Murphy Oil revenue falls 62 percent

Low crude oil contracts and winter storms hit energy firm

Murphy Oil Corp.’s first-quarter revenue plunged 62%, the company said Thursday, mainly because of a slump in crude oil contracts.

Reporting before U.S. stock markets opened, the oil and natural gas company formerly based in El Dorado posted revenue of $380 million, down from $1 billion in the first quarter of 2020.

Murphy Oil reported a net loss of $287.4 million, or $1.87 per share, for the quarter that ended March 31, compared to a net loss of $416.1 million, or $2.71 per share, in the same quarter last year.

Besides the losses on crude oil contracts, revenue from sales to customers fell slightly.

After adjusting for onetime charges and discontinued operations, per-share income of 6 cents per diluted share still fell short of the average earnings estimate of 17 cents from 14 analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters.

Murphy Oil reported its total costs and expenses dropped 58.8% from the same quarter a year ago, while operating loss from continuing operations fell 52.8%. The company also said it reduced total debt by

$233 million, or 8%, in the quarter.

Roger Jenkins, Murphy Oil’s president and chief executive officer, said in the earnings report that oil production remained strong despite February’s severe winter weather.

Record low temperatures from a winter storm disrupted oil production and natural gas refining in much of the U.S., especially in Texas, according to market and consumer data firm Statista.

Jenkins said the company remains on track in meeting its fiscal 2021 capital expenditure guidance of $675 million to $725 million, the company said.

“Murphy is off to a great start for the year,” Jenkins said. “I am pleased with the success we have achieved in the first quarter, especially with capital efficiencies and production along with our offshore projects moving forward according to plan.”

The COVID-19 pandemic caused consumption of U.S. petroleum products last year to drop to its lowest level in decades, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

However, Murphy Oil stated in its quarterly report to the Securities and Exchange Commission that the global dissemination of vaccines “has led to a current and expected future recovery of energy demand.”

Murphy Oil is an international oil and natural gas exploration and production company with offshore production in Southeast Asia, Canada and the Gulf of Mexico, as well as North American onshore operations.

Last year, the company moved both its headquarters in El Dorado and an office in Canada to Houston. In the U.S., Murphy Oil produces the bulk of its oil and gas from fields in the Eagle Ford Shale area of south Texas and in the Gulf of Mexico.

Murphy Oil’s shares have traded between $7 and $20.53 in the past year.