Murphy Oil Income, Revenue Up for First Quarter

Murphy Oil Corp. of El Dorado posted a first quarter 2012 jump in both its top and bottom line over the same time last year, thanks to higher oil prices that overcame lower production and lower natural gas prices.

Net income was $290 million ($1.49 per diluted share), an improvement of almost 8 percent from from the $268 million ($1.38 per diluted share) reported for the same period last year. Its revenue was nearly $7 billion, an increase from first quarter 2011’s $6.3 billion.

The average price of crude oil, condensate and natural gas liquid averaged $97.78 per barrel in the first quarter, compared with $86.73 in the year-ago period. Average production fell from 113,313 barrels per day in the first quarter of 2011 to 107,490 barrels per day in the first three months of this year.

The biggest chunk of the company’s sales came from its $563 million gas and oil exploration market in Malaysia, where it produced 49,959 barrels of crude oil per day during the first quarter of 2012.

"We currently anticipate total worldwide production volume of 185,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in the second quarter of 2012," said David Wood, Murphy’s president and CEO, in a release. "We anticipate a full-year 2012 production rate of about 193,000 barrel equivalents per day."

Last quarter, Murphy posted a loss of $113 million due to lower-than-expected production and other factors.

Murphy will discuss its first quarter results tomorrow during a conference call at noon, available at MurphyOilCorp.com/IR or (877) 874-1569, reservation number 1011443.