Hess Makes Up for Bakken Weather Issues With Outperformance Elsewhere

Hess exceeded guidance by about 2%, with its fourth-quarter firmwide production of 376 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day, or mboe/d. That total excludes a contribution from its Libya assets, which it sold during the fourth quarter for about $150 million. This outperformance was impressive when taking into account the impact of poor weather in North Dakota, which triggered shut-ins that dragged its fourth-quarter Bakken Shale output down to 158 mboe/d, compared with guidance of 165-170 mboe/d). But better-than-expected volumes across the remainder of the portfolio more than made up for the disappointment. That includes Guyana volume of 116 mboe/d, which reflects the first quarter with the Liza-1 and Liza-2 vessels both operating at full capacity for the first time.