Coastal Energy Announces Third Quarter 2013 Financial Results & Operations Update

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Coastal Energy Company
Nov. 11, 2013 21:45
HOUSTON--(Korea Newswire)--Coastal Energy Company (the “Company” or “Coastal Energy”) (TSX:CEN) (LSE:CEO), an independent exploration and production company with assets in Southeast Asia, announces the financial results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2013. The functional and reporting currency of the Company is the United States dollar.

Q3 2013 Financial Highlights

· The Company's offshore production increased to 20,388 bbl/d in the third quarter from 19,626 bbl/d in the same period last year due to increases from further development drilling at Bua Ban North as well as the inclusion of production at Bua Ban South. Total Company production increased slightly to 21,832 boe/d from 21,798 boe/d in the same quarter last year as onshore gas production declined to 1,444 boe/d from 2,172 boe/d due to extended seasonal maintenance at the Nam Phong power plant. Total Company production for the nine-month period increased slightly to 22,942 boe/d from 22,093 boe/d in the same period last year due to further development drilling.

· EBITDAX for Q3 2013 was $134.6 million, 18% higher than the $114.6 million recorded in Q3 2012 due to higher production and lifting volumes. The Company‘s inventory levels decreased by 77,437 barrels in Q3 2013 whereas 121,445 barrels were added to inventory during Q3 2012. The Company’s EBITDAX for the nine-month period is in line with 2012 levels despite a modest decline in realized crude pricing due to higher production and lifting volumes.

· After normalizing revenue to a production basis, rather than based on lifting volumes, Q3 2013 revenue would have been $193.8 million, a 6% increase year on year, driven by a 4% increase in production volumes and a 2% decline in commodity pricing.

Operations Update

The Company has completed two development wells at the Kapal field in Malaysia and is currently drilling a third. The Mobile Offshore Production Unit (MOPU) refurbishment has been completed and the MOPU is expected to arrive on location later this month. First oil production at Kapal is expected shortly thereafter.

Following the completion of drilling at the Kapal field, the Manta drilling rig will mobilize to the Meranti field offshore Malaysia and begin appraisal & development drilling there.

Four of five wells at Bua Ban Main have undergone hydraulic fracturing stimulation. The first two wells (BB01 ST1 and BB04 ST1) tested the Eocene sands. The third and fourth wells (BB07 ST1 and BB09 ST1) are testing the Eocene and the Lower Oligocene. The BB07 ST1 and the BB09 ST1 are still cleaning up with increasing oil cuts. The fifth well (BB02 ST1) will be drilled horizontally into the Eocene. BB01 ST1 and BB04 ST1 are flowing mostly water at low rates with slight amounts of oil.

The Songkhla A18, the eastern side of the basin, is also being hydraulically fractured to test the viability of fracturing the Eocene reservoir on the eastern side of the basin.

Following the completion of the frac activities and workovers at Bua Ban Main, the Vickburg rig will have completed its contract and will be released. Approval of the EIA application for eleven exploration wells is expected in the coming weeks. Following this Coastal will submit the application for the Bua Ban development area, which we expect to be approved near the end of the first quarter. Once these are in place, a second rig will likely be contracted in order to maintain a balance between exploration and production.

A successful exploration well was drilled on Block L15/43 onshore Thailand (Coastal 39.0% working interest). The Sinphuhorm East 1 flowed at a restricted rate of 51 MMCF/D from the same horizon that is productive at Sinphuhorm field. The well proves the field extends beyond the current production license into the L15/43 exploration acreage surrounding the Sinphuhorm field. The well did not encounter a gas water contact.

Randy Bartley, President & CEO of Coastal Energy commented:

"The Company continued to make progress in the third quarter of 2013. The first wells at the Kapal field were drilled and we expect first production in Malaysia very shortly. Offshore Thailand production increased slightly from year ago levels and we expect gains to offshore production once the development drilling program at Bua Ban North resumes.

"Regarding our frac progam, the original Bua Ban South frac wells continue to perform in line with expectations after ten months of production. In our latest campaign at Bua Ban Main, the first two wells, which fracced much deeper into the Eocene, have been disappointing. However, the early results of the third and fourth wells in the Eocene and Lower Oligocene sandstone are encouraging. We are still early on the learning curve and are applying multiple fracture technologies to the various prospective reservoirs in the Bua Ban and Songkhla Main fields in order to determine the optimum method for producing these reservoirs. There is a significant amount of oil in place in these tighter reservoirs and we continue to be excited about the application of fracture technology in the Songkhla Basin.

"Onshore, we are very pleased with our second discovery drilled using the 3D seismic data acquired in 2011 and expect to continue to grow our onshore business. Onshore production was lower than previous levels due to increased maintenance at the Nam Phong power plant. However, year-to-date onshore production is still well above 2012 levels.

“We plan to move the rig to the Meranti field in Malaysia following completion of the work at Kapal, which will serve to increase production in Malaysia in late 2013 to early 2014.”

The following financial statements for the Company are abbreviated versions. The Company‘s complete financial statements for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2013 with the notes thereto and the related Management Discussion and Analysis can be found either on Coastal’s website at www.CoastalEnergy.com or on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. All amounts are in US$ thousands, except share and per share amounts.

Randy Bartley, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company and a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineering and Jerry Moon, Vice President, Technical & Business Development, a member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, a Licensed Professional Geoscientist and a Certified Petroleum Geologist in the state of Texas, have reviewed the contents of this announcement.

Additional information, including the Company‘s complete competent person’s report may be found on the Company's website at www.CoastalEnergy.com or may be found in documents filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

This statement contains ‘forward-looking statements’ as defined by the applicable securities legislation. Statements relating to current and future drilling results, existence and recoverability of potential hydrocarbon reserves, production amounts or revenues, forward capital expenditures, operation costs, oil and gas price forecasts and similar matters are based on current data and information and should be viewed as forward-looking statements. Such statements are not guarantees of future results and are subject to risks and uncertainties beyond Coastal Energy's control. Actual results may differ substantially from the forward-looking statements.

Attachments:
Chart is attached to the press release.docx

Website: http://www.CoastalEnergy.com

Contact

Coastal Energy Company
Email: Send Email
+1 (713) 877-6793
 
Strand Hanson Limited (Nominated Adviser)
Rory Murphy / Andrew Emmott
+44 (0) 20 7409 3494
 
Macquarie Capital (Europe) Limited (Broker)
Steve Baldwin/Andrew Jones
+44 (0) 20 3037 2000
 
FirstEnergy Capital LLP (Broker)
Hugh Sanderson / Travis Inlow
+44 (0) 20 7448 0200
 
Buchanan
Tim Thompson / Ben Romney
+44 (0) 20 7466 5000

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