Plains E&P nearly triples profit

Ray Tyson

Petroleum News Houston correspondent

Plains Exploration & Production Co., which will doubled in size with its recently announced acquisition of fellow independent Nuevo Energy, saw its 2003 fourth-quarter profit soar to $12 million or 30 cents per share compared to $4.7 million or 20 cents per share for the same period a year earlier.

Daily oil and gas volumes in the fourth quarter for the same periods rose 44 percent to 39,000 barrels of oil equivalent, versus 27,000 barrels of equivalent per day in the 2002 fourth quarter, the Houston-based company said March 10.

Plains’ average realized price for oil and gas during the quarter was $25.88 per barrel of oil equivalent compared to $20.77 for the same period a year earlier. Capital expenditures for the recent quarter were $35.4 million versus $10.9 million a year earlier.

The company’s total proved oil and gas reserves at year-end 2003, compared to the previous years, increased 11 percent to 280 million barrels of oil equivalent. In 2003, the Plains added reserves of 55 million barrels of oil equivalent, with 47 million barrels of that amount coming via it acquisition of 3TEC.