PrairieSky Royalty reports lower second quarter crude oil production

PrairieSky Royalty Ltd. says oil and gas production in the second quarter was down 16 per cent from the first quarter, a result expected to set the tone as the rest of Canada’s oilpatch rolls out financial reports over the next few weeks.

The Calgary-based company, which earns revenue by sharing in production from lands for which it holds the petroleum mineral rights, says it produced 18,670 barrels of oil equivalent per day in the three months ended June 30.

It says crude oil production was down by an average of about 30 per cent to 6,035 barrels per day over the quarter as its average realized price fell to C$24.31 per barrel from C$65.48.

The company says production is gradually being brought back online on its lands in Western Canada after producers shut down as much as 40 per cent of their oil output in May due to plunging prices amid the economic downturn associated with the COVID-19 lockdowns.

The company says it had second-quarter production revenue of $25.1 million, off by 39 per cent compared with the first quarter of 2020 and 60 per cent compared with the second quarter of 2019.

PrairieSky reported a net loss of $400,000 or zero cents per share in the quarter, compared with a net profit of $44 million or 19 cents in the year-earlier period, largely matching analyst expectations.

Natural gas output was down 7.5 per cent from the year-earlier period despite the average price rising from 74 cents per thousand cubic feet to $1.39.