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July 28 (Reuters) - Canadian oil sands producer MEG Energy Corp MEG.TO reported a quarterly loss, compared with a profit a year earlier, as a rise in production was offset by a slump in crude prices.
MEG, whose key operations are in the Athabasca oil sands region of Alberta, said cash flow from operations fell about 93 percent to C$7 million, hurt by lower bitumen prices due to a decline in U.S. benchmark crude prices.
U.S. crude prices Clc1 traded about 21 percent lower in the second quarter on average from a year earlier.
MEG reported a decline in realized bitumen prices to C$30.93 per barrel from C$44.54 a year earlier.
However, the company's net operating costs fell to C$7.43 per barrel from C$9.43 a year earlier.
Bitumen production rose 16.5 percent to 83,127 barrels per day (bpd).
"Our second-quarter production levels have been close to record highs and we are currently seeing net operating costs of under C$7.50 to produce a barrel of oil," Chief Executive Bill McCaffrey said on Thursday.
MEG also reduced its non-energy operating costs in 2016 to a range of C$6.00 to C$7.00 per barrel from an earlier forecast of C$6.75 to C$7.75 per barrel.
The company reported a net loss of C$146 million ($111.2 million), or 65 Canadian cents per share, in the second quarter ended June 30, compared with a profit of C$63 million, or 28 Canadian cents per share, a year earlier. fell 7.6 percent to C$513 million. ($1 = 1.3126 Canadian dollars)