Noble Energy Losses Deepen in Q2

Houston-based Noble Energy, due to be acquired by US major Chevron, posted a $408mn net loss in the second quarter, company results published on August 3 showed, amid continuing fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic.

This compares with a loss of only $10mn that the producer incurred in the same period last year. It sustained an adjusted net loss, which excludes one-off items, of $114mn in the three months ending June 30.

Second-quarter revenues almost halved to $571mn, from $1.1bn a year earlier as a result of weaker prices, although sales volumes held firm year on year at 350,000 barrels of oil equivalent/day. Sales from Noble's US onshore assets fell 6% to 248,000 boe/d, but this was offset by a near 49% growth in Israeli gas sales to 52,000 boe/d.

Noble produces gas at Israel's offshore Tamar and Leviathan fields, the latter of which started up in January. Despite the yr/yr growth, sales from the two deposits were down 23% quarter on quarter, as both the pandemic and warmer weather weighed down on demand.

The company said it had curtailed 30,000 boe/d of overall production in the quarter, with its operations in the Denver-Julesburg basin in Colorado accounting for 80% of the cut. Thanks to improvements in operating costs and netback pricing, though, most of these curtailed volumes were brought back on stream by the end of July.

Net cash flow from operating activities was negative $82mn in the second quarter, compared with a $564mn gain a year before.

Chevron struck a deal to acquire Noble in July for $5bn, in a bid to build up its US conventionals position and expand in the east Mediterranean. The deal is expected to be closed in the fourth quarter.