With a 16 percent increase in oil production in the first quarter of 2018, Oklahoma City’s Chesapeake Energy reported quarterly net income of $268 million or 29 cents a diluted share.
The company said its first quarter net cash provided by operating activities increased $557 million compared to one year ago. The company was able to reduce $581 million of long term debt also in the quarter.
The company’s total production came to 554,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day, up 11 percent from a year ago. The oil production for the quarter was 92,000 barrels a day which represented the 16 percent improvement over the first quarter of 2017.
“The strength of our operations and improved cost structure, coupled with higher realized prices, resulted in our best quarterly financial performance in over three years,” stated Doug Lawler, Chesapeake’s Chief Executive Officer. “For the second consecutive quarter, we recorded significant growth in our earnings and cash flow.”
The net cash flow, including net proceeds from asset sales was $609 million for the quarter. Lawler said it was the highest in more than three years and allowed the company to use some of the money toward debt reduction.
The earnings report also showed Chesapeake’s average rig count so far in 2018 is 15 compared to 16 a year ago. So far in the first quarter, the company reported 77 wells spud compared to 87 last year at this time. The number of wells completed this quarter is 76, down from the 99 a year ago.