May-28-2014
Press Releases
2014 Press Releases
Crown Point Announces Results for the Three Months Ended March 31, 2014 and Provides Operational Update.
May 28, 2014
TSX-V: CWV: Crown Point Energy Inc. (“Crown Point” or the “Company”) today announces its operating and financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2014. Copies of the Company’s unaudited condensed interim consolidated financial statements and related Management’s Discussion and Analysis (“MD&A”) are being filed with Canadian securities regulatory authorities and will be made available under the Company’s profile at www.sedar.com and on the Company’s website at www.crownpointenergy.com. All dollar figures are expressed in United States dollars unless otherwise stated.
FINANCIAL AND OPERATING HIGHLIGHTS
“During the first quarter Crown Point focused on advancing initiatives designed to grow production and capture exploration upside from our core operating regions,” said Murray McCartney, CEO of Crown Point Energy. “In the near-term, our core objectives include drilling additional wells in our 10-well development and exploration drilling program at Tierra del Fuego and completing and testing the La Hoyada x-1 exploration well at Cerro de Los Leones to assess its potential as conventional Vaca Muerta discovery.”
Highlights include:
- Cerro de Los Leones– Drilled, logged and cased the La Hoyada x-1 exploration well as a potential conventional Vaca Muerta oil discovery. Completion operations for the La Hoyada x-1 well commenced in late May.
- Tierra del Fuego– Signed a drilling contract with San Antonio International to provide a drilling rig for our initial 10 well drilling program. Contract is extendable for three years. The first well drilled LF-1008 has been cased as a potential natural gas well with 11 metres of gross sand in the Springhill.
- Argentina New Gas Incentive Program– On March 30, 2014, Crown Point submitted to the Argentine Government its formal proposal for participation in the New Gas Incentive Program for smaller companies announced in November 2013.
- Average Daily Sales Volumes– 1,571 BOEPD.
- Operating Netback per BOE:$14.19.
Q1 FINANCIAL AND OPERATING RESULTS
Results for the three months ended March 31, 2014 include:
- Average Daily Sales Volumes:1,571 BOEPD for the three months ended March 31, 2014, as compared to 1,994 BOEPD for the three months ended March 31, 2013. This decrease was in part a result of the termination of NGL exports in mid-May 2013 in connection with the Company’s decision to leave the majority of NGL production in the gas stream, the effect of staged compressor maintenance and natural declines in oil and gas production.
- Operating Netback per BOE:$14.19 for the three months ended March 31, 2014, as compared to $15.53 for the three months ended March 31, 2013. Total Company operating netbacks decreased in the 2014 period compared to the 2013 period due mainly to a decrease in NGL and gas prices earned in the 2014 period which were partially offset by lower royalties and operating costs.
- Funds Flow From Operations:$0.75 million for the three months ended March 31, 2014, compared to $2.32 million for the three months ended March 31, 2013. The Company did not receive any proceeds from the sale of Petroleo Plus Credits in the 2014 period as compared to $1.2 million received and recognized in the 2013 period.
Operating Netbacks – Total Company
|
Three months ended |
||||
|
2014 |
2013 |
|||
|
Total sales volumes (BOE) |
141,430 |
179,461 |
||
|
Average daily sales volumes (BOEPD) |
1,571 |
1,994 |
||
|
Per BOE |
Per BOE |
|||
|
Total Oil and gas revenue ($) |
4,443,425 |
31.42 |
6,384,168 |
35.57 |
|
Total royalties ($) |
(827,858) |
(5.85) |
(1,242,077) |
(6.92) |
|
Total operating costs ($) |
(1,609,201) |
(11.38) |
(2,354,872) |
(13.13) |
|
Total operating netback ($) |
2,006,366 |
14.19 |
2,787,219 |
15.53 |
OPERATIONS
CERRO DE LOS LEONES, NEUQUEN BASIN, ARGENTINA
The Company’s 100% interest in the Cerro de Los Leones exploration concession covers approximately 306,646 acres in the Mendoza portion of the Neuquén Basin.
On February 12, 2014 the Company announced that it had drilled, logged, cased and rig released the La Hoyada x-1 exploration well as a potential Vaca Muerta oil discovery. The La Hoyada x-1 well was drilled to a total depth of 1,953 metres and encountered persistent oil shows and gas while drilling through the Vaca Muerta formation which consisted of 125 metres of shale and 84 metres of imbedded fractured igneous intrusives. Completion operations on the La Hoyada well commenced in late May. If the well is successfully completed it will be placed on a production test with the potential for further drilling at Cerro de Los Leones later in 2014.
TIERRA DEL FUEGO, ARGENTINA
The Company’s 25.78% working interest in the Tierra del Fuego area of Argentina covers approximately 489,000 acres (126,000 net acres) in the Austral Basin and includes the Las Violetas, Angostura Sur and Rio Cullen exploitation concessions. The primary term of all three concessions expires in November 2026.
Crown Point’s Tierra del Fuego Concessions are high quality natural gas weighted assets possessing the capability to deliver increased levels of production and reserves in an expected increasing natural gas price market.
Drilling of the first well of the initial ten well program commenced on May 8, 2014. The well has been drilled to total depth and has been cased as a potential gas well. The well encountered approximately 11 metres of sand in the Springhill formation. Drilling of the second well LF -1027 is expected to commence in a few days.
Commencing late in June, a fracture stimulation program will be performed on four producing wells in the Los Flamencos natural gas pool. A similar program undertaken in 2010 significantly improved deliverability from five wells in the Los Flamencos pool.
Outlook:
The Company’s efforts over the next few quarters will be focused principally on two areas in Argentina: Tierra del Fuego for lower risk natural gas focused repeatable drilling and Cerro de Los Leones for completion and testing of the La Hoyada X-1 exploration well, the first in a potential high impact oil exploration program in the Neuquén basin.
Management expects that production additions from the drilling and fracture stimulation program will commence in July and, as a result, management expects to see rising production volumes and field sales receipts through to the end of the year. Financially, this is expected to have a positive impact on the Company’s income statement as spot market natural gas prices continue to rise in Argentina. The balance of the 10 well program on the Las Violetas Exploitation Concession will consist of seven more development wells in the Los Flamencos gas pool and two exploration wells, one on the Puesto Quince prospect and another near the southern San Luis natural gas pool. All of the drilling locations have been fully imaged with 3-D seismic. The Puesto Quince prospect lies to the northeast of the Los Flamencos and Los Patos producing pools and is adjacent to the Rio Chico gas pool. The feature has a seismically mapped aerial extent of approximately 50 km2. The San Luis exploration prospect has been defined with 3-D seismic and is located on a separate fault block near the San Luis gas pool.
At Cerro de Los Leones the Company has commenced completion operations on the La Hoyada x-1 well. If the completion operations are successful, the Company plans to place the well on a production test with the potential for further drilling at Cerro de Los Leones in late 2014.
Oil price realizations in Argentina were temporarily impacted by the peso devaluation and economic conditions during the first quarter of 2014. In May, oil prices were negotiated to be greater than the price received prior to the peso devaluation of early 2014, or approximately $9 per barrel greater than the price realized in the first quarter. The Company believes market conditions will continue to have a positive impact on oil and natural gas prices as there is not sufficient hydrocarbon production in Argentina to meet the demand for energy consumption in the country. The Company also expects to realize benefits from the Gas Plan II natural gas subsidy program that has been applied for by Crown Point. This new hydrocarbon subsidy program provides an incentive for producers to effectively earn higher gas prices for increases in natural gas production above base production levels.
For inquiries please contact:
Murray McCartney
President & CEO
Ph: (403) 232-1150
Crown Point Energy Inc.
mmccartney@crownpointenergy.com
Arthur J.G. Madden
Vice-President & CFO
Ph: (403) 232-1150
Crown Point Energy Inc.
amadden@crownpointenergy.com
Brian J. Moss
Executive Vice-President & COO
Ph: (403) 232-1150
Crown Point Energy Inc.
bmoss@crownpointenergy.com
website:www.crownpointenergy.com
About Crown Point
Crown Point Energy Inc. is an international oil and gas exploration and development company headquartered in Calgary, Canada, incorporated in Canada, trading on the TSX Venture Exchange and operating in South America. Crown Point’s exploration and development activities are focused in the Golfo San Jorge, Neuquén and Austral basins in Argentina. Crown Point has a strategy that focuses on establishing a portfolio of producing properties, plus production enhancement and exploration opportunities to provide a basis for future growth.
Advisories
Certain Oil and Gas Disclosures: Barrels of oil equivalent (BOE) may be misleading, particularly if used in isolation. A boe conversion ratio of six thousand cubic feet (6 Mcf) to one barrel (1 bbl) is based on an energy equivalency conversion method primarily applicable at the burner tip and does not represent a value equivalency at the wellhead. In addition, given that the value ratio based on the current price of crude oil in Argentina as compared to the current price of natural gas in Argentina is significantly different from the energy equivalency of 6:1, utilizing a conversion on a 6:1 basis may be misleading as an indication of value. “BOEPD” means barrels of oil equivalent per day. “Mcf” means thousand cubic feet. “Mbbls” means thousands of barrels.
Non-IFRS Measures: This press release discloses “funds flow from operations” and “operating netbacks”, which do not have standardized meanings under International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”) and as such may not be comparable with the calculation of similar measures used by other entities. Funds flow from operations should not be considered an alternative to or more meaningful than, cash flow from operating activities as determined in accordance with IFRS as an indicator of the Company’s performance. Management uses funds flow from operations to analyze operating performance and considers funds flow from operations to be a key measure as it demonstrates the Company’s ability to generate cash necessary to fund future capital investment. A reconciliation of funds flow from operations to cash flow from operating activities is presented in the MD&A under “Non-IFRS Measures”. Operating netbacks are calculated on a per unit basis as oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids revenues less royalties, transportation and operating costs. Management believes this measure is a useful supplemental measures of the Company’s profitability relative to commodity prices. See “Operating Netbacks – Total Company”.
Forward looking information: Certain information set forth in this document, including: our belief that the La Hoyada x-1 well is a potential Vaca Muerta oil discovery; our intention to perform a fracture stimulation program on four producing wells in the Los Flamencos natural gas pool and the timing thereof and our expectations for the results thereof; the ability of our first quarter initiatives to grow production and capture exploration upside from our core operating regions; our core objectives to drill additional wells in our 10-well development and exploration drilling program at Tierra del Fuego (“TDF”) and complete and test the La Hoyada x-1 exploration well at Cerro de Los Leones to assess its potential as a conventional Vaca Muerta discovery; our belief that the LF-1008 well is a potential natural gas well and our expectations regarding when completion operations will commence; our belief that our interests in the TDF area possess the capability of delivering increased levels of production and reserves in an expected increasing natural gas price market; our expectation that a second well will commence drilling at TDF in a few days; our expectation that if the La Hoyada x-1 well is successfully completed it will be placed on a production test with the potential for further drilling at Cerro de Los Leones later in 2014; our intention to focus our efforts over the next few quarters principally on TDF for lower risk natural gas focused repeatable drilling and Cerro de Los Leones for completion and testing of the La Hoyada x-1 exploration well, the first in a potential high impact oil exploration program in the basin; the details of our initial 10 well drilling program on the Las Violetas Exploitation Concession at TDF, including the type and general location of wells to be drilled; our expectation that production additions from the drilling and fracture stimulation program at TDF will commence in July, that we will see rising production volumes and field sales receipts through to the end of the year, and that this will have a positive impact on our income statement as spot market natural gas prices continue to rise in Argentina; our belief that if we access the New Gas Subsidy Program it could further increase pricing received; and our belief that market conditions will continue to have a positive impact on oil and natural gas prices; is considered forward-looking information, and necessarily involve risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond Crown Point’s control. Such risks include but are not limited to: risks associated with oil and gas exploration, development, exploitation, production, marketing and transportation; risks associated with operating in Argentina, including risks of changing government regulations (including the adoption of, amendments to, or the cancellation of government incentive programs or other laws and regulations relating to commodity prices, taxation, currency controls and export restrictions, in each case that may adversely impact Crown Point), expropriation/nationalization of assets, price controls on commodity prices, inability to enforce contracts in certain circumstances, the potential for a sovereign debt default or a hyperinflationary economic environment, and other economic and political risks; loss of markets and other economic and industry conditions; volatility of commodity prices; currency fluctuations; imprecision of reserve estimates; environmental risks; competition from other producers; inability to retain drilling services; incorrect assessment of value of acquisitions and failure to realize the benefits therefrom; delays resulting from or inability to obtain required regulatory approvals; the lack of availability of qualified personnel or management; stock market volatility and ability to access sufficient capital from internal and external sources; and economic or industry condition changes. Actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, the forward-looking information and, accordingly, no assurance can be given that any events anticipated by the forward-looking information will transpire or occur, or if any of them do so, what benefits that Crown Point will derive therefrom. With respect to forward-looking information contained herein, the Company has made assumptions regarding: the impact of increasing competition; the general stability of the economic and political environment in Argentina; the timely receipt of any required regulatory approvals; the ability of the Company to obtain qualified staff, equipment and services in a timely and cost efficient manner; drilling results; the costs of obtaining equipment and personnel to complete the Company’s capital expenditure program; the ability of the operator of the projects which the Company has an interest in to operate the field in a safe, efficient and effective manner; the ability of the Company to obtain financing on acceptable terms when and if needed; field production rates and decline rates; the ability to replace and expand oil and natural gas reserves through acquisition, development and exploration activities; the timing and costs of pipeline, storage and facility construction and expansion and the ability of the Company to secure adequate product transportation; future oil and natural gas prices; currency, exchange and interest rates; the regulatory framework regarding royalties, commodity price controls, import/export matters, taxes and environmental matters in Argentina; and the ability of the Company to successfully market its oil and natural gas products. Additional information on these and other factors that could affect Crown Point are included in reports on file with Canadian securities regulatory authorities, including under the heading “Risk Factors” in the Company’s annual information form, and may be accessed through the SEDAR website (www.sedar.com). Furthermore, the forward-looking information contained in this document are made as of the date of this document, and Crown Point does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or to revise any of the included forward looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be expressly required by applicable securities law.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.