HOUSTON, Aug. 08, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Penn Virginia Corporation (NASDAQ:PVAC) today announced its financial and operational results for the second quarter 2017.
Recent Key Operational and Second Quarter Highlights
- Total product revenues increased by 5% to $36.3 million, of which 89% was generated by crude oil sales;
- Total direct operating expenses increased 1% to $12.9 million, but decreased 6% on a per barrel of oil equivalent (“BOE”) basis to $13.96 per BOE;
- Operating income was $11.4 million, down 1%;
- Net income was $21.3 million, as compared to $28.1 million, with the decrease primarily associated with lower derivatives income; and
- Adjusted EBITDAX(1) was $23.1 million, an increase of almost 15%;
| (1) Adjusted EBITDAX is a non-GAAP measure. Definitions of non-GAAP financial measures and reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures to the closest GAAP-based measures appear at the end of this release. |
Management Comment
“During the second quarter, we continued to build on the positive momentum we achieved in the first quarter,” said John A. Brooks, Interim Principal Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer. “Our recently announced acquisition of contiguous assets in the Eagle Ford will allow us to further accelerate our production growth.”
Mr. Brooks continued, “The recent success we have seen with our drilling program, especially with the strong performance of the Lager 3H in Area 2, gives us confidence in our ability to further capitalize on opportunities within our legacy acreage and the properties we are acquiring. This strategic transaction is a bolt on to our existing acreage footprint so our operating team knows the area very well. Most important, the acquisition provides Penn Virginia the opportunity for drilling a significant number of XRLs that generate superior economics.
“On the acquired acreage, we have identified 91 gross locations in the lower Eagle Ford formation, with 43 of these locations identified for XRLs, including 26 locations that have the potential to be 10,000 feet or greater. Beyond the superior economics associated with drilling longer laterals complemented by higher working interests, we also see further upside in testing the upper Eagle Ford/Austin Chalk, centralizing operations and gaining scale.”
Mr. Brooks concluded, “While we see significant opportunity across our soon to be expanded core acreage position, we remain focused on ensuring we maintain a healthy balance sheet and ample liquidity. We will do this by continuing to focus on high return projects and capital discipline, including primarily drilling within cash flow with a target leverage ratio of net debt to EBITDAX of 1.5x or below. As we implement our capital plan on the combined assets, we believe we will achieve this goal by the end of 2018.”
Devon Eagle Ford Acquisition
As previously announced, Penn Virginia entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Eagle Ford assets located primarily in Lavaca County, Texas for $205 million in cash from Devon Energy Corporation (“Devon”). The Company anticipates the acquisition will close on September 30, 2017, with an effective date of March 1, 2017. Penn Virginia expects the purchase price will be adjusted downwards by approximately $15 million to reflect estimated net cash flows from the effective date to closing, resulting in a net purchase price of approximately $190 million. The acquisition is expected to be funded with $150 million of new committed debt financing and borrowings under the Company’s credit facility.
The acquisition is accretive to Penn Virginia under all measures, including earnings, cash flow and net asset value per share. Further, the Company estimates it is purchasing the acreage at an attractive price of approximately $2,900 per net acre, after reducing for production value, the aforementioned purchase price adjustment, over-riding royalty interest in non-acquired acreage, and the value of the acquired midstream assets.
Second Quarter 2017 Operating Results
Total production in the second quarter of 2017 increased approximately 8% to 10,159 BOEPD, or 925 thousand barrels of oil equivalent (“MBOE”). Approximately 74%, or 685 MBOE, was from crude oil, 14% from natural gas liquids (“NGLs”), and 12% from natural gas.
Penn Virginia drilled seven gross (2.3 net) and turned to sales seven gross (3.0 net) Eagle Ford wells during the quarter.
During the second quarter of 2017, Penn Virginia turned to sales four wells from the Kudu pad, located in the northern portion of Area 1. The Company has an average working interest of 43.7% in each of the Kudu wells. On average, the wells had a 30-day IP of 806 BOEPD (94% oil), or 162 BOEPD per 1,000 feet of lateral.
The Zebra 6H and 7H wells on the two-well Zebra pad were also completed and turned to sales in the second quarter. These two wells targeted the lower Eagle Ford Shale in Area 1. The wells were drilled approximately 400 feet apart. The Company has a 42.5% working interest and is the operator of both wells. On average, the wells had a 30-day IP of 1,058 BOEPD (94% oil), or 223 BOEPD per 1,000 feet of lateral.
The Company’s first well that utilized its slickwater completion design in Area 2 of the lower Eagle Ford Shale was completed in April 2017. The Lager 3H well has been on line for over 95 days with cumulative production of approximately 136 MBOE (70% oil) and is currently producing approximately 1,000 BOEPD. As a result of the acquisition, Penn Virginia will increase its working interest in the Lager 3H well from approximately 41% to 96%.
Penn Virginia is actively managing the choke size on the Zebra pad and Lager 3H in order to maintain pressure, which should ultimately increase recoverable reserves. These three wells are currently outperforming the Company's type curve. Additionally, given the success of the Lager 3H well, the Company is accelerating drilling in Area 2. The Schacherl-Effenberger pad, which was originally designed as a one-well pad, will now be a two-well pad. These two wells are scheduled to be drilled in fourth quarter of 2017.
The Company has begun completion operations on its eight-well "super pad", consisting of the adjoining four-well Chicken Hawk pad and the four-well Jake Berger pad. Two of the wells are targeting the upper Eagle Ford Shale/lower Austin Chalk and six wells are targeting the lower Eagle Ford Shale, testing the "stack and stagger" completion technique. The wells are in Area 1 and spaced approximately 400 feet apart and are expected to be turned to sales in late third quarter.
In the second quarter of 2017, the Company leased and/or extended approximately 1,000 net acres, increasing its core acreage position to approximately 57,000 net acres with approximately 530 gross (more than 350 net) drilling locations. Approximately 93 percent of Penn Virginia’s core acreage is held by production.
Second Quarter 2017 Financial Results
Total product revenues were $36.3 million in the second quarter of 2017 compared to $34.7 million in the first quarter of 2017, primarily due to an 8% increase in production that was partially offset by a decline in commodity prices. Crude oil sales contributed approximately 89% of total product revenues.
The average realized price for crude oil declined 4% from the previous quarter to $47.25 per barrel in the second quarter of 2017. Including cash settlements from oil derivatives, the realized price for crude oil was $46.57, which was 1% higher than the first quarter. The realized price of NGLs decreased from $19.34 per barrel in the previous quarter to $15.59 per barrel ($0.37 per gallon) in the second quarter. The realized price of natural gas was $2.88 per thousand cubic feet (Mcf), a 6% decrease from the previous quarter. The total realized equivalent price for all production without the impact of derivatives during the second quarter was $39.24 per BOE.
Total direct operating expenses consisting of cash general & administrative (“G&A”) expense, lease operating expense (“LOE”), gathering, processing & transportation expense (“GPT”), and severance and ad valorem taxes were $12.9 million, or $13.96 per BOE, in the second quarter of 2017 compared to $12.7 million, or $14.89 per BOE, in the first quarter.
Operating income was $11.4 million in the second quarter of 2017 as compared to operating income of $11.6 million in the previous quarter due to higher depreciation, depletion and amortization expense.
Net income for the second quarter of 2017 was $21.3 million, or $1.42 per diluted share, compared to a net income of $28.0 million, or $1.87 per share, in the first quarter of 2017. Significantly contributing to the decrease was a lower gain on derivatives of $11.0 million in the second quarter of 2017 compared to a $17.0 million gain in the previous quarter.
Adjusted EBITDAX(1) was $23.1 million in the second quarter of 2017, a 15% increase from the first quarter of 2017. Significantly contributing to the second quarter increase was an 8% increase in volumes, most of which was attributable to crude oil.
| (1) Adjusted EBITDAX is a non-GAAP measure. Definitions of non-GAAP financial measures and reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures to the closest GAAP-based measures appear at the end of this release. |
Hedging Update
Penn Virginia has hedged a substantial portion of its proved developed crude oil production through the end of 2019. The Company is currently unhedged with respect to NGL and natural gas production. Upon closing of the pending Devon transaction, Penn Virginia expects to hedge a significant portion of the oil and natural gas production associated with the acquired production.
Capital Resources and Liquidity
As of June 30, 2017, Penn Virginia had $37.0 million outstanding on its credit facility and liquidity of $172.3 million, consisting of $163.0 million undrawn capacity on its credit facility, $0.8 million outstanding in issued letters of credit, and $10.1 million of cash. As of August 4, 2017, the Company had outstanding borrowings of $47 million and liquidity of $158 million, including $6 million in cash.
The Company expects to finance the recently announced acquisition with $150 million of new committed debt financing and borrowings under the Company’s credit facility. In addition, Penn Virginia is in discussions with its bank lending group to further amend and increase its reserve-based credit facility beyond the current borrowing base of $200 million.
The Company is committed to maintaining financial discipline and a strong balance sheet with a targeted net debt to EBITDAX of 1.5x or below. Penn Virginia believes it will achieve that level by the end of 2018 through the development of the combined assets.
Guidance
The table below sets forth the Company’s current operational guidance for 2017 and 2018, which has been updated to reflect the closing of the pending acquisition on September 30, 2017.
Average daily production in the 2017 third quarter is expected to be 9,200 to 9,600 BOEPD with approximately 74% of production comprised of crude oil. The Company anticipates a decline in volume in the third quarter compared to the second quarter due to a delay in the completion of the eight-well “super pad” to late in the third quarter. The Company expects total 2017 production volumes to range between 3.9 and 4.1 MMBOE, or 10,600 to 11,200 BOEPD, with approximately 73% comprised of crude oil. Capital spending for the full year 2017 is anticipated at $140 million to $160 million, with approximately 90% being directed to drilling and completions in the Eagle Ford. Penn Virginia expects well costs to increase slightly from previous guidance with its Area 1 Gen 3 design wells anticipated to cost between $5.0 million and $5.2 million, and its Gen 4 design wells expected to cost between $5.3 million to $5.7 million for an average 6,000-foot lateral.
Second Quarter 2017 Conference Call
A conference call and webcast covering second quarter 2017 financial and operational results is scheduled for Wednesday, August 9, 2017 at 11:00 a.m. EDT. Prepared remarks will be followed by a question and answer period. Investors and analysts may participate via phone by dialing toll free 877-316-5288 (international: 734-385-4977) five to 10 minutes before the scheduled start time, or via webcast by logging on to our website, www.pennvirginia.com, at least 15 minutes prior to the scheduled start time to download supporting materials and install any necessary audio software. An on-demand replay of the webcast will also be available at our website beginning shortly after the webcast.
About Penn Virginia Corporation
Penn Virginia Corporation is an independent oil and gas company engaged in the exploration, development and production of oil, NGLs and natural gas in various domestic onshore regions of the United States, with a primary focus in the Eagle Ford Shale in south Texas. For more information, please visit our website at www.pennvirginia.com.
