(Reuters) -EOG Resources on Thursday joined rivals in reporting a fall in its fourth-quarter profit but the U.S. oil and gas producer forecast higher output for 2024.
Concerns over global demand capped gains in oil prices throughout the reported quarter, with West Texas Intermediate prices declining compared to the year-ago quarter.
Its average crude oil and condensate prices for the quarter ended Dec. 31 was $80.60 per barrel, compared with $85.67 per barrel, last year.
Shares of the company were down 2.7% after the bell.
Rivals Diamondback Energy and Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE:PXD) have also reported a fall in quarterly profit on lower realized prices.
On an adjusted basis, EOG reported a profit of $3.07 per share, in line with estimates, according to LSEG data.
However, production rose to 1.03 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), compared with 909,100 boepd in the year-ago quarter.
U.S. crude oil production had reached record heights in 2023 as companies emphasized on boosting drilling efficiency and cutting costs. The company forecast 2024 total production to grow about 7%.
The company also said it would operate 27 rigs this year, down from 31 last year.
EOG expects 2024 capital expenditure to be between $6.0 and $6.4 billion.
The Houston, Texas-based company's net income fell to $1.99 billion, or $3.42 per share, in the quarter, from $2.28 billion, or $3.87 per share a year ago.
The company has also entered into a 10-year gas sales agreement with Vitol, linked to Brent crude oil prices.
Under the contract, EOG would supply 180,000 million metric British thermal units of natural gas to the global energy trader starting in January 2027.