By Anna Driver

(Reuters) – Chesapeake Energy Corp’s (CHK.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) target to pare debt to $9.5 billion or less by the end of the year may be pushed into 2013, along with some deal closings, the company’s chief financial officer told analysts on Friday.

Shares of the U.S. oil and gas company slumped 6 percent to $18.87 on word of the delays.

LONDON/HOUSTON (Reuters) – The world’s top oil and gas companies are struggling to deliver the output growth they need to outpace the burgeoning cost of exploration and development.

Third-quarter results from Exxon Mobil (XOM.N: Quote, Profile, Research), Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile, Research) and other top international players released over the past few days mostly beat expectations thanks to a shortage of the fuels and other crude-oil based products they make.

By Anna Driver

(Reuters) – Chesapeake Energy Corp (CHK.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) reported a net loss on Thursday compared with a year-ago profit, as low natural gas prices caused the U.S. oil and gas company to write down the value of some assets.

Chesapeake, which has large exposure to weak natural gas prices, has pledged to sell about $14 billion in assets this year to cut its debt and improve liquidity. The company is also drilling for pricier crude oil and natural gas liquids.

LONDON/HOUSTON (Reuters) – The world’s top oil and gas companies are struggling to improve output and failing to capture the full value of a resilient price for crude oil while weak gas prices in the United States take their toll.

Third-quarter results from Exxon Mobil (XOM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and other top international players released over the past few days mostly beat expectations thanks to a shortage of the fuels and other crude-oil based products they make.

By Anna Driver

(Reuters) – Exxon Mobil Corp, the world’s largest publicly traded oil company, on Thursday reported a lower quarterly profit that topped expectations, as higher margins from its refining arm countered a 7.5 decline in oil and gas output.

Refining margins have improved as companies benefit from processing cheaper grades of crude oil from Canada as well as shale basins like the Eagle Ford in south Texas.

HOUSTON, Oct 31 (Reuters) – Increased access to cheaper
crude oil from the United States and Canada boosted Phillips
66′s quarterly profits above analyst expectations after
the U.S. refining company spun off from ConocoPhillips
earlier this year, the company reported on Wednesday.

More than half of the company’s refining capacity is in the
central corridor of the U.S. with access to those cheaper crudes
in North Dakota, Texas, Kansas and other states, executives told
analysts during Phillips 66′s third-quarter earnings conference
call.

HOUSTON (Reuters) – Chesapeake Energy Corp (CHK.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) is under the gun to show evidence that it is changing its free-spending ways when it reports third-quarter earnings November 1.

The company’s largest investors, Carl Icahn and Mason Hawkins, were so unhappy with the company’s bloated balance sheet that they seized control of the board in June. With more than four months of work under the new board’s belt, analysts and investors are looking for signs that change is under way at the second-largest producer of natural gas in the United States after Exxon.

By Anna Driver

(Reuters) – ConocoPhillips (COP.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Occidental Petroleum Corp (OXY.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) reported quarterly results that topped Wall Street estimates as they produced more oil and gas than expected, even as lower prices hurt profits.

Shares of Conoco rose nearly 2 percent, while Occidental dipped 0.7 percent on Thursday.

By Anna Driver

(Reuters) – ConocoPhillips (COP.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) reported a lower third-quarter profit on Thursday that beat analysts’ estimates, as it produced more crude than expected from high-margin fields such as the Eagle Ford and Bakken.

Shares of the U.S. oil and gas company rose 2 percent to $57.11 in premarket trading.

Oct 16 (Reuters) – Murphy Oil Corp said it will spin
off its retail gasoline business in the United States, review
options for other assets, pay a special dividend and buy back
shares as it seeks to return more cash to its shareholders.

News of the plans sent Murphy’s shares climbing more than 8
percent in midday New York Stock Exchange trading.