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The
cut reflects not only the energy industry's increasing push for
efficiency gains that reduce the cost of drawing oil and natural
gas from the earth but also low commodity prices, which have
hampered Conoco and peers over the past two years.
The spending reduction comes after the company more than halved
its budget last year. Indeed, Conoco's 2015 capex had eclipsed
$10 billion.
"During the past two years, we have significantly transformed
ConocoPhillips to succeed in a lower, more volatile price
environment," Chief Executive Officer Ryan Lance said in a
statement.
Most of the budget next year will be spent on shale projects in
the contiguous United States, with some focus on Alaska and
Europe, as well as maintenance of existing operations.
The spending should result in 2017 production of 1.54 million to
1.57 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, which would be a
slight increase from 2016 estimates, executives said.
The company also announced a $3 billion share repurchase program
and said it would sell $5 billion to $8 billion in assets,
mostly from its North American natural gas operations.
Conoco is set to host analysts and investors on Thursday morning
at a presentation in New York.
Shares of the Houston-based company have fallen about 2 percent
this year, closing on Wednesday at $45.73.
(Reporting by Ernest Scheyder; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and
Lisa Von Ahn)
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