Aug 4 (Reuters) - Oil and natural gas producer Canadian Natural Resources Ltd CNQ.TO CNQ.N reported a smaller quarterly loss on Thursday, as lower expenses helped offset a slump in crude prices.
The company's net loss narrowed to C$339 million ($259.4 million), or 31 Canadian cents per share, in the second quarter ended June 30, from C$405 million, or 37 Canadian cents per share, a year earlier. and natural gas production fell 2.7 percent to 783,988 barrels of oil equivalent per day in the quarter from a year earlier.
Canadian Natural, like many companies operating in Canada's oil sands, was hit by a massive wildfire near Fort McMurray in May that cut total Canadian crude output by more than 1 million barrels per day.
($1 = 1.3069 Canadian dollars)