Feb 20 (Reuters) - Canadian oil and gas producer Cenovus Energy (CVE.TO) , opens new tab posted a fall in fourth-quarter profit on Thursday, as lower commodity prices and weak refining margins offset higher production.

U.S.-listed shares of the company fell 1.4% before the bell.

Average Brent crude futures dropped 3% in 2024, as major consumer China's economy remained weak and the OPEC+ producer group postponed planned supply increases and extended deep output cuts to the end of 2026 in a sign of weak demand.

Integrated oil companies, including Exxon and Chevron, have seen a drop in profitability in their refining segments as margins return to normal levels after a period of extraordinary gains that were driven by sanctions on producer Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

Cenovus said its total upstream production rose slightly to 816,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) in the quarter, from 808,600 boepd a year earlier.

Total refining throughput for the fourth quarter was 666,700 barrels (bbl) per day, compared with 579,100 bbl per day a year ago.

The Canadian energy sector faces an uncertain future as U.S. President Donald Trump imposed 25% tariffs on Canadian imports in early February, but later delayed them by a month.

Canada has been the biggest source of U.S. oil imports for over two decades and supplied more than half of all crude imports into the country in 2023, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Cenovus had earlier forecast upstream production of between 805,000 and 845,000 boepd for the current year, higher than the 797,200 boepd it produced in 2024.

The Calgary, Alberta-based company's net income fell to C$146 million ($102.78 million), or 7 Canadian per share, in the three months ended December 31, from C$743 million, or 32 Canadian cents per share, a year earlier.

($1 = 1.4205 Canadian dollars)

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https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/canadas-cenovus-energy-quarterly-profit-falls-weak-oil-prices-2025-02-20/