(Reuters) -Natural gas producer Chesapeake Energy on Monday reported a second-quarter loss, compared to a year-ago profit, dented by persistently weak prices for the commodity.
U.S. natural gas prices have fallen about 22% this year amid lukewarm demand due to hotter-than-expected winter and a build-up in storage.
In response to the declining prices, Chesapeake, along with rivals like EQT and Coterra Energy, had curtailed their production earlier this year.
Chesapeake, which is on the cusp of becoming the biggest natural gas producer pending its acquisition of Southwestern Energy, said production during the April-June quarter fell to 2,745 million cubic feet per day, compared with 3,653 mcf/d, last year.
The company’s net loss was $227 million, or $1.73 per share, for the three months ended June 30, compared with a profit of $391 million, or $2.73 per share, in the year-ago quarter.
(Reporting by Sourasis Bose in Bengaluru; @)
