Phillips 66, NOV report profits
Houston refiner’s earnings climb to almost $1.5B, revenue grows to $29.8B for quarter
Phillips 66 reported higher earnings and revenue in the third quarter, with all of its major business segments posting stronger earnings.
The Houston refiner on Friday reported nearly $1.5 billion in third-quarter earnings, up from $823 million last year. Revenue climbed from $25.6 billion to $29.8 billion during the same period.
Its refining business accounted for most of the growth, with earnings rising to $936 million, up from $550 million a year earlier. The company reported stronger refining margins in the Central Corridor thanks to price differences between U.S. and Canadian crude oil, though its margins on the West and Gulf coasts narrowed.
The company also reported higher earnings from its chemicals business, which involves a joint venture with the oil major Chevron. Increased sales of polyethylene, a common plastic, helped boost its third-quarter profit from $121 million to $210 million despite higher feedstock costs.
Higher transportation volumes helped lift the company’s third-quarter midstream earnings to $240 million, up from $117 million last year. That figure includes earnings from its equity stake in DCP Midstream, a Houston-based natural gas and pipeline company. Tiny profit for NOV
National Oilwell Varco managed to turn a tiny $1 million profit in the third quarter as activity slowed because of pipeline shortages, especially in West Texas’ Permian Basin.
The small profit is still an im-
provement from a $26 million loss from a year ago. NOV’s quarterly revenue jumped 17 percent from last year to $2.15 billion.
The Houston rig and equipment manufacturer and services company has pivoted to more onshore business than offshore in recent years.
Chairman and Chief Executive Clay Williams Williams expressed greater optimism for next year.
“We believe the industry is poised to achieve higher levels of activity in 2019 as it works through near-term logistical challenges in North American unconventional basins, navigates end-of-year budget constraints and sanctions more offshore projects,” he said.
NOV has dramatically shrunk from the height of the oil boom in 2014, when it employed about 60,000 workers. Today, it employs about 30,000.