The Rising Influence of Rising Affluence

[DewDiligence]

HES beats 1Q14 consensus EPS; 2Q14 Bakken forecast is 80-90K boe/d (note: this newswire is from 4/30/14):

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/hess-profit-beats-norwegian-output-123027696.html

Oil and natural gas producer Hess Corp reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit, helped in part by a jump in Norwegian production.. Excluding one-time items, the company posted a profit of $1.38 per share. By that measure, analysts on average expected earnings of $1.04 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Hess produced 318,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boed) in the first quarter, down from 389,000 boed a year earlier. [The YoY decline in production is due in large part to divestitures.] For the second quarter, the company expects to produce 295,000 to 300,000 boed, excluding its weakened Libya operations.

Production during the quarter jumped in the company's Valhall field in Norway to 37,000 boed from 5,000 boed in the same period last year due to a redevelopment project.

While North Dakota production fell in the first quarter as the company completed the expansion of its Tioga gas plant, the project is now finished [#msg-99444439], and Bakken production is currently in excess of 80,000 boed… The company expects to produce about 80,000 to 90,000 boed of North Dakota oil in the second quarter.

Executives said they are moving forward on a planned master limited partnership for their North Dakota pipeline assets, and expect the transaction to be completed by 2015. [This—along with the sale or spinoff of HES’ retail business—is one of the moves sought by Elliott Capital Management that HES agreed to undertake in its compromise with the hedge fund.] Hess would keep a majority stake in the MLP, executives said.