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Unocal earnings take dive in first quarter; profits drop 93 percent
Allen Baker, PNA contributing writer
Unocal Corp. rode lower prices and lower production to a lower profit of $22 million for the first quarter of 2002, down 93 percent from the same quarter a year ago. It was, at least, an improvement on the $29 million loss in the fourth quarter.
Production slipped 4 percent to 477,000 barrels of oil equivalent daily. The company said that decline was a result of depletion of a field in the Gulf of Mexico and reduced drilling activity in the second half of 2001 as prices softened.
Capital spending rose a bit to $390 million in the first quarter, from $360 million a year earlier, and Unocal says it’s now producing 490,000 barrels daily.
Alaska shows $6 million loss The first-quarter production decline all came on the gas side, as liquids flow rose 7 percent to 172,000 barrels a day from 161,000. Daily gas production was 1,834 million cubic feet, down 8 percent.
Most of Unocal’s profits came from the Far East, where the company made $90 million.
North American exploration and production operated at a loss for the quarter, with a slim $1 million profit in the Lower 48 overcome by a $6 million loss on Alaska operations and a $5 million loss in Canada.
By contrast with the loss, Alaska’s net was $19 million for the first quarter of 2001, and still $6 million in the final quarter. Canadian operations brought in $14 million a year ago, but lost $12 million in the fourth quarter. Alaska gas price higher Alaska’s liquids production was up slightly to 25,000 barrels a day from 24,000 a year ago, but down from 26,000 in the fourth quarter. Gas production slipped, however, to 101 million cubic feet a day — even with the fourth quarter — from 138 million a year earlier.
Unocal did see more for its Alaska gas, $1.57 for a thousand cubic feet versus $1.20 a year ago. Alaska oil brought in $14.54 a barrel, down from $22.76.
Company wide, gas sold for an average of $2.39, a drop of 46 percent from $4.41 a year ago. Liquids brought in $18.28 a barrel, down 26 percent from $24.63.
Revenues were $1.04 billion, down 53 percent from $2.21 billion a year ago.
Fourth-quarter revenues were $1.26 billion. Long-term debt rose to $3.18 billion at the end of the quarter, up from $2.91 billion on Dec. 31.
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