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Murphy (MUR) Gets First Oil From King's Quay in Offshore GOM

Murphy Oil Corp. MUR announced that its operator King’s Quay floating production system achieved the first oil from the Khaleesi, Mormont and Samurai field development project in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. Once the project is fully operational by the end of this year, it is expected to process 85 thousand barrels of oil per day (MBOEPD) and 100 million cubic feet of natural gas per day.

Murphy Oil is one of the large producers in the Gulf of Mexico. MUR generated 61 MBOEPD in the fourth quarter of 2021. Achieving the first oil from this offshore field on schedule and within budget shows Murphy Oil’s focus on expanding domestic oil production. At present, Murphy Oil is completing the remaining five wells in the seven-well project.

Increase in Oil Production

Murphy Oil expects offshore production volumes to average 80 MBOEPD during the 2022-2024 period. Its multi-basin assets continue to drive its production volumes. MUR is continuously boosting oil production through acquisitions, non-core asset divestitures and oil-weighted discoveries.

Due to the construction of King's Quay Floating Production System, oil production through this system will continue to rise through 2022 as more wells will come online. The target for initial oil production from the Khaleesi, Mormont and Samurai project is 20,000 barrels per day and is expected to rise in the upcoming years. The production coming online is forecast to generate a significant free cash flow, which will allow the company to continue to deleverage the $600-$650 million range of the targeted debt reduction in 2022 and the optionality of up to $1 billion in 2023.

Murphy Oil plans to invest in the range of $840-$890 million in 2022 to further strengthen operations. MUR is also aiming to spend $650 million annually to further reinforce its existing operations over the 2022-2024 period.

Zacks Rank & Price Performance

Murphy Oil currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). In the past six months, shares of MUR have rallied 43%, outperforming the industry’s 33.8% rise. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Zacks Investment Research
Zacks Investment Research


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Other Stocks to Consider

Some other top-ranked stocks from the same sector include Canadian Natural Resources Ltd CNQ, ConocoPhilips COP and DVN Energy DVN, each sport a Zacks Rank #1.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2022 earnings per share of Canadian Natural Resources Ltd, ConocoPhilips and DVN Energy has moved up 41.68%, 108.49% and 115.58%, respectively, year over year.

The long-term earnings growth of Canadian Natural Resources Ltd, ConocoPhilips and DVN Energy is projected at 20%, 19.8% and 51.4%, respectively.

CNQ, COP and DVN delivered an average earnings surprise of 18.7%, 12.6% and 20%, respectively, in the last four quarters.


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Canadian Natural Resources Limited (CNQ) : Free Stock Analysis Report

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