HOUSTON, Jan. 8 (UPI) -- ConocoPhillips said recent production levels were lower because of extreme weather in the United States and the North Sea but no long-term impact was expected.
"The recent quarter's [fourth quarter 2013] average production was negatively impacted by significant weather-related downtime in several operational areas, notably in the Lower 48 and the North Sea," the company said in a statement Tuesday.
Much of the eastern half of the United States is coping with an extreme cold snap brought on by a meteorological phenomenon known as the polar vortex. Temperatures in southern states dropped into the single digits while Chicago and other Midwest areas saw sub-zero temperatures in double digits.
December storms in the North Sea region impacted Conoco's production levels at its Ekofisk field in Norwegian waters
"There has been no long-term impact to production from this weather-related downtime and 2014 guidance for continuing operations remains unchanged at approximately 1.6 million barrels of oil equivalent per day," the company said in a statement.
That production forecast includes the 50,000 barrels of oil equivalent from the Es Sider terminal in Libya, which is offline because of regional conflicts, Conoco said.
