CALGARY, Nov. 12, 2012 /CNW/ - Legacy Oil + Gas Inc. ("Legacy" or the "Company") (TSX:LEG) is pleased to announce the results of an independent resource assessment on certain of its assets. This resources assessment further demonstrates the significant light oil resource potential contained in a number of Legacy's resource plays. These plays represent a substantial resource base of strong capital efficiency investments and will comprise the majority of Legacy's capital budget in the coming years. The magnitude of the aggregate of these plays will ensure the sustainability of Legacy's business model in a variety of economic and industry conditions.
Assessment of the Company's Discovered Oil Initially In-Place ("DOIIP") and Discovered Contingent Oil Resources (together the "CORA") have been completed by Sproule Associates Limited ("Sproule"), an independent qualified reserves evaluator, on behalf of the Company, covering the Company's interest in the Spearfish, Bakken, Torquay and Chinkeh formations. The report was recently completed and is effective April 30, 2012. This news release contains certain information from the CORA, but does not contain the report in its entirety.
Company Working Interest
Discovered | Ultimate Recoverable Oil(2) | Discovered Contingent Oil Resources(3) | Portion of | |||||
Oil Initially | Low | Best | High | Low | Best | High | Lands | |
in-Place | Estimate | Estimate | Estimate | Estimate | Estimate | Estimate | Attributed DOIIP(4) | |
Formation(1) | (MBbl) | (MBbl) | (MBbl) | (MBbl) | (MBbl) | (MBbl) | (MBbl) | (%) |
Spearfish | 494,953 | 27,539 | 39,556 | 60,978 | 23,043 | 32,320 | 47,781 | 37.8 |
Bakken | 240,052 | 18,417 | 36,412 | 54,355 | 10,138 | 23,522 | 37,705 | 71.9 |
Torquay | 140,259 | 13,156 | 20,657 | 32,021 | 11,199 | 17,480 | 27,949 | 66.7 |
Chinkeh | 137,613 | 4,260 | 9,628 | 15,001 | 3,973 | 9,271 | 14,568 | 41.6 |
Total(5) | 1,012,877 | 63,371 | 106,253 | 162,355 | 48,353 | 82,593 | 128,003 | 52.2 |
Recovery Factor | |||
Low | Best | High | |
Estimate | Estimate | Estimate | |
Formation | (%) | (%) | (%) |
Spearfish | 5.6 | 8.0 | 12.3 |
Bakken | 7.7 | 15.2 | 22.6 |
Torquay | 9.4 | 14.7 | 22.8 |
Chinkeh | 3.1 | 7.0 | 10.9 |
Total | 6.3 | 10.5 | 16.0 |
Notes: | |
(1) | The Spearfish formation is located within Legacy's properties at Pierson, Manitoba and Bottineau County North Dakota. The Bakken and Torquay formations are located within certain of Legacy's properties in southeast Saskatchewan. The Chinkeh formation is located within Legacy's property at Maxhamish, British Columbia. These properties and Legacy's interest in them are described in detail in Legacy's Annual Information Form dated March 20, 2012 for the year ended December 31, 2012 (the "AIF"). |
(2) | Represents Discovered Oil Initially-in-Place less Discovered Unrecoverable Oil Initially-in-Place. |
(3) | Represents Discovered Oil Initially-in-Place, less Discovered Unrecoverable Oil Initially-in-Place, Reserves and Cumulative Production. |
(4) | The Sproule report only assessed Discovered Oil Initially In-Place and Discovered Contingent Oil Resources. The referenced percentages reflect the portion of Legacy's total applicable land interest to which Discovered Oil Initially In-Place and Discovered Contingent Oil Resources have been attributed. |
(5) | These volumes are arithmetic sums that include probabilistically aggregated volumes of Contingent Resources. Readers should be aware statistical principles indicate that an arithmetic sum of probabilistically aggregated volumes may be misleading as to the volumes that may actually be recovered, particularly pertaining to Low and High estimates. |
(6) | See under the heading "Definitions and Preparation" at the bottom of this release for further information concerning the disclosure contained in the above table. |
(7) | There are risks and uncertainties associated with the recovery of resources. The economic viability of Legacy's Contingent Resources is undetermined, as economic studies have not yet been completed. There is no certainty that it will be commercially viable to produce any portion of the resources. See below under the heading "Preparation and Definitions" for a description of such risks and uncertainties and a description of the contingencies which must be overcome to enable the classification of Contingent Resources as Reserves. See the AIF under the heading "Risk Factors" for risks and uncertainties affecting Legacy and the oil and natural gas exploration and production industry in general. |
In reviewing the above information, it is important to note:
- A significant portion of Legacy's lands in the above noted formations as well as a number of areas (including the Company's interest in the 1.3 billion Bbl (gross) DOIIP field at Turner Valley and Mississippian Conventional) were not assessed in the CORA.
- The Company's Undiscovered Oil Initially In-Place and associated Prospective Resources were not included in the scope of the CORA.
- No attempt was made to estimate contingent natural gas or NGL resources in the scope of the CORA.
- The discovered contingent oil resources exclude current Reserves volumes and cumulative production.
CONTIGENT RESOURCE ASSESSMENT SUBSTANTIATES LEGACY STRATEGY
Through a series of strategic acquisitions and a successful, methodical appraisal, delineation and development drilling program, Legacy has control and comprehension of a significant light oil resource base. More than 2,000 net locations have been identified and substantial waterflood recovery potential exists.
Legacy was founded on the principles of building a sustainable business model and the critical components are:
- Free cash flow (after satisfying production declines)
- Depth of resource and inventory
- Low cost structure and/or high margins
- Execution proficiency
- Financial flexibility and balance sheet strength
As a result of Legacy's strong operating and financial results over the course of 2012, the strategic term debt transaction and significant contingent oil resource assessment results, the Company continues to demonstrate that we have all the elements in place for sustained, cost-effective, per share growth for the foreseeable future. The foundation and evolution of Legacy continues to differentiate it from its peers and provides the basis for long-term value creation for shareholders.
Legacy is a uniquely positioned, well‐capitalized, technically driven, intermediate oil and natural gas company with a proven management team committed to aggressive, cost‐effective growth of light oil reserves and production in large hydrocarbon in-place assets and resource plays. Legacy's common shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol LEG.
Definitions and Preparation
The Discovered Oil Initially In-Place and Discovered Contingent Oil Resource assessments in the Sproule report were prepared in accordance with the definitions, standards and procedures contained in the Canadian Oil and Gas Evaluation Handbook (the "COGE Handbook") and National Instrument 51-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Oil and Gas Activities ("NI 51-101").
Definitions
The following definitions from the COGE Handbook are used in this press release:
"Contingent Resources" means those quantities of petroleum estimated to be potentially recoverable from known accumulations using established technology or technology under development, but which do not currently qualify as Reserves and are not commercially recoverable due to one or more contingencies. Contingencies may include factors such as economic, legal, environmental, political and regulatory matters or a lack of markets.
"Cumulative Production" means the cumulative quantity of petroleum that has been recovered at a given date.
"Discovered Oil Initially-in-Place" or "DOIIP" means that quantity of oil that is estimated, as of a given date, to be contained in known accumulations prior to production. The recoverable portion of discovered oil initially-in-place includes Cumulative Production, Reserves, and Contingent Resources; the remainder is categorized as unrecoverable.
"Discovered Unrecoverable Oil Initially-In-Place" or "Discovered Unrecoverable DOIIP" is that portion of DOIIP which is estimated, as of a given date, not to be recoverable by future development projects. A portion of these quantities may become recoverable in the future as commercial circumstances change or technological developments occur; the remaining portion may never be recovered due to the physical/chemical constraints represented by subsurface interaction of fluids and reservoir rocks.
"Reserves" means estimated remaining quantities of petroleum anticipated to be recoverable from known accumulations, as of a given date, based on the analysis of drilling, geological, geophysical, and engineering data; the use of established technology; and specified economic conditions, which are generally accepted as being reasonable. Reserves are further classified according to the level of certainty associated with the estimates and may be sub-classified based on development and production status.
"Prospective Resources" means those quantities of petroleum estimated, as of a given date, to be potentially recoverable from undiscovered accumulations by application of future development projects. Prospective resources have both an associated chance of discovery and a chance of development.
"Undiscovered Oil Initially-in-Place" means that quantity of oil that is estimated, as of a given date, to be contained in accumulations yet to be discovered. The recoverable portion of undiscovered oil initially-in-place is referred to as Prospective Resources; the remainder is categorized as unrecoverable.
Preparation
All estimates of Contingent Resources represent gross resources, meaning the company's working interest share in the Contingent Resources before deducting royalties and without including any royalty interests of the Company.
Sproule's estimates of Contingent Resources were determined using probabilistic methods. Probabilistic aggregation of the low and high property estimates shown in the table might produce different total volumes than the arithmetic sums shown in the table.
"Low estimate" is considered to be a conservative estimate of the quantity of resources that will actually be recovered. It is likely that the actual remaining quantities recovered will exceed the low estimate. Those resources at the low end of the estimate range have the highest degree of certainty - a 90 percent confidence level - that the actual quantities recovered will equal or exceed the estimate.
"Best estimate" is considered to be the best estimate of the quantity of resources that will actually be recovered. It is equally likely that the actual remaining quantities recovered will be greater or less than the best estimate. Those resources that fall within the best estimate have a 50 percent confidence level that the actual quantities recovered will equal or exceed the estimate.
"High estimate" is considered to be an optimistic estimate of the quantity of resources that will actually be recovered. It is unlikely that the actual remaining quantities of resources recovered will meet or exceed the high estimate. Those resources at the high end of the estimate range have a lower degree of certainty - a 10 percent confidence level - that the actual quantities recovered will equal or exceed the estimate.
The Discovered Oil Initially-In-Place estimates include unrecoverable volumes and are not an estimate of the volume of the substances that will ultimately be recovered.
For Legacy, the contingencies which must be overcome to enable the classification of Contingent Resources as Reserves include, but are not limited to, regulatory application submission with no major issues raised, access to markets, intent to proceed by the operator and partners as evidenced by major capital expenditures planned within five years and the technical and economic success of development programs. The estimate of Contingent Resources has not been adjusted for risk based on the chance of development. The Contingent Resource estimates assume the same recovery process and well types currently being used to operate Legacy's properties, which were economic as at the date of this release. Positive factors relevant to the Contingent Resource estimates include the extensive history of commercial petroleum production in the formations, including geological information and production performance history, the use of well-established economic recovery methods and well technology, and dominant production infrastructure ownership. Uncertainties associated with recovery of the estimated discovered resources include, but are not limited to, the current recovery factor for any specific location and the corresponding ultimate recovery factor, which uncertainties were reflected in the recovery factor distribution employed in the evaluation of the estimated discovered resources. The timing of the recovery of these estimated discovered resources is also uncertain, and depends on factors including the priority assigned by the Company to development, technical and economic success and commodity prices.
Forward-Looking Information
All of the estimates of the quantities and recoverability of resources contained in this press release should be considered to be forward-looking statements. These estimates are based on certain key assumptions made by Sproule and Legacy, including those specifically detailed in this press release. These estimates are estimates only and there is no guarantee that they will prove to be accurate due to an number of risks and factors, including those specifically detailed in this press release and those risks and factors affecting Legacy and the oil and natural gas exploration industry in general set out in Legacy's Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2011 dated March 20, 2012.
In addition, this press release contains forward looking statements concerning the expenditure of the majority of Legacy's capital budget in the coming years on the referenced properties, the number of net drilling locations that Legacy has and the waterflood potential of Legacy's properties. These forward-looking statements are based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by Legacy, including expectations and assumptions concerning the success of future drilling, development and completion activities, the viability of waterflood projects, the availability and performance of facilities and pipelines, the geological characteristics of Legacy's properties, the application of regulatory and licensing requirements and the availability of capital. Although Legacy believes that the expectations and assumptions on which the forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements because Legacy can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks. These include, but are not limited to, risks associated with the oil and natural gas industry in general (e.g., operational risks in development, exploration and production; the uncertainty of reserve estimates; the uncertainty of estimates and projections relating to production, costs and expenses, and health, safety and environmental risks), constraint in the availability of services, commodity price and exchange rate fluctuations, adverse weather conditions and uncertainties resulting from potential delays or changes in plans with respect to exploration or development projects, waterflood projects or capital expenditures. These and other risks are set out in more detail in Legacy's Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2011 dated March 20, 2012.
The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date hereof and Legacy undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by applicable securities laws.
SOURCE: Legacy Oil + Gas Inc.
Trent J. Yanko, P.Eng.
President + CEO
Legacy Oil + Gas Inc.
4400, 525-8th Avenue SW
Calgary, AB T2P 1G1
Telephone: 403.441.2300
Fax: 403.441.2017
Matt Janisch, P.Eng.
Vice-President, Finance + CFO
Legacy Oil + Gas Inc.
4400, 525-8th Avenue SW
Calgary, AB T2P 2V7
Telephone: 403.441.2300
Fax: 403.441.2017
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