Maersk Oil posts heavy loss

COPENHAGEN, Denmark, Nov. 6 (UPI) -- Denmark's largest company, Maersk, said it was severely impacted by weak market conditions, with profits for its oil arm down more than 80 percent.

Maersk Oil said it made a profit of $32 million for the third quarter of 2015, against a $222 million profit reported one year ago.

"The result was negatively impacted mainly by the lower oil price but positively impacted by increased production, cost savings and lower exploration costs," the company said in a statement.

The company said it aims to cut its operating costs by around 20 percent by the end of next year as most of its peers expect the weak oil economy to last. The amount of money it spent on exploration and production during the third quarter was $82 million, down from the $210 million invested one year ago.

Exploration activities, the company said, were also reduced because of expectations about the trajectory of crude oil prices and disappointing results in the upstream sector.

"Instead, short term focus is directed towards identifying inorganic growth opportunities and investing in exploration acreage in order to rebuild the portfolio for reserves growth," the company said.

Nevertheless, production was up 26 percent to 300,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in part because of improved operations in the United Kingdom and a higher share of production assets from its holdings in Qatar.

Crude oil prices are lower in part because the market favors the supply side.

Its container shipping company, Maersk Line, reported similar results as its oil arm. Earlier this week, the shipping company said it may cut as many as 4,000 jobs.