Oil producer Hess makes new discovery in Guyana as profit tops estimates

April 26 (Reuters) — Oil and gas producer Hess Corp on Wednesday beat Wall Street estimates for first-quarter profit and disclosed a new discovery offshore Guyana by a consortium led by Exxon Mobil Corp.

The discovery at the Lancetfish-1 well on the Stabroek Block is the latest by the group, which has made more than 30 discoveries in the South American country’s offshore waters since 2015. Hess holds a 30% stake in the consortium.

Hess said the consortium sold nine cargos of crude oil from Guyana in the first quarter ended March 31, compared with two cargos in the year-ago quarter.

However, the Kokwari-1 exploration well, which was drilled during the quarter, did not encounter commercial quantities of hydrocarbons, Hess said.

The group this month took delivery of a third offshore production vessel in Guyanese waters that could begin pumping oil later this year. Output is expected to reach about 600,000 barrels per day in 2024.

New-York based Hess on Wednesday raised its full-year production outlook to 365,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) to 375,000 boepd, citing strong operational performance during the first three months of 2023.

Its previous estimate was 355,000 boepd to 365,000 boepd.

On a per share basis, the company reported a profit of $1.13 for the first quarter and an adjusted profit of $1.30.

Analysts had expected a profit of $1.06 per share, according to Refinitiv data.

Hess said its worldwide average realized crude oil selling price, excluding hedges, fell to $76.02 per barrel in the reported quarter, from $94.04 per barrel a year earlier.

Benchmark Brent crude averaged $81.24 a barrel in the first three months of 2023, nearly 20% lower than last year.

Crude prices surged to multi-year highs last year after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine tightened supplies. (Reporting by Arunima Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)