U.S. supermajor ConocoPhillips said Wednesday its annual plan for $5.5 billion in spending is pegged on U.S. crude oil prices at $50 per barrel.

The company said it was on pace to cut its debt load through a disciplined approach that managed its portfolio of 15 billion barrels of oil equivalent with a supply cost of less than $35 per barrel. Spending, meanwhile, will be about $5.5 billion per year.

"The three-year plan averages annual capital expenditures of $5.5 billion, based on a flat real West Texas Intermediate price of $50 per barrel," the company stated.

West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark for the price of oil, was near $57 per barrel early in the Wednesday session. WTI has held steady above the psychological threshold of $50 per barrel since Oct. 10 and this week topped a two-year high.

A crackdown on corruption in Saudi Arabia followed escalating tensions between the Sunni kingdom and Lebanon, a nation where the Shiite movement Hezbollah holds government seats. That added to a risk premium added in October because of simmering tensions in northern Iraq.

A January agreement by members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to work to drain the surplus from the five-year average in global crude oil inventories helped put a floor under crude oil prices, which collapsed in early 2016 below $30 per barrel.

In their monthly report for October, OPEC economists said they expected WTI to trade in a range between $50 per barrel and $55 per barrel for 2018. Anything above that would likely encourage U.S. producers to expand drilling activities.

Ryan Lance, the chairman and CEO at Conoco, said the company is more disciplined now than during the market downturn last year.

"During 2017, we significantly transformed ConocoPhillips to succeed across a range of commodity prices," he said in a statement.

Tweet

US urges action after Saudi accuses Iran over missile attack
Riyadh (AFP) Nov 7, 2017
The United States called Tuesday for international action to hold Iran to account after Saudi Arabia accused Tehran of "direct military aggression" over a Yemeni rebel missile attack near Riyadh. The Iran-backed Huthi rebels also threatened to attack ports and airports in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, escalating a crisis between Riyadh and Tehran. Saudi Arabia's powerful cro ... read more

Related Links
All About Oil and Gas News at OilGasDaily.com

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only