Sanchez Energy boasts of hefty production gains

HOUSTON, Aug. 10 (UPI) -- Despite reporting a half billion loss in the second quarter, U.S. shale player Sanchez Energy said its total production was up 164 percent year-on-year.

Chief Executive Officer Tony Sanchez said in a statement Monday his company plans to cut capital spending by $50 million for the year, but still increase its production target by 4 percent, or about 2,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

"The 2016 capital budget is expected to maintain production consistent with 2015 levels and will likely lead to some moderate year-over-year growth," he said.

Low crude oil prices leave energy companies with less money to spend on exploration and production. Some of those companies are boasting of production gains by crediting improved efficiencies in well operations. Sanchez reported a loss of $562.9 million during the second quarter.

The company said its average production of 53,923 barrels of oil equivalent per day during the second quarter "significantly exceeded" its expectation of around 44,000 boe per day.

Sanchez said his company is focusing its efforts on the Eagle Ford shale play in Texas. In the Catarina basin within the Texas shale, the company said it expects to drill all 50 of its committed wells.

"This gives us a tremendous amount of operational and financial flexibility in the first half of 2016 as we further evaluate commodity prices, capital markets and acquisition opportunities," the CEO said.