In a move to lower breakeven prices and generate free cash flow, Houston-based ConocoPhillips is trimming its 2017 capital budget by another $300 million.
The move to cut the cap budget to $4.5 billion comes after a second quarter cut of $200 million from the original budget of $5 million for the year.
There’s no word how it might affect the company’s big operations in Bartlesville where there were approximately 1,300 employees as of April 2017.
The company recently reported third-quarter earnings of $400 billion compared to the $1 billion it lost in the third-quarter of last year. Adjusted earnings for the quarter this year were $200 million while there was a loss of $800 million in adjusted earnings last year.
However, it’s obvious why the company took the move to cut cap-ex because its 9-month earnings were a loss of $2.4 billion. A year ago, the 9-month earnings represent a loss of $3.6 billion.