UPDATE 2-Brigham Exploration posts surprise Q3 loss; shares fall

* Q3 adj shr $0.00 vs est $0.01

* Q3 revenue halves

* Sees Q4 production 4,700 boepd-5,200 boepd

* Sees growth in Williston Basin oil volumes in 2010

* Shares fall as much as 8 pct (Recasts; adds conference call details, share movement)

BANGALORE, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Onshore oil and gas company Brigham Exploration Co (BEXP.O) surprised the markets with a small quarterly loss, hurt mainly by lower realized commodity prices, sending its shares down 8 percent.

Brigham also forecast sequentially lower fourth quarter production.

"We currently anticipate our fourth quarter 2009 production volumes to average between 4,700 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) to 5,200 barrels of oil equivalent per day," the company said in a statement.

During the third quarter, Brigham's production was 5,200 boepd. However, it expects a production growth in 2010.

"We would expect that our total 2010 production volumes should grow by a minimum of 25 percent over those for 2009, with the bulk of this growth coming in the form of our growth in our Williston Basin oil volumes," Brigham Chief Financial Officer Gene Shepherd said on a conference call with analysts.

Shepherd also forecast 2010 exploration and development capital expenditure of about $176 million, much higher than the $51.5 million estimated for 2009.

Brigham's Williston Basin oil volumes are expected to more than double by the fourth quarter of 2010, from the current levels, he added.

For the latest third quarter, the company posted a net income of $491,000, or 1 cent per share, compared with $15.3 million, or 33 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding special items, Brigham lost $300,000, or $0.00 per share. Total revenue more than halved to $19.8 million.

Analysts on average had expected Brigham to earn 1 cent per share, excluding special items, on revenue of $18.7 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

During the quarter, Brigham's average realized price for oil was $57.45 per barrel, compared with $104.38 per barrel a year earlier, while revenue from sales of oil and gas fell 36 percent to $19 million.

Shares of the company were down 7 percent at $10.03 in late morning trade Friday on Nasdaq. They touched a low of $9.90 earlier in the session.

For the alerts, double click [ID:nWNAB1916] (Reporting by Arup Roychoudhury in Bangalore; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)