Petro-Canada profits soar

Allen Baker, PNA contributing writer

Petro-Canada earnings shot up to $356 million (Canadian) in the fourth quarter, more that four times the profit a year ago. The gain came on new production from Terra Nova and the Veba Oil & Gas acquisition, along with more oil from the Hibernia field.

The fourth quarter also showed a big sequential gain from C$209 million in the third quarter For the year as a whole, the Calgary-based company had profits of C$974 million, up 15 percent from 2001. That’s impressive because 2001 was a blockbuster for much of the industry. Liquids production was 326,400 barrels a day, nearly triple the 83,200 barrels brought up on an average day in the 2001 quarter. It was also a nice gain from 302,6500 barrels a day in the third quarter.

Gas flows were 878 million cubic feet daily, up 20 percent from a year ago, though Canadian flows were actually down 3 percent to 712 million cubic feet.

Prices were up significantly, with Canadian oil bringing C$40.62 a barrel, up 38 percent, and oil from the international fields showing an even higher gain. Canadian gas averaged C$5.31 for a thousand cubic feet, up 68 percent from 2001’s fourth quarter. Prices for international gas dropped a third to C$4.01, though.

Downstream results also improved, with that sector providing C$78 million in earnings, up 63 percent from the year ago quarter’s C$48 million. For the year, refining and marketing showed a profit of C$254 million, down from C$300 million in 2001.

Revenues for the quarter were C$3.01 billion, a gain of 69 percent from the year ago quarter and up smartly from C$2.77 billion in the third quarter. For the year, the total revenue flow was C$9.92 billion, up 14 percent from 2001’s C$8.74 billion.