Petrobank Energy and Resources Ltd. ("Petrobank" or the "Company") (TSX:PBG) is
pleased to announce first quarter 2010 financial and operating results
highlighted by funds flow from operations of $3.14 per diluted share and net
income of $0.76 per diluted share. We are also pleased to provide an operational
update for our Heavy Oil Business Unit where progress continues on our
Kerrobert, Conklin and May River projects.
Petrobank's results include the financial and operating results of PetroBakken
Energy Ltd. ("PetroBakken") (TSX:PBN), 62% owned by Petrobank as at March 31,
2010 (currently 58%), and Petrominerales Ltd. ("Petrominerales") (TSX:PMG), 66%
owned by Petrobank. PetroBakken announced first quarter financial and operating
results on May 11, 2010. Petrominerales announced first quarter financial and
operating results on May 5, 2010.
All references to $ are Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted. All comparisons
are to the prior period, unless otherwise noted.
Q1 2010 HIGHLIGHTS AND SIGNIFICANT TRANSACTIONS
-- Petrobank's consolidated production increased 85 percent to 81,297
barrels of oil equivalent per day ("boepd") in the first quarter of 2010
compared to 43,856 boepd in the first quarter of 2009 due to production
increases in PetroBakken and Petrominerales.
-- Funds flow from operations increased 167 percent to $334.0 million in
the first quarter of 2010. On a per diluted share basis, funds flow from
operations increased 124 percent to $3.14.
-- Net income increased to $82.5 million in the first quarter of 2010
compared to a $1.5 million loss in 2009. On a per diluted share basis,
net income increased to $0.76 from a loss of $0.02.
Petrobank's Heavy Oil Business Unit ("HBU")
-- Petrobank incurred $23.9 million of capital expenditures in the first
quarter related to our Kerrobert heavy oil project, the Conklin oil
sands project, a Conklin 4D seismic program, and 3D seismic program and
12 stratigraphic wells over our May River leases.
PetroBakken
-- First quarter production increased 95 percent to 43,098 boepd compared
to 22,085 boepd in the first quarter of 2009, primarily driven by the
acquisition of TriStar Oil and Gas Ltd. ("TriStar") on October 1, 2009
and drilling activities in the Bakken.
-- Operating netbacks (excluding hedging gains) averaged $52.93 per boe in
the first quarter of 2010, an increase of 53 percent compared to the
first quarter of 2009, primarily due to higher benchmark oil prices.
-- PetroBakken drilled 73 (59.5 net) wells in the quarter; including 50
(41.1 net) in the Bakken, and 19 (16.3 net) in conventional plays in
southeast Saskatchewan.
-- On January 25, 2010, PetroBakken issued US$750 million of convertible
debentures. The debentures are convertible into common shares of
PetroBakken at a conversion price of US$39.61 per share, have an annual
coupon rate of 3.125% and mature in February 2016.
-- PetroBakken completed three non-core dispositions and two Cardium
focused acquisitions in the quarter - Berens Energy Ltd. and Rondo
Petroleum Inc.
Petrominerales
-- First quarter production increased 75 percent to 38,199 barrels of oil
per day ("bopd") compared to 21,771 bopd in the first quarter of 2009,
primarily due to drilling successes at Guatiquia and Neiva.
-- Operating netbacks averaged US$51.05 per barrel, an increase of 111
percent compared to the first quarter of 2009, primarily due to higher
benchmark oil prices.
-- Petrominerales added two more producing wells at Candelilla. The three
Candelilla wells contributed 20,972 bopd to first quarter production.
-- Petrominerales drilled a new oil discovery on the Casimena Block in
Colombia, Yenac-1.
SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
-- On April 23, 2010, the remaining US$149.3 million principal amount of
Petrobank's 5.125% convertible debentures were early converted. An
aggregate of US$27.4 million was paid and 3,920,446 common shares were
issued. On May 10, 2010, the remaining US$5.1 million principal amount
of Petrobank's 3% convertible debentures were early converted into
179,009 common shares. As a result of these two events, there are no
longer any Petrobank convertible debentures outstanding.
PetroBakken
-- On April 1, 2010, PetroBakken acquired all of the issued and outstanding
shares of Result Energy Inc. ("Result") for cash consideration of $200
million and the issuance of 11.2 million PetroBakken common shares.
Result had working capital of approximately $60 million on closing of
the arrangement.
Petrominerales
-- On April 14, 2010, Petrominerales acquired all of the issued and
outstanding shares of PanAndean Resources plc for US$30.4 million. The
assets acquired pursuant to the acquisition include 6.9 million gross
(3.9 million net) acres from four exploration blocks in Peru and one
exploration block in Colombia.
PETROBANK'S LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
Petrobank, PetroBakken and Petrominerales manage their capital structure
independently; they generate their own cash flows, and have the ability to fund
their operations through the issuance of secured and unsecured debt as well as
equity financing. Petrobank's capital resources are focused on funding corporate
and HBU expenditures. At March 31, 2010, independent of PetroBakken and
Petrominerales, Petrobank on a standalone basis had no bank debt outstanding and
positive working capital of $28.4 million. A $30 million credit facility is also
available and all previously outstanding Petrobank convertible debentures have
now been converted into common shares.
Based on Petrobank's current ownership and PetroBakken's intentions of paying an
annual dividend of $0.96 per PetroBakken share, Petrobank expects to receive
$105 million of dividends annually from PetroBakken paid monthly. Petrobank can
also raise funds by selling a portion of its ownership in PetroBakken and
Petrominerales or by issuing additional debt secured by these interests.
Petrobank expects to fund our HBU capital expenditure program with cash,
available credit, cash from operations and dividends received from PetroBakken.
SUMMARY OF FINANCIAL AND OPERATING RESULTS
The following table provides a summary of Petrobank's financial and operating
results for the three months ended March 31, 2010 and 2009. Consolidated
financial statements with Management's Discussion and Analysis ("MD&A") will be
available on the Company's website at www.petrobank.com and on the SEDAR website
at www.sedar.com.
Three months ended March 31, 2010 2009 % Change
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Financial ($000s, except where noted)
Oil and natural gas revenue 533,133 190,786 179
Funds flow from operations (1) 333,954 125,156 167
Per share - basic ($) 3.33 1.50 122
- diluted ($) 3.14 1.40 124
Net income (loss) 82,499 (1,542) -
Per share - basic ($) 0.82 (0.02) -
- diluted ($) 0.76 (0.02) -
Capital expenditures
PetroBakken 185,116 70,024 164
Petrominerales 116,209 81,560 42
HBU 23,934 21,410 12
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Total Company 325,259 172,994 88
Total assets 6,494,359 2,414,146 169
Common shares, end of period (000s)
Basic 101,839 83,598 22
Diluted (2) 109,544 99,214 10
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Operations
PetroBakken operating netback ($/boe
except where noted) (1) (3)
Oil and NGL revenue ($/bbl) (4) 76.08 48.57 57
Natural gas revenue ($/mcf) (4) 5.20 5.35 (3)
Oil and natural gas revenue (4) 70.41 46.81 50
Royalties 9.68 5.32 82
Production expenses 7.80 6.81 15
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Operating netback (5) 52.93 34.68 53
Petrominerales operating netback
($/bbl) (1)
Oil revenue (4) 67.17 42.18 59
Royalties 7.39 4.60 61
Production expenses 6.71 7.40 (9)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Operating netback (5) 53.07 30.18 76
Average daily production
PetroBakken - oil and NGL (bbls) 37,654 19,722 91
PetroBakken - natural gas (mcf) 32,662 14,179 130
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Total PetroBakken (boe) (3) 43,098 22,085 95
Petrominerales - oil (bbls) (6) 38,199 21,771 75
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Total Company conventional (boe) (7) 81,297 43,856 85
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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(1) Non-GAAP measure. See "Non-GAAP Measures" section in this press release.
(2) Assumes 4.1 million common shares will be issued upon conversion of
Petrobank's convertible debentures.
(3) Six mcf of natural gas is equivalent to one barrel of oil equivalent
("boe").
(4) Net of transportation expenses.
(5) Excludes hedging activities.
(6) Actual production sold for the first quarter of 2010 was 38,462 bopd (Q1
2009 - 21,409 bopd).
(7) HBU bitumen volumes are excluded from average daily production as
Conklin and Kerrobert operations are considered to be in the
pre-operating stage and accordingly are capitalized.
HEAVY OIL BUSINESS UNIT OPERATIONAL UPDATE
During the first quarter, Petrobank's Heavy Oil Business Unit continued to
actively engage in field-demonstrating our patented THAI(TM) heavy oil recovery
process on multiple projects within our 75 net sections of oil sands leases in
Alberta and 36 sections of oil sands licenses in Saskatchewan. THAI(TM) is an
in-situ combustion technology for the recovery of bitumen and heavy oil that
integrates existing proven technologies and provides the opportunity to create a
step change in the development of heavy oil resources globally.
HIGHLIGHTS
-- Kerrobert pump reconfiguration completed and on stream.
-- Second phase of compression installed at Kerrobert.
-- Reconfiguration of Conklin wells initiated.
-- Conklin 4D seismic program completed.
-- 3D seismic program completed and 12 additional stratigraphic wells
drilled at May River.
-- Received the second round of supplemental information requests ("SIRs")
from the Energy Resources and Conservation Board ("ERCB") on May 13,
2010.
Kerrobert Project
Operations to reconfigure the pumps on the Kerrobert wells were initiated late
in the first quarter. The wells were shut in mid-March for the removal of the
original hydraulic pumps and to install new permanent progressive cavity pumps
(PCPs) which will be incorporated into future wells. Due to severe early spring
weather and late equipment deliveries we were not able to complete the pump
installation until the latter part of April and restarted the wells in early
May. During the reconfiguration, air injection was maintained at reduced rates.
Since restart, oil production has been as high as 250 bopd. Produced oil has
been a combination of THAI(TM) oil that is partially upgraded along with
intermittent heavy emulsions. The variation in produced oil quality is expected
to decline over time as we move through the startup phase and more of the
production comes from the toe of the well increasing the proportion of THAI(TM)
oil. With the heavier emulsion the pumping rate is reduced requiring the
injection of a minor amount of solvent to break the emulsion to allow higher
pumping rates. Thermocouple temperatures have stabilized with wellbore
temperature of up to 175 degrees Celsius. Produced gas composition from both
wells indicates that we have high temperature combustion.
In addition to the new PCP pump design at Kerrobert, a new wellhead
configuration for improved handling of produced gases and instrumentation for
bottomhole temperature and pressure monitoring has been installed. We also
installed an additional 3 mmcf/day of air injection capacity bringing the total
air injection capacity to 6 mmcf/day. This additional air injection capacity
will be available for the current and future wells. Surface facilities at
Kerrobert have been operating steadily with minimal upsets or solids production.
Our expansion plans for Kerrobert are progressing and we target a late third
quarter start up. This project will include an additional ten wells and related
surface processing equipment with a 7,200 bopd total gross production target.
Conklin Project
At Conklin, we are pursuing two well completion upgrade designs on the
production wells. The first upgrade will involve the addition of a production
gas lift string in each of the wells with bottomhole pressure monitoring. The
second modification will be with installation of artificial lift pumps and gas
handling capabilities similar to that of Kerrobert. This is a significant
optimization step building on our Kerrobert experience and is expected to
improve and stabilize production to achieve our 1,500 bopd target and will be
the design used in future projects. The first phase of the well completion
upgrades are planned to occur over the second quarter. The PCPs are expected to
be installed in the third quarter.
During April, we began preparation for the completion upgrades resulting in a 50
percent downtime and production averaged 103 bopd. Peak well production rates
have achieved up to 480 bopd. Through the first week of May production averaged
200 bopd, based on field estimates, with two wells on production. P3B production
was shut in during the first week of May to enable the replacement of a packer
in the injection well. This procedure is now complete and we plan to recommence
production operations.
We have also completed the fourth 4D seismic survey over the project area. This
survey will provide an additional view of the combustion front's development
over time.
May River Project
Engineering, procurement, and construction management on the project has been
awarded for the wellsites, pipelines, and for the central processing facility.
We will initiate ordering long lead items during the second quarter and with
timely regulatory approval steam start-up could occur in mid-2012. An additional
12 OSE stratigraphic wells and 3D seismic over the project area has been
completed, allowing us to further delineate the reservoir and to optimize well
placements.
The regulatory application for May River's first phase was filed with the ERCB
and Alberta Environment in December 2008. The first round of SIRs from Alberta
Environment and the ERCB were responded to in mid-December 2009. We have
received and responded to the second round of SIRs from Alberta Environment and
they have given the project draft approval. We received the second round of SIRs
from the ERCB on May 13, 2010 and we expect to submit our responses by the end
of May.
The May River design incorporates power generation utilizing low energy produced
gas, sulphur recovery, is CO2 capture ready, and will be a net water producer
rather than a water user, making our May River project a leading environmentally
sustainable benchmark for oil sands and heavy oil development. The project
utilizes a modular approach that is designed to be installed and operated on
heavy oil projects world-wide.
Dawson Project
Dawson is a joint venture project located near Peace River, Alberta with a
significant heavy oil resource in the Bluesky formation. The regulatory
application for this initial two well project was filed on April 2, 2009
contemplating a project of similar scope and scale to our Kerrobert project. We
received Alberta Environment's conditional approval on June 26, 2009. The ERCB's
SIRs were received at the end of November, 2009 and they are in the process of
reviewing our responses.
Archon Technologies
Our wholly-owned subsidiary, Archon Technologies Ltd., has tested several
innovative and step-change technologies, direct oxidation for H2S recover and
enriched oxygen injection on a lab scale which are planned to be field tested in
2010. These could significantly improve THAI(TM) performance by improving
overall recovery and quality of produced heavy oil. Small scale field pilots for
these technologies are planned to be implemented at Conklin. We recently filed
another new enhancement patent involving an innovative well design bringing our
portfolio of patents and patents pending to eight.
We continue to receive world-wide interest in our technology because of its
superior economic and environmental benefits. Our joint venture strategy is to
demonstrate and commercialize THAI(TM) and CAPRI(TM) in a wide range of large
global resource opportunities.
THAI(TM) has many potential benefits over SAGD including expected higher
resource recovery (70%-80% versus 30%-50% for SAGD), lower production and
capital costs, minimal usage of natural gas and fresh water, a partially
upgraded crude oil product, reduced diluent requirements for transportation, and
lower greenhouse gas emissions. The THAI(TM) process also has the potential to
operate in lower pressure, lower quality, thinner and deeper reservoirs than
current steam-based recovery processes. The continued field demonstration of
THAI(TM) will have an enormous impact on resource recovery and estimates of
reserve volumes.
Petrobank has created an educational video to provide interested viewers the
opportunity to see THAI(TM) in action, where we've been, and where we're going.
We encourage you to view this newly produced video at:
www.petrobank.com/heavy-oil/thai-video.
INVESTOR CONFERENCE CALL
Management of Petrobank will be holding a conference call for investors,
financial analysts, media and any interested persons on Friday, May 14, 2010 at
9:00 a.m. Mountain Time (11:00 a.m. Eastern Time) to discuss Petrobank's first
quarter financial and operating results. The investor conference call details
are as follows:
Live call dial-in numbers: 416-340-2216 / 866-226-1792
Replay dial-in numbers: 416-695-5800 / 800-408-3053
Replay pass code: 1637151
The live audio webcast link is:
http://events.digitalmedia.telus.com/petrobank/051410/index.php and is also
available on our website at: http://www.petrobank.com/investors/.
CORPORATE PRESENTATIONS
The Petrobank, PetroBakken and Petrominerales corporate presentations have been
updated and can be found at www.petrobank.com, www.petrobakken.com, and
www.petrominerales.com.
ANNUAL AND SPECIAL MEETING
Petrobank's annual and special meeting (the "Meeting") will be held Wednesday,
May 26, 2010 at 2:00 p.m. (Calgary time) in the Main Ballroom of The
Metropolitan Centre, 333 Fourth Avenue SW, Calgary, Alberta. The Meeting will be
webcast live and available for replay at www.petrobank.com under the "Investors"
section. After the formal business of the Meeting and corporate presentation,
management of the Company will provide a question and answer period. For those
participating by webcast, you are invited to submit questions to Petrobank any
time during this question and answer session by typing your question into a box
displayed on the webcast page and clicking on the button "submit". Petrobank's
management will endeavor to answer as many questions as possible during the time
frame allotted. Before and after the meeting in the main lobby, management and
staff of Petrobank, PetroBakken and Petrominerales will be presenting
informational displays regarding Company activities and cordially invite all
guests to attend.
KERROBERT FIELD TOUR
Petrobank shareholders are invited to participate in a field tour of Petrobank's
Kerrobert site on Thursday, May 27, 2010. The Kerrobert project site is located
approximately 16 kilometres southwest of Kerrobert, Saskatchewan. The Kerrobert
tour will depart from Calgary via charter aircraft at 8:00 a.m. on Thursday, May
27, 2010, and will return to Calgary at approximately 5:30 p.m. The tour is
limited to a maximum of 20 participants. Participants will be chosen in order of
our receipt of their registration by telephone and each participant will be
responsible for their proportionate cost of round-trip air transportation to and
from the Kerrobert site, estimated at $500. Should you wish to register for the
Kerrobert tour, please contact Kimberley Osberg at 403.750.4441, beginning
Monday, May 17, 2010 at 9:00 a.m. (Mountain time).
ARCHON LAB TOURS
Petrobank shareholders are invited to participate in a tour of Petrobank's
Archon lab on Thursday, May 27, 2010. The Archon lab is located in Calgary,
Alberta. The Archon lab tour is at no cost to participants with round-trip
transportation for those who wish or require it. There are two tour departure
times, with the first tour beginning at 10:00 a.m. (Calgary time) and the second
tour commencing at 1:00 p.m. (Calgary time). Each tour is limited to a maximum
of 10 participants. Participants will be chosen in order of our receipt of their
registration by telephone. Should you wish to register for the Archon lab tour,
please contact David McLellan at 403.750.4479, beginning Monday, May 17, 2010 at
9:00 a.m. (Mountain time).
DIRECTOR EQUITY OWNERSHIP GUIDELINES AND BOARD NOMINATING COMMITTEE
Although the Board of Directors have always been encouraged to invest in
Petrobank and have historically maintained high levels of equity ownership, the
Board of Directors has formalized Petrobank equity ownership guidelines for all
of the Board members. The guideline requires that each board member achieve and
maintain equity ownership in Petrobank equal to three years base Board retainer
within two years of each director's appointment to the Board. All current
directors of Petrobank have already achieved ownership of the Petrobank equity
guideline amount. Petrobank believes that its directors can better represent
shareholders if they are shareholders themselves and that equity ownership
promotes an even greater alignment of interests between directors and
shareholders.
In addition, the Board of Directors has established a Nominating Committee,
comprised solely of independent directors. The duties and responsibilities of
the Nominating Committee consist primarily of: (i) considering the appropriate
size, composition, profile and director fees of the Board of Directors and its
committees; (ii) submitting recommendations to the Board of Directors for board
nominees; (iii) assessing the participation, contribution and effectiveness of
all directors individually; and (iv) considering director training programs and
orientation and education programs for new and existing members of the Board of
Directors.
Petrobank Energy and Resources Ltd. is a Calgary-based oil and natural gas
exploration and production company with operations in western Canada and Latin
America. The Company operates high-impact projects through three business units
and a technology subsidiary. The Canadian Business Unit, operated by Petrobank's
58% owned TSX-listed subsidiary, PetroBakken Energy Ltd. (TSX:PBN), is a premier
light oil production company combining, high growth, long-life Bakken reserves
and production with legacy conventional light oil assets, delivering industry
leading operating netbacks, strong cash flows and production growth. PetroBakken
is applying leading edge technology to a multi-year inventory of Bakken and
Cardium light oil development locations, along with a significant inventory of
opportunities in the Horn River and Montney gas resource plays in northeast BC.
PetroBakken's strategy is to deliver accretive production and reserves growth,
along with an attractive dividend yield. The Latin American Business Unit,
operated by Petrobank's 66% owned TSX listed subsidiary, Petrominerales Ltd.
(TSX:PMG), is a Latin America-based exploration and production company producing
oil in Colombia with 15 exploration blocks covering a total of 1.9 million acres
in the Llanos and Putumayo Basins and five exploration blocks in Peru covering a
total of 9.4 million gross (5.2 million net) acres in the Ucayali and Titicaca
Basins. Whitesands Insitu Partnership, a partnership between Petrobank and its
wholly-owned subsidiary Whitesands Insitu Inc., owns 75 net sections of oil
sands leases in Alberta, 36 sections of oil sands licenses in Saskatchewan and
operates the Whitesands project which is field-demonstrating Petrobank's
patented THAI(TM) heavy oil recovery process. THAI(TM) is an evolutionary
in-situ combustion technology for the recovery of bitumen and heavy oil that
integrates existing proven technologies and provides the opportunity to create a
step change in the development of heavy oil resources globally. THAI(TM) and
CAPRI(TM) are registered trademarks of Archon Technologies Ltd., a wholly-owned
subsidiary of Petrobank.
Non-GAAP Measures: This press release contains financial terms that are not
considered measures under Canadian generally accepted accounting principles
("GAAP"), such as funds flow from operations and operating netback. These
measures are commonly utilized in the oil and gas industry and are considered
informative for management and shareholders. Management considers operating
netback important as it is a measure of profitability per barrel of production.
Operating netbacks may not be comparable to those reported by other companies
nor should they be viewed as an alternative to net income or other measures of
financial performance calculated in accordance with GAAP.
The following table shows the reconciliation of funds flow from operations to
cash flow from operating activities for the periods noted:
Three months ended March 31,
2010 2009
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Funds flow from operations: Non-GAAP 333,954 125,156
Changes in non-cash working capital (116,286) (13,892)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cash flow from operating activities: GAAP 217,668 111,264
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Forward-Looking Statements: Certain information provided in this press release
constitutes forward-looking statements. The words "anticipate", "expect",
"project", "estimate", "forecast" and similar expressions are intended to
identify such forward-looking statements. Specifically, this press release
contains forward-looking statements relating to financial results, results from
operations and the timing of certain projects. The reader is cautioned that
assumptions used in the preparation of such information, although considered
reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect. Actual results
achieved during the forecast period will vary from the information provided
herein as a result of numerous known and unknown risks and uncertainties and
other factors. You can find a discussion of those risks and uncertainties in our
Canadian securities filings. Such factors include, but are not limited to:
general economic, market and business conditions; fluctuations in oil prices;
the results of exploration and development drilling, recompletions and related
activities; timing and rig availability, outcome of exploration contract
negotiations; fluctuation in foreign currency exchange rates; the uncertainty of
reserve estimates; changes in environmental and other regulations; risks
associated with oil and gas operations; and other factors, many of which are
beyond the control of the Company. There is no representation by Petrobank that
actual results achieved during the forecast period will be the same in whole or
in part as those forecast. Except as may be required by applicable securities
laws, Petrobank assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise any
forward-looking statements made herein or otherwise, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise.
Barrels of Oil Equivalent: Disclosure provided in this press release in respect
of barrels of oil equivalent ("boe") units may be misleading, particularly if
used in isolation. A boe conversion relationship of 6 mcf to 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 well head.
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