(Adds cash flow guidelines and compares them to estimates)
April 28 (Reuters) – U.S. shale producer Continental Resources Inc raised its operating cash flow target for 2021 and resumed its dividend on Wednesday as oil prices rebounded from a pandemic slump last year.
The company also posted its first quarterly profit since the pandemic began as the rapid rollout of vaccines and increasing demand for travel drove U.S. crude oil 27% to an average of $ 58 per barrel for the quarter.
Continental now expects cash flow from operations to be $ 3.1 billion in 2021 when U.S. crude oil prices are at least $ 60 per barrel and gas prices are $ 2.75 per thousand cubic feet (mcf) .
This compares to its previous estimate of $ 2.4 billion at $ 52 per barrel of US crude oil and $ 2.75 per mcf of gas.
Continental also reintroduced the quarterly dividend at $ 0.11 per share, which is double the quarterly dividend paid in February 2020. The dividend was suspended in April last year after the oil price collapsed.
Continental, which beat analysts’ estimates for quarterly earnings, said average prices for the three months were $ 43.11 per barrel of oil equivalent, 75% higher than the previous quarter.
Gas prices were carried by a winter storm that struck the central and southern US states and increased demand for fuel for heating and power generation.
However, the storm also disrupted operations, forcing producers to stop some production. Continental warned of a 6,000 barrels a day storm this month.
Total production declined 9.2% from the fourth quarter to an average of 307,942 barrels of oil equivalent per day.
Oil major Chevron Corp increased its quarterly dividend Wednesday by 5 cents to $ 1.34 per share, while Exxon’s dividend was flat at $ 0.87 per share.
According to adjusted IBES data, Continental achieved adjusted earnings of 77 cents per share, surpassing the analysts’ average estimate of 44 cents per share. (Reporting by Rithika Krishna in Bengaluru; editing by Devika Syamnath)
