UPDATE 1-Penn Virginia Corp posts wider Q4 loss, shares dip

* Q4 loss $0.12/shr vs $0.01/shr last year * Revenue up 5 pct * Says reduced drilling activity in Q4 * Sees oil and gas production of 47-51 Bcfe in 2010

* Shares fall 8 pct in after-market trade

Feb 10 (Reuters) - Oil and natural gas company Penn Virginia Corp (PVA.N) posted a wider fourth-quarter loss, hurt by low gas prices and reduced drilling activity, sending its shares down 8 percent in after-market trade.

"Compared to the prior year quarter, we experienced significant declines in commodity prices and a 14 percent decrease in oil and gas production resulting from our decision to suspend drilling during a large part of 2009," Chief Executive James Dearlove said in a statement.

For the latest quarter, net loss attributable to Penn Virginia was $5.4 million, or 12 cents a share, compared with a loss of $514,000, or 1 cent a share, last year.

Excluding items, the loss attributable to Penn Virginia was 1 cent a share.

Total revenue was up 5 percent at $236.9 million.

Analysts on average were expecting the company post a loss of 10 cents a share, before items, on revenue of $210.8 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

For 2010, the company expects production of 47 to 51 billion cubic feet of natural gas equivalent (Bcfe), and capital expenditures between $375 million and $425 million in oil and gas the segment.

Shares of the Radnor, Pennsylvania-based company were down $1.89 at $23.10 in after-market trade. They closed at $24.99 Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Thyagaraju Adinarayan in Bangalore; Editing by Anne Pallivathuckal)