16:07:09

The great Canadian explorer Cash flow, a glimpse into the company's ability to fund drilling and other projects, fell to C$443 million, or 85 Canadian cents per share, from C$946 million, or C$1.78 per share.

The Company experienced a massive 95% nose diving in second-quarter profit, from near-record levels a year ago due to the tumbling crude oil and forecast sequentially lower production volumes for the third quarter.

The Company earned C$20 million, or 4 Canadian cents per share from its C$6.1 billion ($5.4 billion) Alberta, oil sands project which just started producing. The earning is down from the year earlier C$380 million, or 72 Canadian cents per share.

Nexen’s revenue was C$1.2 billion, down from C$2.07 billion.

However, the aggressive Canadian explorer which also operates in the North Sea, Gulf of Mexico, Yemen and offshore Nigeria, is the first large Canadian energy player to report results for a period in which oil prices fell 52% from the year before, but rose 38% from the first quarter.

Natural gas prices were 67% lower than the second quarter of 2008.

Nexen's production averaged 208,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day after royalties, down 1.4% from 211,000 boed a year earlier.

www.africaoilgasreport.com