ConocoPhillips' Alaska profit more than triples to $423 million on higher oil prices

ConocoPhillips earned $423 million in Alaska in the third quarter, up from $130 million a year earlier, mostly on higher oil prices rather than much more oil, according to its Nov. 5 quarterly filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Alaska crude averaged $96.52 a barrel, against $72.72 a year earlier. The filing credits higher prices with $302 million of the earnings increase and higher volume with $25 million. Alaska sales and other operating revenue rose to about $1.8 billion from $1.4 billion.

Earnings fell from $522 million in the second quarter, when crude averaged $108.49.

Output averaged 185,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day, up from 182,000. Crude production rose to 170,000 barrels a day from 164,000, which the filing credits to better base performance and new wells, partly offset by normal field decline. Natural gas output fell to 15 million cubic feet a day from 36 million. Production and operating expenses fell to $500 million from $564 million.

Taxes other than income taxes rose to $166 million from $126 million. Over nine months, the filing says those taxes were $139 million higher, mainly because a past settlement of a contingent matter no longer affected the figures, along with higher property taxes and higher production taxes driven by prices. Alaska News reported Sept. 28 that North Slope crude was running about $15 above the state's spring forecast, which a budget group said could add nearly $1 billion to state revenue this year if prices held.

Through September, Alaska earnings reached about $1.24 billion, against $592 million in the same period last year. Output over those nine months fell to 188,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day from 198,000, which the company attributes to normal field decline.

The Coyote expansion pad in the Greater Kuparuk Area reached first production in August. ConocoPhillips says the Coyote 3SX project cost about $800 million. On Willow, the company's news release says module fabrication is more than 75 percent complete and the project is on track for first oil in early 2029.

Alaska capital spending totaled $936 million in the quarter and about $2.8 billion through September, funding Western North Slope work including Willow, Greater Kuparuk Area development and exploration in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. Alaska accounted for about a tenth of the company's earnings and liquids production and about 30 percent of its capital spending. Companywide, ConocoPhillips earned $4 billion in the quarter.