Shares jump after Paramount Resources posts fourth quarter production beat

Shares in Paramount Resources Ltd. are on the rise after it reported oil and gas production that beat its own guidance and announced it had sold non-core assets for $80 million.

The Calgary-based company says its fourth-quarter sales averaged 73,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (42 per cent liquids) versus its guidance of 70,000 to 72,000 boe/d, with output jumping to 78,000 boe/d in December.

Paramount says its bump in production was the result of increased drilling in the last three months of the year as oil prices strengthened and drilling and well completion costs trended lower.

In Toronto, its shares hit a new 52-week high of $9.79 per share, up $1.28 or 15 per cent over Friday’s close.