The largest independent oil producer in the United States, ConocoPhillips, lost a substantial amount of money last quarter, but said it did better than 2015.

"Our underlying business performance is delivering strong momentum as we head into 2017," Chairman and CEO Ryan Lance said in a statement.

Conoco, which has offices in Houston, said it posted a net loss for the third quarter of $1 billion, about 9 percent less than the same period last year.

As the price of oil headed below $30 per barrel to start the year, Conoco said its best course of action would be to cut back and wait for recovery as it was unclear how long the oil market would remain suppressed. Later, the company cut dividend payouts, but said it was in a good position to weather the market downturn.

In its third quarter report, the company said it was making further cuts to its 2016 spending plan, lowering its guidance by about 5 percent to $5.2 billion. Most of the shift in capital would be away from what Conoco considered "major projects" to shale basins in the United States.

Baker Hughes, which provides oilfield services for companies like Chevron, said its financial position during the third quarter was damaged by declines in North Africa and the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, but a strong rebound is expected in the Lower 48 U.S. states as crude oil prices recover toward $50 per barrel.

When adjusted for downtime and other factors, Conoco said its production for the first nine months of the year increased by 3 percent.

"We're hitting our key operational targets across the business," Lance said.

The company blamed some of the declines from previous quarters on May wildfires in Canada, which impacted about 1 million barrels per day in net oil production in Alberta. Woes in Canada were compounded in June when the company was given an environmental protection order after an ultra-light form of oil called condensate was released from its Resthaven gas plant. The company confirmed some of the release had spread to an area creek.