Murphy Oil Corporation

What they do

Murphy produces crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids, reporting through three geographic E&P segments: U.S., Canada and all other countries, plus a Corporate segment. In 2025 worldwide production was 188,682 BOEPD, up 2.4% from 2024, with principal U.S. operations in the Gulf of America and Eagle Ford Shale and Canadian operations in onshore and offshore fields. U.S. liquids output of 93,289 BBL/day represented 90% of worldwide liquids, while Canadian natural gas wells dominate the company's gas well count. International activity includes exploration and appraisal in Brazil, Brunei, Côte d'Ivoire and Vietnam, with operations and production in 2025 in the U.S., Canada and Brunei.

Revenue drivers

• U.S. production (Gulf of America and Eagle Ford Shale) — The U.S. segment produced 93,289 BBL/day of liquids and about 85 MMCF/day of natural gas in 2025; roughly 65% of U.S. hydrocarbon production came from Gulf of America fields, about 91% of that from ten fields. This is the largest contributor to company liquids volumes.
• Canada production (offshore and onshore) — Canadian operations include offshore fields such as Terra Nova and Hibernia and onshore Kaybob Duvernay wells. Canada accounts for the bulk of the company's natural gas wells (369 gross, 352 net at year-end 2025), though natural gas revenues fell on reduced Tupper production and sales volumes in the first half of 2026.
• International exploration and appraisal — Murphy explores in Côte d'Ivoire, Vietnam, Brunei and Brazil, with no production outside the U.S., Canada and Brunei in 2025. The 2026 discoveries and appraisals (Bubale-1X in Côte d'Ivoire; the Lac Da Vang development in Vietnam) are pre-revenue and directed at future reserves.

Recent performance

For the second quarter of 2026, Murphy reported net income attributable to Murphy of $232.2 million, or $1.59 per diluted share, versus $22 million in the second quarter of 2025. Total production was 168,995 BOEPD net, at the upper end of guidance, though down 11% year over year mainly on planned and unplanned Gulf of America downtime. Revenue for the quarter (per XBRL) was $926.3 million. Six-month 2026 net income from continuing operations including noncontrolling interest was $333.2 million, up $209.3 million, helped by higher realized crude prices and lower lease operating expenses. Second-quarter capital expenditures were $476.0 million and free cash flow was $110.0 million.

Strategy

Murphy is balancing shareholder returns with an expanded exploration and development program, increasing the full-year 2026 capital midpoint from $1.25 billion to $1.55 billion to advance high-impact opportunities. Near-term projects include the Lac Da Vang development in Vietnam, where pipeline work was completed and the FSO launched, and the Chinook #8 development well in the Gulf of America. Exploration success at Bubale-1X in Côte d'Ivoire and appraisal at Bubale West-1X, plus the Lac Da Trang North-1X well in Vietnam, are intended to build a longer-term opportunity set. The company returned $50 million in quarterly dividends in the second quarter of 2026, elected not to repurchase shares, and retains $550 million under its share repurchase authorization. It also set a Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions intensity reduction target of 15% to 20% by 2030 versus 2019.

Risks

• Commodity price exposure — Murphy's revenues and profitability depend on crude oil and natural gas prices, and XBRL data show annual revenue falling from $4.22 billion in 2022 to $2.69 billion in 2025.
• Operational and weather hazards — The 10-K cites hurricanes, floods, equipment failures, fires and explosions across remote and urban locations, and second-quarter 2026 Gulf of America production fell on planned and unplanned downtime at multiple fields.
• Joint venture and partner reliance — About 19% of 2025 production and 12% of proved reserves at year-end 2025 were at fields operated by others, so partner funding or performance failures could delay projects.
• International exploration risk — Recent international wells encountered non-commercial hydrocarbons: Civette-1X and Caracal-1X in Côte d'Ivoire and the Hai Su Vang-4X appraisal in Vietnam were expensed as dry holes, and foreign exploration costs did not reduce income tax expense where no tax benefits were available.

Outlook

Management, per CEO Eric M. Hambly, enters the second half of 2026 with a growing exploration pipeline, citing Bubale-1X, the progression of Hai Su Vang toward development planning and Lac Da Vang nearing first oil. The company expanded its 2026 capital program to a $1.55 billion midpoint to fund appraisal and development work. Liquidity was approximately $2.48 billion at June 30, 2026, including an undrawn $2.00 billion credit facility.