Abraxas Petroleum Releases Q4 Results

March 10, 2015 Elizabeth Alford

Abraxas Petroleum announced a record 2014 during its earnings call on March 4th and reported on their 2015 spending plan.

2014 Highlights include oil production that averaged 5,720 Boepd and $63.3 million in net income. Abraxas’ fourth quarter net income was $30.1 million, which is up over the same period in 2013 when they reported $27.0 million. The company’s adjusted net income for Q4 was $6.1 million, compared to $1.4 million in 2013.

Abraxas plans to cut its capital spending to $54 million for 2015, compared with $193 million in 2014. The company further expects a 26% growth in production to 7100 barrels a day as it completes the nine wells it drilled during 2014.

“Bob Watson, Abraxas’ President and CEO commented, “After a tremendous 2014 for Abraxas, we now enter a very tumultuous 2015 from a commodity price perspective. We remain focused on preserving our abundant liquidity and strong balance sheet, which we endeavor to use to our advantage in a distressed environment. We are also blessed with an attractive asset base that presents numerous opportunities to expand our capital program should commodity prices and service costs dictate. We look forward to updating the market on the results of some of these efforts in the near future.”

Abraxas’ operations in North Dakota spans has roughly 5,000 net acres in the Bakken, mostly in McKenzie County. The company announced that it recently drilled four wells to about 21,000 feet each on their Jore Federal West pad in record time and at a low cost. The company will defer completion on these wells as they wait for better weather and for production costs to decrease.

Find out more at abraxaspetroleum.com

Read the full call transcript at seekingalpha.com

Oasis Petroleum Announces 35% Growth

March 4, 2015 Elizabeth Alford

Oasis Petroleum announced 2014 results and rolled out updated projections for the new year.

The company increased its net income by 122% from $228.0 million in 2013 to $506.9 million in 2014 and ended the the year with $45.8 million of cash and cash equivalents.

Other 2014 highlights include:

Increased average daily production 35% from 2013 to 45,656 Boepd
Q4 2014 average daily production of 50,143 Boepd
Completed and placed on production 195 gross operated wells during 2014
Increased total estimated net proved oil and natural gas reserves by 24%

Bakken Highlights

The following table describes the Company's producing Bakken and TFS wells by project area in the Williston Basin as of December 31, 2014.

“Thomas B. Nusz, Oasis’ Chairman and CEO commented, “Capitalizing on our premier position in the Williston Basin, we have grown volumes by over 35% in 2014, including production in the fourth quarter of 2014 of 50,143 Boepd. While we are excited about the strong growth and the potential of our significant inventory position, we have turned our attention to managing the business in light of the current challenging market environment.”

2015 Projections

Citing lower commodity prices, Oasis Petroleum announced it will be reducing its 2015 capital spending by 12% over 2014 and expects the total to reach $705 million. Additionally, the company expects to complete 79 gross (63.3 net) operated wells and 2.6 net non-operated wells in 2015.

Whiting to Reduce Bakken Rig Count

March 3, 2015 Elizabeth Alford

In its fourth quarter earning report, Whiting Petroleum announced a record 2014 and revealed a 2015 spending plan that includes reducing Bakken rig count.

In spite of low crude prices, Whiting ended the year with a Q4 profit of $58 million with cash flows totalling $419 million. Oil production was at record numbers for both the quarter (up 13%) and the entire year, which averaged 41.8 MMBOE and was up 22% over 2013.

In July of 2014, Whiting Petroleum announced plans to acquire Kodiak Oil & Gas for $3.8 billion. The deal made the combined company the largest Bakken/Three Forks producer, unseating Harold Hamm’s Continental Resources from the top spot.

“James J. Volker, Whiting’s Chairman, President and CEO, commented, “2014 was a strong year for Whiting. We set records in production, proved reserves and discretionary cash flow. In the wake of our acquisition of Kodiak Oil & Gas, we became the largest Bakken/Three Forks producer in the Williston Basin.Our 2015 capital budget of $2.0 billion reflects a disciplined approach to maintaining our financial strength while preserving our long-term growth plans.”

2015 Spending Plan

Looking to the new year, Whiting plans for the following:

Reduce its capital budget to $2 billion
$1.8 billion of the 2015 capital budget will go towards exploration and development activity
$59 million is allocated for land and $123 million for facilities
Production forecast of 59.0 MMBOE, an increase of 42% over 2014
Reducing Bakken rig count from 16 to 10
Completed well cost in the Bakken will average $7 million, down from $8.5 million in 2014

Read the full report at whiting.com

Marathon Oil Reduces 2015 Spending by Half

February 19, 2015 Elizabeth Alford

Marathon Oil announced further cuts to its 2015 capital spending plan, reducing numbers another 20 percent from their initial December forecast. This represents a total capex that is less than half of last year’s budget. The company will continue to focus spending on its shale resources and will reduce exploration spending by more than half.

Bakken Highlights

Marathon reports that its Bakken production increased 38% from 2013. This number includes 17 gross operated Bakken wells to sales, with 15 piloted enhanced completions. 18 pilot completion wells averaging greater than 30% uplift in cumulative production over the first 60 days. For 2015, Marathon’s operations in the Bakken will receive a $760 million piece of the pie, which represents 22% of the company’s total budget and includes approximately $550 million for drilling, completions and recompletions.

“President and CEO Lee Tillman noted that “Nearly 70 percent of our 2015 capital spending will be directed toward our three core U.S. resource plays, which continue to be among our highest-return investment opportunities. This budget reflects an emphasis on investment selectivity, balance sheet flexibility and positioning for price recovery.” He added, “Though our U.S. resource plays generate competitive returns at current pricing, we’re taking action to materially reduce our 2015 capital program relative to 2014 to protect our financial flexibility.”

Marathon in the Bakken Formation

The North Dakota Bakken Shale oil play is top investment priority for Marathon Oil, where they have approximately 370,000 acres across North Dakota and Montana.

Marathon News: Energy Giants Announce Layoffs

Hess to Reduce Bakken Spending by 18%

February 4, 2015 Elizabeth Alford

Hess Corporation recently announced revisions to its 2015 capital and exploratory budget that includes a big cut in the Bakken. The company plans to reduce spending in the region by 18% from 2014 numbers, hoping to allow the company to remain flexible in the face of an extreme pricing environment.

The company has revised its budget several times in response to the sharp decline in crude prices throughout 2014. The company reduced 2014 capital expenditures below its planned capital budget of $5.8 billion and the capex budget for 2015 is is $4.7 billion.

“Greg Hill, President and COO, stated that “We are reducing our 2015 spending in the Bakken to $1.8 billion, compared with $2.2 billion in 2014. In 2015, we plan to operate an average of 9.5 rigs and bring approximately 210 new operated wells online, compared with 17 rigs and 238 operated wells brought online in 2014. Hess has some of the best acreage in the Bakken, and we will continue to drill in the core of the play which offers the most attractive returns. As oil prices recover we will increase activity and production accordingly.”

Overall, Hess reported an $8 million net loss for the fourth quarter of 2014 with oil and gas production increasing to 362,000 (boepd). This is an increase of 16% (55,000 boepd) from the fourth quarter of 2013. Bakken oil and gas production was up 50% from 2013 to 102,000 boepd. This increase was due to continued drilling activities and the completion of the Tioga gas plant expansion project.

Hess Corporation has been involved in the Bakken Shale Play since they first discovered oil in North Dakota in 1951. Today the company owns substantial acreage in the region and has operations in Tioga, Minot, Keene, Killdeer and Fryburg, making Hess one of the largest oil and gas producers in North Dakota.