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Whitecap Resources posts $2.1-billion loss on oil price related asset writedown

Apr 30, 2020 | 9:20 AM

CALGARY – Oil producer Whitecap Resources Inc. is reporting a $2.1-billion net loss for the quarter ended March 31 thanks mainly to a $2.9-billion non-cash writedown in the value of its assets due to low oil prices.

The Calgary-based company says it is also shutting down low profitability wells producing about 2,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day to avoid selling at current prices.

It now expects to produce about 66,000 boe/d this year.

Whitecap, which produces conventional oil mainly in Saskatchewan, reported production of 73,450 boe/d in the first quarter, up from 70,660 in the same period of 2019.

Analysts counted Whitecap’s production and cash flow of $132 million (versus $161 million in the year-earlier period) as slightly beating or meeting expectations.

Whitecap announced a further reduction of $20 million in its capital spending budget this year, dropping it to $190 million compared with the original $360 million.