Canadian Natural Resources barely beats estimates for quarterly profits on record production
Canadian Natural Resources posted earnings for the quarter that were just a hair above analysts' expectations. Record oil and gas production offset the decline in crude price.
Canadian Natural Resources and other oil sands producers in Canada have shown resilience in the face of the downturn in the global oil industry. They have been buoyed by their years of investment, which has made them one of the lowest-cost operators across North America.
Acquisitions and strong performance on the operational side drove a 19% increase in quarterly production from a year ago to a new record of 1,62 million barrels equivalent per day (boepd).
Calgary-based company increased its production guidance for 2025 to between 1,56 million and 1,58 million boepd. This is up from an earlier range of 1,51 million to 1.55 million boepd. The company cited newly integrated assets and a stable field performance.
Canadian Natural has acquired the Albian oil-sands mines, associated reserves and a 80% stake in the Scotford Upgrader. It also holds a non-operated 80% stake in Quest and the Scotford Upgrader.
The deal will add about 31,000 barrels of bitumen per day to its low-decline production, strengthening its oil sands operations.
The capital budget of the company remained at C$5,9 billion.
Even though Western Canadian Select differentials have been weakening and maintenance has been a factor in reducing margins, Canadian producers are well-positioned to enter 2026 with a disciplined capital expenditure.
Canadian Natural's realized price for exploration and production liquids dropped 8.3% to C$72.57 a barrel in the quarter reported.
The quarter included a C$700m ($499.14m) charge related to updated costs estimates for Ninian and T-Block in the North Sea.
LSEG data shows that analysts had expected an average profit per share of 85 Canadian dollars for the three-month period ended September 30. (1 Canadian dollar = 1.4024 dollars) (Reporting from Sumit Saha, Bengaluru. Editing by Leroy Leo).
(source: Reuters)