ConocoPhillips: Looking to Reduce APLNG, Oil Sands Stakes

By Alison Sider

ConocoPhillips ( COP ) plans to sell some parts of its stakes in expensive projects such as the Australia Pacific LNG project and in the Canadian oil sands, Chief Executive Ryan Lance told analysts Thursday.

The company has already announced plans to shed billions of dollars in assets to focus on core areas of its portfolio, particularly in unconventional formations in the U.S.

The company plans to "rebalance" its portfolio over time and "lighten up" on these high costs projects in order to keep costs of supply low, Mr. Lance said Thursday.

The company aims to increase production and margins by 3% to 5% annually through 2017, he said.

Matt Fox, executive vice president for exploration and production, said costs have crept up in Australia by about 7% in Australian dollars, which is compounded by the that currency's strength against the U.S. dollar. The project is set to deliver first cargo by mid-2015, he said.

Even with some reduction in the company's stake there, the APLNG project is expected to add 80,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day by 2017, Mr. Fox said.

ConocoPhillips's projection in the Canadian oil sands is expected to double in the same period, even assuming the company will dilute its stake there, Mr. Fox added.

-Write to Alison Sider at alison.sider@dowjones.com

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires

  (END) Dow Jones Newswires
  02-28-130949ET
  Copyright (c) 2013 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.