2mn tonnes/year, remains subject to Mexico Pacific reaching a final investment decision (FID) on the three-train, 14.1mn tonnes/year facility.

Mexico Pacific has other sales and purchase agreements with ExxonMobil, Shell and China’s Zhejiang Energy, and in March said it was working toward a FID on the first two trains while closing out contracting across the “significant commercial momentum” already in place for the third train.