Second quarter strong, but Shell's boss wants even more

Second quarter strong, but Shell's boss wants even more
by Daniel J. Graeber
Amsterdam, Netherlands (UPI) Jul 31, 2013

Strong quarter for Whiting on back of Bakken, Niobrara shale
Denver (UPI) Jul 31, 2013 - Production from shale basins in the Northern Plains reached record levels in the second quarter, Whiting Petroleum Corp. declared.

Whiting said net second quarter production was 10 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, of which nearly 90 percent was crude oil. For the third quarter, the company expects production to approach 11 million boe per day.

Net production from the Bakken and Three Forks area of North Dakota increased 33 percent year-on-year, while net output from the Niobrara shale increased 59 percent from the first quarter alone.

For the three months ending June 30, Whiting said oil production of 8.01 million barrels represented a 20 percent increase year-on-year. Natural gas production from its assets in North America increased 8 percent year-on-year.

The outlook for North Dakota was strong given the record production and cash flow generated from the Bakken play, Whiting Chairman and Chief Executive Officer James Volker said.

"We believe we have plenty of running room in the Williston Basin [of North Dakota]," he said in a statement Thursday.

Whiting, which has headquarters in Denver, reported total revenues for the second quarter of $835.6 million, up 26 percent from second quarter 2013.

Though second quarter performance was better for Royal Dutch Shell, its top director said Thursday he wanted even better results going forward.

"I am determined to get a tighter grip on business performance management in the company, and improve the balance between growth and returns," Chief Executive Officer Ben van Beurden said in a statement.

Shell said second quarter 2014 earnings were $5.1 billion, compared with $2.4 billion for the same period last year.

Van Buerden said he wanted to see stronger momentum for the company moving forward despite robust performance in the second quarter. In particular, competitive results are needed in the oil reserve plays spread out over much of North America.

Improvement will take time, but progress is already evident, he said.

The company said net capital investments for second quarter 2014 were $1.1 billion, compared with $10.9 billion for second quarter 2013.

"We are making progress with the priorities I set out at the start of 2014: to balance growth and returns by focusing on better financial performance, enhanced capital efficiency, and continued strong project delivery," van Buerden said.

Oil and gas production for the quarter totaled 3 million barrels of oil equivalent, relatively unchanged from one year ago.

.

Related Links
All About Oil and Gas News at OilGasDaily.com

Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks

Memory Foam Mattress Review

SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS
Solar Energy Solutions
Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison

Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News

Zhou Yongkang: oil man whose well of power finally ran dry
Beijing (AFP) July 29, 2014
Embattled former top Communist Zhou Yongkang rose through China's state oil industry to become the country's internal security chief - and amassed so much power, according to analysts, that he brought about his own downfall. The investigation into him announced Tuesday comes on the back of President Xi Jinping's much-publicised anti-corruption drive, but experts say it is driven more by int ... read more

Entire families wiped out in Air Algerie plane crash

Federal judge overturns Washington DC ban on guns in public

Military mission to MH17 crash site 'unrealistic': Dutch PM

Fukushima monkeys show possible 'effects of radiation'

Galileo's 'midwives' stand ready for launch

U.S. military aims to overcome GPS' weaknesses

Russian GLONASS to Boost Yield Capacity by 50 percent

US Refusal to Host GLONASS Base a Form of Competition with Russia

OkCupid admits toying with users to find love formula

China's ageing millions look forward to bleak future

Study cracks how the brain processes emotions

Neandertal trait raises new questions about human evolution

Giant anteaters kill two hunters in Brazil

Radio frequency ID tags on honey bees reveal hive dynamics

Four billion-year-old chemistry in cells today

How honey bees stay cool

Ebola can spread like 'forest fire,' US warns

Australian injecting room upholds fight against AIDS epidemic

Brazil to release millions of GM-mosquitos to fight dengue

Poland suffers first cases of African swine fever in pigs

Retired China military told to 'return houses' in crackdown

China censors squash giant inflatable toad reports

Chinese blogger given 6.5 years for 'rumour-mongering'

China domestic abuse victims voiceless as network disbands

Chinese fish farmer freed after Malaysia kidnapping

US begins 'unprecedented' auction of Silk Road bitcoins

Malaysian navy foils pirate attack in South China Sea

NATO anti-piracy ops until 2016

Japan factory output logs sharpest drop since tsunami disaster

Economic patriotism and U.S. corporate tax inversion

China approves three private banks: regulator

China avoids second corporate bond default: report

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.