ConocoPhillips, Hess Profits Rise

ConocoPhillips, Amerada Hess Corp. and Kerr-McGee Corp. posted gains in third-quarter earnings as surging energy prices more than made up for output disruptions caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Bloomberg reported. Net income at ConocoPhillips, the third-largest U.S. oil producer, jumped 89 percent to a record $3.8 billion, or $2.68 a share, the company said in a statement. Amerada Hess Corp., the No. 5 U.S. oil company, said its profit rose 53 percent to $272 million, or $2.60 a share. At Kerr-McGee, net income soared 48-fold to $359 million, or $3.09 a share. Houston-based ConocoPhillips and New York-based Hess are the first of the seven largest U.S. oil companies to report earnings for a quarter that saw crude, natural-gas and gasoline prices soar to new highs. Gas prices doubled in the quarter, and crude- oil futures traded 44 percent higher than a year earlier as demand grew, yielding windfall profits for producers.