U.S. natural gas producer Chesapeake Energy reported a quarterly loss, compared with a year-earlier profit, as it took a $5 billion charge on some oil and gas assets.
Oil and gas producers including Encana and Chevron have taken massive impairment charges this year as the value of their assets has dropped after global oil prices more than halved in the past year.
Natural gas prices, which have also plunged due to a supply glut, are showing no signs of recovery.
Chesapeake had recorded an impairment charge of $5 billion in the first quarter too.
The company, however, raised its oil and gas production forecast for 2015 to 667,000–677,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) from 640,000–650,000 boepd.
Chesapeake’s production rose 1.1 percent to 63.9 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe) in the second quarter, but average realized price fell more than 40 percent to $16.08 per boe.
Chesapeake reported a net loss of $4.15 billion, or $6.27 per share, attributable to shareholders for the quarter ended June 30 compared with a profit of $145 million, or 22 cents per share, a year earlier.
Excluding items, the company reported a loss of 11 cents per share.
Total revenue fell 41 percent to $3.03 billion.
Analysts on average had expected a loss of 11 cents per share and revenue of $2.76 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Chesapeake shares were unchanged at $8.00 in premarket trading on Wednesday. Up to Tuesday’s close, the stock had fallen 70 percent in the past year.
