Ovintiv raised its production outlook for the year, and its hedges gave back $6.28 a barrel in the quarter

$97.50. That is what Ovintiv realised on a barrel of oil and condensate in the second quarter before its hedges were applied, and $91.22 is what it realised after them.

The company reported second-quarter net earnings of $456m, or $1.62 a diluted share, on July 23. The figure includes a pre-tax loss of $337m on the divestiture of its Anadarko assets, a sale that closed in the quarter for cash proceeds of about $2.82bn after preliminary closing adjustments and transaction costs. Revenues also carried a net gain on risk management of $122m before tax. Cash from operating activities was $1.6bn. Free cash flow, on the company's non-GAAP measure, was $682m after capital spending of $574m.

Production averaged 615 thousand barrels of oil equivalent a day, including 206 thousand barrels a day of oil and condensate, which Ovintiv said came in above the high end of its own guidance. Natural gas averaged 1,959 million cubic feet a day. Upstream operating expense was $3.25 a barrel of oil equivalent.

The outlook moved and the budget did not. Ovintiv now expects full-year production of 630 to 645 MBOE/d, with oil and condensate at 210 to 212 thousand barrels a day, on capital investment unchanged at $2.25bn to $2.35bn. The company describes that as 4 percent growth in oil production per share with no increase in activity or spending. Chief executive Brendan McCracken said the company had organically replaced its full-year 2026 drilling locations in both the Permian and the Montney.

Shareholders took $429m in the quarter, about 63 percent of free cash flow, split between roughly $345m of buybacks covering about 6.1 million shares and $84m of dividends. Ovintiv said full-year returns should exceed 60 percent of free cash flow, against 45 percent through the first half. Net debt was $2.995bn at June 30, or 0.6 times adjusted EBITDA.