Tourmaline cut its third-quarter output by 1.5%, or 7,500 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), although its full-year production guidance remains unchanged at 507,000 boepd.

Spot natural gas prices at the AECO hub in western Canada tumbled last month and briefly turned negative as maintenance on TC Energy's NGTL pipeline system cut capacity and left molecules stranded in Alberta.

An unscheduled five-day outage at Pembina Pipeline's Resthaven gas plant also impacted Tourmaline's volumes.

The price collapse came amid a global surge in gas prices to record highs, as European countries scrambled to replace Russian supplies cut off by the invasion of Ukraine and Western sanctions on Russia.

Calgary-based Tourmaline shut in approximately 100 million cubic feet a day of existing production and delayed the startup of several new drilling pads from August to September or October. The company also scheduled facility turnarounds and hedged more gas volumes than usual during August.

RBC Capital Markets analyst Michael Harvey described the move as "reshuffling production", and Tourmaline shares were last up 2.25% on the Toronto Stock Exchange at C$79.54.

The company raised its 2023 cash flow estimate outlook to C$6.58 billion ($5.07 billion) from C$5.14 billion, based on higher forward market prices and kept its 2023 capital budget and production guidance unchanged.

Tourmaline, which from January 2023 will start selling 140 million cubic feet of gas per day on the Gulf Coast for liquefied natural gas export, also increased its hedging program to cover 26% of 2023 production.

($1 = 1.2981 Canadian dollars)

(Reporting by Nia Williams; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

By Nia Williams