Canadian Natural Resources Ltd, the country’s No.2 oil and gas company, reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit, helped by a jump in product sales and an increase in prices across the board. The company also said its oil and gas production averaged 817,471 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) for the second quarter ended June 30, up from 623,315 boepd a year earlier. The Calgary-based company bought much of Devon Energy Corp’s Canadian natural gas properties in February. Total product sales for the quarter soared 44.5% to $6.11-billion. Revenue jumped 42% to $5.37 billion. Net income rose to $1.07-billion, or 97 cents per share, from $476-million, or 44 cents, a year earlier. The company earned C$1.04 per share on an adjusted basis. Analysts on average had expected the company to earn 98 cents per share on revenue of $5.17-billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Canadian Natural, which operates in Canada, the North Sea and offshore West Africa, said average realized crude oil prices rose 10% to $87.03 per barrel of oil. Prices in North America increased 17%. Cash flow, a key indicator of the company’s ability to pay for new projects and drilling, jumped about 58% to $2.6-billion. Canadian Natural shares had risen 27.6% this year to close at $45.84 on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Wednesday.

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