ConocoPhillips (COP.N) exceeded Wall Street expectations for fourth-quarter profit on Thursday, with increased production helping to counterbalance lower realized prices.
Following its $22.5 billion acquisition of Marathon Oil, the company announced plans to sell non-core Lower 48 assets for $600 million to reduce debt. The deals are expected to close in the first half of 2025.
Benchmark crude prices rose about 4% in the October-December quarter, prompting more drilling. However, ConocoPhillips’ average realized prices fell 10% to $52.37 per barrel of oil equivalent (boe), as Brent crude ended 2023 down 3% year-over-year. This contributed to a 3.7% revenue decline, bringing total revenue to $14.7 billion.
Despite this, higher production drove profitability. ConocoPhillips reported output of 2.18 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), up from 1.9 million boepd a year earlier. Marathon Oil’s production contributed 126,000 boepd in the quarter.
For 2025, the company forecasts production between 2.34 million and 2.38 million boepd. Analysts at Roth MKM noted this guidance is 1.3% below the consensus estimate of 2.39 million boepd, potentially due to asset sales.
ConocoPhillips expects to spend $12.9 billion in capital expenditures this year and plans to increase shareholder returns to $10 billion, up from $9.1 billion in 2024.
On an adjusted basis, the company posted a profit of $1.98 per share for the quarter, surpassing analysts’ average estimate of $1.84, according to LSEG data.
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