From: The Wall Street Journal
By: ANGEL GONZALEZ
HOUSTON—Hess Corp.’s oil production in North Dakota’s prolific Bakken Shale will triple by 2015 as the oil company increases drilling activity in the area, Chief Executive John Hess said Wednesday.
Hess’s net output, currently at 39,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, will reach 60,000 barrels of oil equivalent in 2012 and 120,000 barrels of oil equivalent in 2015, the executive said in an earnings call.
Hess, a large U.S. oil company with large offshore and international operations, has been aggressively expanding its presence in North American oil shale fields. In addition to the Bakken, the company has spent nearly $1 billion acquiring acreage in Ohio’s Utica Shale, an emerging play; appraisal activity there will commence in the fourth quarter, Hess said.
These Utica acquisitions, as well as other purchases in the North Sea, account for a $1 billion increase in the company’s forecast capital spending for 2011 to $7.2 billion, Hess said.
Hess is increasing its presence in alternative shale plays in the U.S., joining a rush by energy companies to tap deeply buried rock formations that hold oil and gas.
The projections came as Hess reported third-quarter earnings fell 74% as the oil explorer and refiner was hurt by lower production amid disruptions in Libya and the sale of some North Sea assets.
The exploration-and-production business, which accounts for most of the bottom line, reported that earnings plunged 67% as production fell 17%.
Hess reported a profit of $298 million, or 88 cents a share, down from $1.15 billion, or $3.52 a share, a year earlier. Revenue decreased 2.5% to $8.73 billion.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters most recently forecast earnings of $1.36 a share on revenue of $9.68 billion.
The marketing-and-refining business reported that its segment loss narrowed and refining and trading activity losses declined.
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