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Murphy Oil Corp. Third Quarter 2021 Results

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Murphy Oil Corp. announced its financial and operating results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2021,

Murphy reported net income attributable to Murphy of $108 million, or $0.70 net income per diluted share. Adjusted net income, which excludes discontinued operations and other one-off items, was $37 million, or $0.24 net income per diluted share.

Highlights for the third quarter include:

• Generated adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortization and exploration expenses of $312 million, or $21.95 per barrel of oil equivalent
• Advanced debt reduction goal with redemption of $150 million of 6.875 percent senior notes due 2024
• Finalized Terra Nova asset life extension project agreement with partners and government, increasing Murphy's working interest to 18 percent from 10.475 percent
• Maintained schedule of major projects in the Gulf of Mexico ahead of first oil in the first half of 2022 with drilling Khaleesi #3 and spudding Samurai #4, with no timing impacts from Hurricane Ida
• Transported the King's Quay floating production system successfully, safely and on schedule to the Texas coast from South Korea

Subsequent to the third quarter:

• Reduced 2021 capital expenditures guidance midpoint by $20 million down to $680 million, with a range of $675 to $685 million
• Continued delevering by announcing the redemption of $150 million of 6.875 percent senior notes due 2024 to occur on December 2, thereby achieving $300 million long-term debt reduction goal and 17 percent total debt reduction for 2021

CEO Roger Jenkins said: "Our team continues to successfully execute our major Gulf of Mexico projects as planned, while maintaining consistent onshore production volumes, enabling us to capitalize on rising oil prices and generate excess cash to achieve our goal of reducing long-term debt by $300 million in the second half of this year. By strengthening our balance sheet through significant debt reduction, the company will close out the year well-positioned to navigate all commodity price cycles as we continue our exploration program with spudding the non-operated Cutthroat well in Brazil in fourth quarter 2021."

"Prior to Hurricane Ida at the end of August, our Gulf of Mexico assets were performing above guidance. Our offshore facilities did not experience significant damage, and due to our preparations, five days after evacuation we were able to redeploy personnel safely with no incidents and, shortly thereafter, resumed drilling. This enabled our team to complete planned maintenance while awaiting downstream functionality, thereby reducing our operated planned downtime for fourth quarter 2021," said Jenkins. "Today, all hurricane-related production issues have been resolved with the exception of one field, which produces about 1 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day."

Q3 2021 Results

The company recorded net income, attributable to Murphy, of $108 million, or $0.70 net income per diluted share, for the third quarter 2021. This includes a realized after-tax loss of $91 million and an unrealized after-tax gain on crude oil derivative contracts of $44 million. Adjusted net income, which excludes both the results of discontinued operations and certain other items that affect comparability of results between periods, was $37 million, or $0.24 net income per diluted share for the same period. The adjusted net income from continuing operations adjusts for the following after-tax items: a $54 million gain on asset retirement obligations due to the multi-year deferral of expected abandonment expenditures at Terra Nova in offshore Canada, the previously mentioned $44 million non-cash mark-to-market gain on derivative instruments and a $22 million non-cash mark-to-market loss on contingent consideration. Details for third quarter results can be found in the attached schedules.

Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) from continuing operations attributable to Murphy was $288 million, or $20 per barrel of oil equivalent (BOE) sold. Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortization and exploration expenses (EBITDAX) from continuing operations attributable to Murphy was $312 million, or $22 per BOE sold. Details for third quarter EBITDA and EBITDAX reconciliations can be found in the attached schedules.

Third quarter production averaged 155 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day (MBOEPD) with 52 percent oil and 59 percent liquids. Approximately 12.8 MBOEPD of Gulf of Mexico production was shut-in due to Hurricane Ida during the quarter. Production downtime following the significant storm was extended as a result of damage and power loss at third-party downstream facilities, including oil terminals, natural gas processing plants and refineries, causing them to remain offline for several weeks. Gulf of Mexico production volumes steadily ramped up as third-party facilities returned to operations with approximately 1 MBOEPD expected to remain offline for repairs through first quarter 2022.

Details for third quarter results can be found in the attached schedules.

Financial Position

Murphy had approximately $2.1 billion of liquidity as of September 30, 2021, comprised of the $1.6 billion senior unsecured credit facility and approximately $505 million of cash and cash equivalents.

On August 16, 2021, Murphy redeemed $150 million of its 6.875 percent senior notes due 2024 for a redemption price of 101.719 percent. Total debt of $2.6 billion as of the end of third quarter 2021 consists of long-term, fixed-rate notes with a weighted average maturity of 7.5 years and a weighted average coupon of 6.3 percent.

Subsequent to quarter end, the company announced it will redeem an additional $150 million of its 6.875 percent senior notes due 2024. Following this redemption, Murphy will have achieved its long-term debt reduction goal of $300 million for the second half of 2021, as well as reduced total debt by $530 million, or 17 percent, since year-end 2020, after achieving $230 million total debt reduction in first quarter 2021.

Operations Summary

Onshore

The onshore business produced approximately 95 MBOEPD with 40 percent liquids volumes in the third quarter. No wells were brought online across Murphy's onshore assets during the quarter.

Eagle Ford Shale - Third quarter production averaged 37 MBOEPD with 70 percent oil volumes.

Tupper Montney - In the third quarter, natural gas production averaged 292 million cubic feet per day (MMCFD).

Kaybob Duvernay - Production averaged 7 MBOEPD with 71 percent liquids volumes during the third quarter.

Excluding noncontrolling interest, the offshore business produced 60 MBOEPD for the third quarter, comprised of 82 percent oil, which was negatively impacted by 12.8 MBOEPD of shut-in production as a result of Hurricane Ida.

Gulf of Mexico - During the quarter, production averaged 56 MBOEPD, consisting of 81 percent oil. Murphy brought Calliope #1 (Mississippi Canyon 609) online in August prior to the hurricane.

Murphy's major projects continue to advance on schedule, with the Khaleesi, Mormont, Samurai project expected to achieve first oil in the first half of 2022 through the King's Quay floating production system, and the non-operated St. Malo waterflood project scheduled to complete in 2023. Murphy drilled Khaleesi #3 and spud Samurai #4 in the third quarter, while the King's Quay floating production system safely reached shoreside in Texas after sailing from South Korea. Additionally, the final producer well of the non-operated St. Malo waterflood campaign was brought online in August prior to the hurricane.

Canada - Production averaged 4 MBOEPD in the third quarter, comprised of 100 percent oil.

Operations at the Terra Nova field have remained offline since December 2019. During the third quarter, the partner group finalized an agreement to advance the Terra Nova asset life extension project, which is expected to extend production life by approximately 10 years. As part of this agreement, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador will provide royalty and financial support up to $164 million (C$205 million) total to the partner group, which will contribute on a matching basis. Murphy's working interest has increased to 18 percent from 10.475 percent, while Suncor as operator now holds 48 percent and Cenovus owns the remaining 34 percent. Work began on the floating production storage and offloading vessel in the third quarter 2021 and it will remain offline throughout 2022 with an anticipated return to operations in fourth quarter 2022. Murphy's future net investment in the project is approximately $60 million, after adjusting for government funding and exiting partners.

Gulf of Mexico - Chevron U.S.A. Inc. drilled an exploration well at Silverback (Mississippi Canyon 35) and reached a measured depth of 23,240 feet. The operator plugged and abandoned the well and is evaluating the results. Murphy has fully expensed the well.

Commodity Hedges

Murphy employs commodity derivative instruments to manage certain risks associated with commodity price volatility and underpin capital returns associated with certain assets.

During and subsequent to the third quarter, Murphy added hedges to protect cash flow with the execution of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) costless collars, resulting in a total 23 thousand barrels of oil per day (MBOPD) hedged for full year 2022 with a weighted average put price of $62.65 per barrel and average call price of $74.77 per barrel.

For the remainder of 2021, the company has 45 MBOPD hedged with WTI fixed price swaps at an average price of $42.77 per barrel, while 20 MBOPD of full-year 2022 production is hedged at an average price of $44.88 per barrel.

Murphy continues to maintain its natural gas price risk protection with fixed price forward sales contracts for physical delivery at the AECO hub in Canada for calendar years 2021 through 2024. Details for the current hedge positions can be found in the attached schedules.

Capital Expenditure & Production Guidance

Production for fourth quarter 2021 is estimated to be in the range of 145.5 to 153.5 MBOEPD. This includes 4.5 MBOEPD of Gulf of Mexico facility downtime that occurred in October and 2.2 MBOEPD of net planned non-operated Gulf of Mexico downtime to occur later in the quarter. Murphy is reducing its 2021 capital expenditures (CAPEX) guidance midpoint by $20 million down to $680 million, with a range of $675 to $685 million. Due to production impacts from the hurricane, full year 2021 production guidance has been revised to a range of 156.5 to 158.5 MBOEPD, with the low end of original guidance now set as the midpoint. Full year production is forecast to be comprised of approximately 55 percent oil and 62 percent total liquids volumes. Both production and CAPEX guidance ranges exclude Gulf of Mexico noncontrolling interest (NCI).

"This year's focus on delevering the balance sheet could only have been achieved with continuous capital discipline," said Jenkins. "I am especially proud to maintain the low end of our original production guidance, exceed our original oil production volumes, and achieve our debt reduction goals - all accomplished with less capital, including our Lucius working interest acquisition in the first quarter, and despite experiencing a major hurricane that struck the most significant Gulf Coast location in the oil and natural gas industry."