(Added details and information on results in paragraphs 3, 4, 6-9)
APA Corp APA.O beat Wall Street estimates for its third-quarter profit on Wednesday, as the U.S. shale producer benefited from increased production and healthy crude oil prices.
Prices of U.S. crude oil WTI CLc1 rose about 28% in the July-September quarter after major producers Russia and Saudi Arabia extended production cuts, but remained below peaks last year, when Russia invaded Ukraine.
APA said its quarterly total average price for oil fell to $86.15 per barrel from $97.81 per barrel last year.
“Strong well execution and performance in the Permian Basin were key drivers of APA’s third quarter results,” Chief Executive Officer John Christmann said in a statement.
Production for the July-September quarter rose about 8% to 412,252 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) from a year earlier.
The company expects total production to decline slightly in the current quarter compared to the third quarter, due to downtime in the North Sea and lower natural gas volumes.
APA, which has interests in Suriname’s Block 58, also confirmed recoverable oil resources estimated at 700 million barrels of oil in the Sapakara and Krabdagu discoveries.
French company TotalEnergies TTEF.PA operates Block 58, with a 50% stake, while APA holds the other half.
Suriname’s oil potential is closely watched because some of its fields are adjacent to the Stabroek block in Guyana, where an XOM.N consortium led by Exxon Mobil has made more than 25 discoveries since May 2015.
Houston-based APA posted adjusted earnings of $1.33 per share for the three months ended Sept. 30, compared with analysts’ average estimate of $1.09, according to LSEG data.