Factoring out a $1.2 billion impairment charge and other items, the Calgary, Alberta-based energy company’s operating earnings tumbled 98%, but still came in ahead of analyst expectations. Encana, which has worked to shift its focus to oil and gas liquids assets and away from natural gas , said liquids production jumped 78% from a year earlier to about 120,700 barrels a day. “We are well positioned to benefit as oil prices rise,” Chief Executive Doug Suttles told analysts on a conference call. Overall production, however, averaged about 430,100 barrels of oil equivalent a day, down from 536,100 barrels a day a year earlier. It said the drop reflects the sale of lower-margin assets and its shift to a higher-margin, liquids-weighted production mix. It also came amid a slump in global crude prices that has led the company to slash the number of active drilling rigs from 44 in November […]