Canadian Natural Resources Ltd beat estimates for quarterly profit on Thursday, as higher prices for Canadian crude helped offset lower production.
The previous government of Alberta, Canada's major oil-producing province, imposed curtailments in January in a rare step to drain a glut of oil in storage and lift prices. Congested pipelines have caused the Canadian industry's growth to lag that of other countries such as the United States, and soured investor sentiment. Canadian Natural said average realized prices for crude and natural gas liquids ticked up 3.8%, while natural gas prices climbed 1.5% in the second quarter ended June 30. The company, which in June bought U.S. oil and gas producer Devon Energy Corp's assets in Canada for C$3.8 billion, said quarterly daily production fell to 1.03 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) from 1.05 million boepd. Net earnings rose to C$2.83 billion, or C$2.36 per share, in the second quarter ended June 30, from C$982 million, or 80 Canadian cents, a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, the company earned 87 Canadian cents per share, beating analysts' estimates of 85 Canadian cents per share, according to IBES data from Refinitiv. (Reporting by Taru Jain; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)