Hess Corp. (NYSE: HES) posted a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss on Jan. 25, helped by cost cuts, and executives forecast a rebound in activity this year as crude prices edge higher.

The cautiously optimistic outlook for 2017 comes as the number of drilling rigs and other oilfield equipment deployed across the U.S. continues to rise, with oil executives betting their industry is on the rebound after a two-year price downturn.

"We see 2017 as the start of an exciting new chapter of value-driven growth for our company and our shareholders," CEO John Hess said in a statement.

Shares of New York-based Hess fell about 0.7% to $57.12 in morning trading, in line with a dip in oil prices.

Hess, like many of its peers, has slashed costs in recent quarters, lowering expenses by almost 16% in the fourth quarter of 2016.

Yet the company is boosting annual spending in 2017 by about 18% to $2.25 billion, adding a drilling rig in North Dakota's Bakken Shale and expanding in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, Thailand and Guyana.

Net loss attributable to Hess in the fourth quarter of 2016 widened to $4.89 billion, or $15.65 per share, from $1.82 billion, or $6.43 per share, one year earlier.

Excluding one-time items such as accounting charges, the company reported a loss of $1.01 per share, smaller than the average analyst estimate of $1.09, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Oil and gas production fell to 311,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (Mboe/d) from 368 Mboe/d one year earlier.

Revenue was nearly unchanged from a year earlier at $1.39 billion, but higher than analysts' expectations of $1.23 billion.

Hess also said on Jan. 25 that its offshore project at the North Malay Basin in the Gulf of Thailand would come online in 2017, with its Stampede oil and gas development in the Gulf of Mexico starting up in 2018.