Marathon Oil’s third-quarter profit slipped 24 percent, dragged down by the falling price of crude, the company said Monday.
The Houston-based oil company pumped more oil out of the ground, particularly in the Eagle Ford and Bakken shale plays where Marathon saw double-digit growth, but falling crude prices offset the increased production.
Excluding Libya, where future production and sales are uncertain, Marathon sold 411,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in the third quarter, up from 382,000 a year ago.
The company reported robust growth in North America, where Eagle Ford production swelled 43 percent from last year and Bakken production surged 47 percent, but Marathon fetched a much smaller price for the barrels it produced.
North American crude and condensate on average sold for $89.65 per barrel in the third quarter, down 13 percent from a year ago.
Marathon posted earnings of $431 million, or 64 cents per share, during three-month period ending Sept. 30. That’s down from $569 million, or 80 cents per share, during the same time last year.
Despite the slumping oil price, Marathon plans to grow production in the fourth quarter.
Last month it finalized the $2.1 billion sale of its Norway business and plans to pump that cash into expanding its footprint in U.S. shale plays, the company said. It has added a drilling rig in the Bakken and has plans for two more rigs in Oklahoma resource basins before the end of the year.
“The first priority for the use of proceeds is organic reinvestment in our deep and growing U.S. unconventional portfolio,” CEO Lee Tillman said in a statement.
Marathon released its earnings after the close of Monday trading on the New York Stock Exchange, where its shares fell 83 cents to $34.57.
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