Marathon Oil swings to profit

Houston-based energy company and operator of the Equatorial Guinea LNG plant, Marathon Oil, swung to a first-quarter profit as its production increased. 

Marathon Oil reported a net income of $356 million compared to a $28 million loss in the corresponding period last year. The company’s adjusted net income was $154 million, compared to $56 million in the first quarter of 2017.

The adjustments to net income from continuing operations for first quarter 2018 totaled $202 million before tax, primarily due to a $257 million gain from sale of the Libya unit, partially offset by an unrealized loss of $43 million on commodity derivatives.

Total production averaged 398,000 net boed, excluding Libya, 20.6 percent up on the first quarter 2017 figures. The company expects its second-quarter production to total 415,000 boed.

For full-year 2018, the company expects annual resource play oil and barrel of oil equivalent (boe) growth of 25 – 30 percent, up from 20 – 25 percent previously, and is trending toward the high end of its 2018 guidance ranges for total Marathon Oil’s oil and boe.