Penn West Energy Trust trims second-quarter loss to $41 million

By The Canadian Press

CALGARY - Penn West Energy Trust (TSX: PWT-UN.TO) said Wednesday it managed to trim losses during the second quarter as oil prices began to recover from a trough reached in the first three months of the year.

The Calgary-based trust reported a net loss of $41 million or 10 cents per unit, narrowing a loss of $323 million or 86 cents per unit recorded during the same quarter of 2008. Quarterly revenues dropped 40 per cent to $791 million from $1.3 billion booked the year before.

Penn West said the decline in revenue was partially attributable to weak natural gas prices, adding the results were partially offset by the beginnings of a recovery in the price of crude oil.

The trust said oil prices averaged US$59.62 during the quarter, down sharply from year-earlier levels of $124 but higher than the first-quarter average of $43.21.

Penn West said quarterly production exceeded expectations at 180,601 barrels of oil equivalent per day, exceeding second-quarter estimates of 177,000 barrels per day.

The trust also said monthly cash distributions would remain at 15 cents per unit.