Petrus Resources Q1 2024 Earnings Call Transcript

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May 9, 2024

There are 4 speakers on the call.

Operator

Good day and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Petrus Resources First Quarter twenty twenty four Results Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen only mode. After the speakers' presentation, there will be a question and answer session. I would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker today.

Operator

Ken Gray, you may begin.

Speaker 1

Thanks for joining Petrus Resources conference call to discuss our twenty twenty four Q1 results, provide an update on current activities and answer any questions you may have. My name is Ken Gray, and I am the CEO of Petrus. I'm joined here by our executive team of Matthew Wong, our CFO Matt Skandra, our COO and Lindsay Hatcher, our VP, Commercial and Corporate Development. Q1 was a strong quarter for the company. We held cash flow flat quarter over quarter at just over $16,000,000 and production was up 3%, almost entirely due to increased oil production.

Speaker 1

This was our first increase in production from the previous quarter since Q1 twenty twenty three and is the result of the new wells drilled in our North Farrier area that were completed late in 2023 and had a full quarter of run time in Q1 twenty twenty four. Our cash costs were up from the prior quarter, but this was due to one time adjustments that lowered OpEx and G and A in Q4. In the absence of those adjustments, costs were actually relatively flat. Debt was held constant at our target of one times cash flow. We spent $12,300,000 in capital in the quarter, 90% of which was directed to drilling and completion activities.

Speaker 1

We drilled 10 gross 5.3 net wells in the quarter. Of these seven gross or 2.3 net wells were completed and on production by the end of the quarter. Completion operations on the three gross three net operated wells are tentatively scheduled for June. It should be noted that none of the production in Q1 is associated with these Q1 capital investments. We expect to see production adds from the 2.3 net non operated wells in Q2 and we won't see production from our three operated wells until Q3.

Speaker 1

In January, we instituted our regular dividend of $0.01 per month. Through these monthly dividends, we paid out $3,700,000 to shareholders in the quarter. We also repurchased 345,600 shares as part of our MCIB program. Currently production sits at just over 9,800 Boe a day. We plan to return to the 2024 capital program following spring breakup.

Speaker 1

As mentioned, we have tentatively scheduled the completion for the three operated wells drilled last quarter for June and are planning to resume drilling in July. Oil and NGL pricing is relatively strong right now, but summer gas prices look quite weak. However, winter gas can currently be hedged to $3 a gigajoule. So gas pricing is expected to markedly improve later this year and into 2025. As always, we will remain flexible with our capital program to maximize returns in this volatile pricing environment.

Speaker 1

With that, I'll open the floor to questions. Thanks for calling in and for your continued interest and support of Petrus.

Operator

Thank you. Our first question comes from Youssef Shafter with Sir. Your line is open.

Speaker 2

Good morning, Ken and team. I have three questions. In the mix of business, how much are you doing in North Farrier versus Central Farrier and how do you see that moving throughout 2024?

Speaker 1

Thanks for calling in, Joseph. In our mix of business, I think what we've got scheduled right now for drilling is primarily in Core Farrier. We did drill in North Farrier late in 2023 and those wells came on production at the end of twenty twenty three. So but for now, the three wells that we have yet to complete, those are in Core Farrier. And the additional drilling that we have scheduled for the rest of the year is in Core Farrier.

Speaker 1

So we don't have anything scheduled for North Farrier for the remainder of this year.

Speaker 2

Okay. In terms of operating expenses, your volumes are down versus Q1 of 'twenty three and yet your operating expenses net were $6.76 a barrel versus $7.26. Can you talk about the inputs there that helped you get those costs down, especially with the volumes lower on a unit basis?

Speaker 1

Yes, the volumes are slightly lower, I guess, but we're constantly trying to reduce our OpEx and I think we can actually even get those OpEx numbers down a little bit. We do offset OpEx with fees and we have more third party gas coming into the plant now and through our North Farrier pipeline. So that should help offset some of those costs. Some of the basic costs like electricity is a big cost for us and that's come down a little bit here. I think our carbon tax expense because we've increased production, our intensity has actually improved and so, carbon tax should be lower this year.

Speaker 1

So that's helped. And then just overall, I think the fact that we've got fewer wells that we're bringing on, those wells have some increased costs when we bring them on initially and then that sort of goes away over time and we're starting to see that effect as well. So all those things kind of come together to lower our OpEx and we're continuing to work to keep that low because we think that's quite important for us to generate good cash flow. And I give credit to Matt and to the guys in the field for their work in constantly trying to improve OpEx and our operations in general.

Speaker 2

Super. And the last one for me is you had a hedging gain in the quarter and you've had historically done well with your hedging program. Have you booked much into 2025? And as you mentioned, you can hedge north of $3 What's your status now? And what do you think is an appropriate amount to have heading into the latter part of this year with 2025 hedge book?

Speaker 3

So for the balance of 2024, we are approximately 45% hedged and that natural gas price is just around $3 I think it's $2.94 And for oil, we're at about CAD97 dollars a barrel. For the coming twelve months, we are similarly hedged. So it's about 45% as well. Those numbers are a little bit higher, the hedge prices for gas, because we have a winter contract in there. It's a little over $3 I want to say it's in the $3.2 range for gas and a little bit lower on oil because there is some backwardation in the curve there.

Speaker 3

So it's around $96 or $96.5 somewhere in that range. And then for months sort of 13% to 24%, we are 25% hedged. I don't know the prices that were hedged. The average price is off the top of my head, but I can certainly get that information to you, Joseph.

Speaker 2

Thanks very much for answering my question. That covers everything I Thank you.

Speaker 3

Thanks for calling.

Operator

And I'm not showing any further questions at this time. I'd like to turn the call back over to Ken.

Speaker 1

Yes, thanks. We've had a couple of questions over the last month or so that since our last call that maybe we'll address here as well. First of all, one of the questions people have been asking is, if commodity prices improve through the year, do we think we would increase capital spending and go back into growth mode? And I'd say the short answer to that is yes. We've got some tremendous opportunities, both in Core Farrier and in North Farrier.

Speaker 1

The pipeline that we put into North Farrier allows us to develop that along our own timeline. We're not constrained by anything there. We've already got these things in the pipeline, if you will, scheduled for later 2025 and beyond, and we can bring those forward fairly quickly if the environment, the pricing environment changes. So, yes, we would certainly look at going back into growth mode. I think 2022 kind of showed our ability to ramp up and to grow fairly substantially and quickly when and if the environment is right for it.

Speaker 1

So we do have that ability. And I do think that we're going to see some better prices here going forward. Despite the current weakness in natural gas prices that we kind of are expecting over this summer, the fundamentals look fairly good for later this year and going into 2025. Demand, both industrial and for electrical generation is increasing, and we've got additional LNG export coming on. So all of those things, I think, will combine to improve natural gas prices.

Speaker 1

Oil and NGL prices are already fairly strong. So, we do see things increasing and we are in a position to ramp up when and if it makes sense. Another question that we've had is, are we looking at any acquisitions right now? Do we think that there's going to be some good opportunities for acquisitions in this kind of low natural gas price environment? First, I'd say that we're pretty happy where we're at.

Speaker 1

We think we can generate good value for our shareholders with what we currently have and with where we're at size wise. We're paying a fairly good dividend right now and we have the ability to grow organically. So we're not under any pressure to make acquisitions to try to improve or generate value for our shareholders. We feel we can do that with what we have right now. But having said that, we do think there's going to be some opportunities for accretive acquisitions this year.

Speaker 1

Low prices can expose companies that have taken on more risk. And Petrus, with our fairly strong financial position, we're poised to take advantage of that. So we have been and we'll continue to look at all the opportunities that are out there. We especially in our core Farrier area and generally in the Deep Basin, we like that area, it generates great returns. So yes, we are looking at things and if we can find something that makes sense and generates values for our shareholders, we'll certainly pursue it aggressively.

Speaker 1

I think that's about it for what we have today. So thanks everyone for calling in

Operator

or

Speaker 1

listening after the fact. And thank you again for your support of Petrus.

Operator

Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today's presentation. You may now disconnect and have a wonderful day.

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Earnings Conference Call
Petrus Resources Q1 2024
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