Canadian oil and natural gas producer Encana Corp posted an operating quarterly profit as lower costs helped offset the impact of weak commodity prices.

Encana, like its Canadian peers, has been hit hard by the 60 per cent slump in crude oil prices since June 2014, and has responded by slashing jobs, cutting spending and selling oil and gas producing assets over the past two years.

The company has downsized operations to focus on four core North American plays: the Montney and Duvernay in Western Canada, and the Eagle Ford and Permian in the United States.

Enanca said on Thursday its operating expense dipped to US$4.19 per barrel of oil equivalent in the third quarter, from US$4.66 a year earlier.

The company's oil and natural gas liquids production fell nearly 17 per cent to average 117,000 barrels per day in the three months ended Sept.30, while natural gas output fell by about 14 per cent to 1.33 billion cubic feet per day.

Enanca posted a net profit of US$317 million in the quarter, compared with a loss of US$1.24 billion a year earlier.

The company took an impairment charge of more than US$1 billion in the year-ago quarter.

Operating profit, which excludes most one-time items, was US$32 million, or 4 cents per share, compared with an operating loss of US$24 million, or 3 cents per share.