Record natural gas production and stronger commodity prices propelled Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. (CNRL) in the first three months of this year, enabling returns to shareholders and corporate debt reduction.

cnrl production

Natural gas production jumped by 25% in 1Q2022 from a year earlier to 2 Bcf/d, management noted. Liquids production hovered at 945,809 b/d, off from 979,352 because of plant maintenance and processing limits.

The gas gains followed a move last year to boost production from the Montney Shale, following a series of transactions that increased its holdings to 1.3 million acres.

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