Aug. 1 (UPI) -- With the majority of its production coming from the Bakken shale, Whiting Petroleum said output for the second quarter was at the upper end of guidance.
"In the second quarter, Whiting continued its streak of delivering production results above forecast and generating significant cash flow above capital expenditures," President, Chairman and CEO Bradley J. Holly said in a statement. "Since the beginning of the fourth quarter 2017, Whiting has generated a total of $269 million of operating cash flow above capital expenditures."
Whiting operated about 10 percent of the active rigs listed Wednesday by the state government in North Dakota. Of its second quarter net production average of 126,180 barrels of oil equivalent per day, about 80 percent of that came from the Bakken shale formation in North Dakota.
Oil accounted for about 60 percent of total production for Whiting, up 12 percent from the same period last year. Total second quarter production was at the upper end of its guidance.
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For the third quarter, Whiting showed optimism with a target range similar to the production range for the three months ending June 30.
In terms of meeting its objectives, Whiting beat Continental Resources, one of the more active producers in the Bakken shale. Continental's second quarter average production of 284,059 boe per day was just below guidance, but a 25 percent increase from second quarter 2017.
Production for Continental would've been just above 289,000 boe per day if not for wet weather in the Bakken shale basin and voluntary restrictions to secure capacity on regional transit infrastructure.
Whiting realized an average price for crude oil of $62.61 per barrel during the second quarter. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark for the price of oil, was trading at around $68 per barrel early Wednesday EDT.
Total operating revenue for Whiting for the second quarter was nearly 70 percent higher than the same period last year at $526 million.
