Noble in the red on Marcellus sale

Noble Energy lost some USD 1.5 billion in the second quarter, largely due to its divestment from the Marcellus shale field in the USA in early May, the company said on Thursday.

Noble booked a USD 2.32-billion loss on its USD 1.23-billion Marcellus asset sale to an undisclosed buyer.

In line with trends elsewhere in the industry, adjusted income for the period stood at USD 24 million, up from a loss of USD 103 million in Q2 of 2016.

“During the second quarter, we again delivered industry-leading well results across our onshore basins, demonstrated continued strong performance at our high-quality offshore operations, and reported volumes and costs that were in-line with or better than our expectations,” said president and CEO David L. Stover in a statement.

The news came as Chesapeake Energy announced net profit of USD 470 million in Q2, up from a loss of 1.82 billion in the same period last year.

“We expect our total production to move higher throughout the year, driven by large turn-in-line projects underway in the Eagle Ford, Utica and Powder River Basin operating areas,” said CEO Doug Lawler in a statement. “This has already started, as we averaged approximately 548,300 barrels of oil equivalent per day, including a peak rate of 90,400 barrels of oil production, for the month of July.”

Also Thursday, pipeline operator Enbridge reported earnings of CAD 919 million (USD 731 million) in the past quarter, up over 200% year-on-year.

“Given the strengthening outlook for liquids pipelines, the success we are having in executing our secured growth programme, and our progress in driving out synergies from the merger transaction thus far, we remain right on track for delivering financial results in line with the guidance we provided earlier in the year,” said president and CEO Al Monaco.