Murphy Oil Corp president and chief executive Eric M. Hambly said Wednesday the company is refraining from making forward-looking actions based on the present movement of oil prices.
“The first quarter of 2026 unfolded against one of the most volatile macroeconomic backdrops the energy sector has experienced in years”, Hambly said in a letter to shareholders. “During the quarter, global energy markets were shaped by heightened geopolitical risks which drove a sharp increase in oil prices.
“While these events highlighted the importance of secure and dependable supply, they also reinforced the cyclical nature of our industry and the importance of a resilient and flexible business model.
“During these uncertain times, our strategy is to stay anchored to what we control – disciplined capital allocation, safe and reliable operations and our long-cycle projects.
“In the first quarter, this focus translated into strong execution across our portfolio with meaningful progress at Lac Da Vang in Vietnam, advancement of the high-impact Chinook #8 well in the Gulf of America and sustained outperformance from our U.S. and Canada onshore programs.
“We also took steps to preserve our balance sheet strength, enhance liquidity and improve our debt maturity profile.
“In the quarter, our unhedged position enabled the company to fully capture the upside from higher oil prices. Given the potential for prices to move meaningfully in either direction, we elected not to implement any oil hedges during the quarter. Our strong financial standing allows us to sustain this approach while preserving the flexibility to adapt to market changes and maximize shareholder value.
“With respect to our capital expenditure (capex) plan, we are avoiding incremental spending tied to short-term price moves and are keeping our 2026 capex guidance unchanged”.
The Houston, Texas-based explorer and producer reported $53 million in net income and $46.5 million in net income adjusted for nonrecurring items for the first quarter (Q1), both down from the same three-month period last year.
While the adjusted figure was nearly half of Q1 2025, adjusted earnings per share of $0.32 for the January-March 2026 period beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.29, helped by higher onshore production in the United States and higher realized natural gas prices. The New York-listed company declared a dividend per share of $0.35.
Murphy Oil’s total net output including non-controlling interests (NCI) rose from 163, 374 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) in Q1 2025 to 180,053 boepd in Q1 2026. Excluding NCI, net production averaged 174,236 boepd, up from 157,220 boepd in Q1 2025.
In crude oil and condensate production, U.S. onshore climbed to 28,497 bpd but U.S. offshore fell to 51,839 bpd. Canadian onshore and offshore both increased to 2,932 bpd and 9,006 bpd respectively.
U.S. natural gas liquids production increased both onshore and offshore to 5,856 bpd and 4,298 bpd respectively.
U.S. gas production also increased both onshore and offshore to 33.08 million cubic feet per day (MMcfpd) and 51.15 MMcfpd respectively. Canadian contribution (onshore) increased to 377 MMcfpd.
Murphy Oil sold a total of 179,223 boepd net including NCI, up from 163,938 boepd in Q1 2025. Exlcuding NCI, net sales totaled 173,354 boepd, up from 157,996 boepd in Q1 2025.
Realized prices for crude and condensate rose year-on-year for U.S. onshore to $73.44 per barrel. U.S. offshore fell to $71.65 per barrel. Murphy Oil’s Canadian crude and condensate, both onshore and offshore, sold for higher prices compared to Q1 2025.
U.S. and Canadian realized NGL prices fell year-over-year, while Murphy logged higher realized gas prices in both countries: $3.74 per thousand cubic feet for U.S. onshore, $5.68 for U.S. offshore and $2.44 for Canadian onshore.
Revenue rose from $665.71 million for Q1 2025 to $733.55 million for Q1 2026. Net cash from operating activities rose from $300.68 million to $321.18 million. Free cash flow (FCF) and adjusted FCF for Q1 2026 was $41.4 million and a negative 61.7 million respectively, compared to Q1 2025 FCF of -$44.9 million and Q1 2025 adjusted FCF of -$108 million.
Current assets totaled $936.95 million including $378.75 million in cash and cash equivalents. Current liabilities stood at $1.13 billion including $2.55 million in current maturities from long-term debt and finance lease.
Murphy Oil had $2.38 billion of liquidity at the end of Q1 2026. Besides cash and cash equivalents, that included a $2-billion undrawn senior unsecured credit facility.
What do you think? We’d love to hear from you, join the conversation on the
Rigzone Energy Network.
The Rigzone Energy Network is a new social experience created for you and all energy professionals to Speak Up about our industry, share knowledge, connect with peers and industry insiders and engage in a professional community that will empower your career in energy.
This article was automatically fetched from an external source.
