ConocoPhillips cuts budget 4 percent, to buy back $3 billion in shares

U.S. oil and natural gas producer ConocoPhillips said on Thursday it would cut its capital budget 4 percent next year due to technology gains and other improvements.

The company also announced a $3 billion share repurchase program and said it would sell $5 billion to $8 billion in assets, mostly from its North American natural gas operations.

(Reporting by Ernest Scheyder; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)