The US energy group ConocoPhillips has released its preliminary 2020 results, posting a US$2.7bn loss in 2020, compared to US$7.2bn earning in 2019. The company’s net loss resulted mainly from write-downs in the value of its assets in the United States, including the Alaska North Slope Gas asset. Excluding write-downs, the group would have lost US$1bn in 2020. ConocoPhillips’s oil and gas output declined by 16% to 1,127 mboe/d in 2020 (including 9 mboe/d in Libya that remained in force majeure for most of the year). The group produced 568 mb/d of crude oil (-19%) and 24.7 bcm of natural gas in 2020 (-15%). The company plans to invest US$.5.5bn in 2021, including US$5.1bn to maintain the current output level and US$0.4bn for investment in major projects, primarily in Alaska (US).
In January 2021, ConocoPhillips completed the acquisition of the US shale oil producer Concho Resources for US$9.7bn, as agreed in October 2020. The transaction brings together assets across the Delaware and Midland basins in addition to positions in the Eagle Ford and Bakken in the Lower 48 and the Montney in Canada. The merged company will have a combined resource base of 23 Gboe with an average cost of supply below US$30/bbl WTI and an average production of 1.5 mboe/d, making the new company the largest independent oil and gas company in the United States.