- Hess (NYSE:HES) +0.6% premarket after reporting a smaller than expected Q1 loss and stronger than forecast revenues, helped by higher crude prices and lower operating costs which offset lower production volumes.
- Hess says its average realized price for crude oil during Q1 jumped 22% Y/Y to $59.32/bbl, while total costs fell 11.6% to $1.38B, but net production fell to 233K boe/day from 307K boe/day in the year-ago quarter, partly due to unplanned maintenance at the Enchilada platform in the Gulf of Mexico.
- Net production from the Bakken rose 12% to 111K boe/day from 99K in the year-ago quarter due to increased drilling activity and improved well performance, but Gulf of Mexico output of 41K boe/day fell from 66K in the prior-year quarter primarily due to the shutdown at Enchilada from Q4 2017.
- During Q1, Hess says it "increased cash returns to shareholders, reduced debt, exceeded our production guidance, continued to lower our costs and announced two significant oil discoveries offshore Guyana - Ranger and Pacora."