Over the first six months of the year, though, the company has earned $898 million in Alaska, up nearly 28 percent from $648 million it earned through the first half of 2009.

Production typically falls in the second quarter. ConocoPhillips produced 221,000 barrels of liquids per day during the reporting period, down from 247,000 bpd in the first quarter and 252,000 bpd in the second quarter of 2009. Natural gas production also fell. The company produced 82 million cubic feet per day, down from 94 mmcfpd in the first quarter but roughly level with the 83 mmcfpd it produced in the second quarter of 2009.

Oil prices increased only 19 cents from quarter to quarter to $77.44 per barrel, but jumped substantially from the $55.25 ConocoPhillips reported in the second quarter of 2009. Natural gas prices fell to $4.73 per thousand cubic feet, from $5.28 per mcf reported in the first quarter and $6.38 per mcf in the second quarter of 2009.

ConocoPhillips’ liquefied natural gas sales from the Kenai Peninsula export terminal averaged 51 mmcfpd, down from 56 mmcfpd in the first quarter, but up from 47 mmcfpd in the second quarter of 2009. ConocoPhillips and co-owner Marathon Oil are currently seeking a two-year extension of their export license from the U.S. Department of Energy.

ConocoPhillips reported $10 million in “exploration charges,” up from the $7 million spent in the first quarter and the $8 million spent in the second quarter of 2009.

Companywide, ConocoPhillips earned $4.16 billion in profits on $50 billion in revenues, up from $2.1 billion earned in the first quarter on $45.7 billion in revenues.

See story in Aug. 1 issue, available to subscribers online at noon, Friday, July 30, at www.PetroleumNews.com