By Rob Curran
ConocoPhillips' third-quarter net income fell alongside crude prices, but the oil giant boosted its 2025 production forecast slightly and reduced its operating cost projection.
The Houston oil-and-gas giant posted earnings of $1.7 billion, or $1.38 a share, down from $2.1 billion, or $1.78 a share, a year earlier.
Backing out certain one-off items, Conoco logged adjusted earnings of $1.61 a share, handily beating the mean analyst estimate of $1.41 a share, as per FactSet.
Production rose sharply to 2.4 million barrels of oil equivalent per day.
Conoco also boosted its quarterly dividend by 8% to 84 cents a share, payable Dec. 1 to shareholders of record on Nov. 17.
For the fourth quarter, the company targeted 2.3 million-to-2.34 million barrels of oil per day in production.
For 2025, the company boosted its production projection to 2.375 million barrels of oil per day from a previous 2.3 million-to-2.37 million estimate. The company cut its operating cost estimate for the year to $10.6 billion from a prior $10.7 billion-to-$10.9 billion range.
For 2026, Conoco forecast lower capital and operating costs, and flat to modest production growth. The oil giant projected capital spending on the Alaska Willow project of $8.5 billion-to-$9 billion. The company cut its forecast for liquefied natural gas capital spending to $3.4 billion. The first LNG production from the company's North Field East project in Qatar is scheduled for 2026.
Conoco projected $7 billion in incremental free cash flow by 2029, including $1 billion per year from 2026 through 2028.
Conoco has recently agreed to sell its Anadarko Basin assets for $1.3 billion.
Oil majors' third-quarter earnings reports have been mixed, with Chevron's surge in production providing Wall Street with a positive surprise, and Exxon Mobil's performance more or less in line with expectations.
Write to Rob Curran at rob.curran@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
11-06-25 0746ET
