Fortune Petroleum Posts $48,000 4th-Quarter Profit

Fortune Petroleum Corp., a small oil and gas concern based in Agoura Hills, reported a $48,000 profit for the fourth quarter of 1990, compared with a $42,000 loss the previous year.

The latest earnings came as Fortune’s revenue in the quarter that ended Dec. 31 more than doubled, to $472,000 from $223,000 a year earlier.

Fortune said the improvement reflected higher average prices for its oil, which helped the company overcome losses in the first half of 1990. It also reported a slim $6,000 profit for the full year, compared with a $48,000 loss in 1989. The company’s annual revenue rose 32% to $1.27 million from $957,000.

Separately, Fortune said it signed an agreement with Benton Oil & Gas Co. of Ventura under which Benton would drill an exploratory test well on the northern section of Fortune’s Hopper Canyon Field in Ventura County.

Under the deal, Benton would pay all of the drilling costs in exchange for future earnings from the site, provided the well is successful. Benton would also then have the option to drill a second well on an adjacent Fortune site.