ConocoPhillips beats quarterly profit estimates

US oil and gas producer ConocoPhillips beat Wall Street estimates for fourth-quarter profit on Thursday, helped by higher production in the Permian Basin and from a recent acquisition, reports Reuters.

The company had bought an additional 50 per cent stake from TotalEnergies in the Surmont facility in Canada in 2023 that increased its output.

Quarterly production rose 8.2 per cent to 1.9 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), also helped by a 79,000 boepd increase in output in Permian.

The production increase countered lower total average realized price, which tumbled 18 per cent to $58.21 per barrel of oil equivalent in the quarter.

ConocoPhillips forecast 2024 total capital expenditure in the range of $11.0 billion to $11.5 billion.

It expects to return $9 billion to shareholders in 2024, compared with $11 billion last year.

The Houston, Texas-based company also forecast first-quarter production in the range of 1.88-1.92 million boepd.