Canada's Husky Energy says can ramp up production in third quarter

By Arunima Kumar

(Reuters) - Canada's Husky Energy Inc <HSE.TO> said on Thursday it had the capacity to ramp up production in the third quarter as about 30,000 barrels of its crude oil remained curtailed per day in Western Canada and the United States.

Alberta, the main oil-producing province in Canada, curtailed some 1 million barrels per day (bpd) this spring as coronavirus-led lockdowns to curb the spread of the virus crushed demand for products like gasoline and jet fuel.

The comments come a week after bigger rival Suncor Energy Inc <SU.TO> said Western Canadian oil companies are moving to restore all of the production that they shut-in.

Producers in the United States have also voluntarily cut output after U.S. oil prices plunged below $0 in April for the first time ever.

Husky, which posted a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss, helped by higher margins, had about 80,000 bpd shut in the start of second-quarter.

The company said it expects full-year spending to be between C$1.6 billion and C$1.8 billion, and could reduce its 2021 spending to a range of C$1.2 billion to C$1.4 billion.

Shares of the company were down 4.2% as oil prices fell over fears that fuel demand recovery could be capped by a resurgence in coronavirus infections. [O/R]

Excluding items, Husky lost 30 Canadian cents per share, below Street estimates of a loss of 53 Canadian cents due to higher margins at the company's oilsands, Western Canadian and U.S. refining operations.

Quarterly production fell nearly 8% to 247,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) due to the production cuts, while average prices for its blended crude oil fell 64% to C$24.36 per barrel.

Net loss came in at C$304 million ($226.60 million) for the quarter ended June 30, compared to a year-ago profit of C$370 million.

(Reporting by Arunima Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Ramakrishnan M.)