Pacific Rubiales Announces Financial Results for the Quarter Ended September
30, 2009
Ronald Pantin, the Chief Executive Officer of the company, commented: "We are very pleased with our third quarter results which continue to show strong production growth, more than compensating for the significant weakness in the current oil price when compared with the same period last year. Our 63% increase in production from the same period last year is an achievement that demonstrates our leadership and growth potential among the Colombian E&Ps. We remain focused on executing on our capital expansion plan."
Management will hold a live conference call to discuss the company's financial results on
Conference call:
Participant Number (Toronto): 647.427.7450
Participant Number (Toll Free): 1.888.231.8191
Conference ID: 42126889
Operating Summary
Three months ended September 30
2009 2009 2009 2008
Oil Gas Combined Combined
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Average daily production
sold (boe/day)(1) 24,438 6,669 31,107 24,407
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Operating netback ($/boe)(2)
Crude oil and natural
gas sales price 63.88 23.89 55.31 91.11
Lifting costs 3.49 0.48 2.85 4.21
Transportation and other
costs 14.22 2.17 11.64 8.76
Upgrading cost (diluent
including transportation) 9.83 - 7.73 14.88
Other production costs 3.44 7.98 4.41 5.16
Overlift/Underlift(3) (9.94) (0.35) (7.89) (0.10)
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Operating netback 42.84 13.60 36.57 58.20
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(1) Natural gas conversion rate used was 6 mcf = 1 barrel of
oil equivalent ("boe").
(2) Combined operating netback data based on weighted average daily
production sold which includes diluents necessary for the upgrading
of the Rubiales blend.
(3) Corresponds to the net effect of the overlift settlement of
455,000 boe amounting to US$22.3 million during the third quarter of
2009, which generated a reduction in the combined production costs of
US$7.89 per boe.
Financial Summary
(in thousands of US$ except per Three months ended September 30,
share amounts or as noted) 2009 2008
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WTI average $/bbl 67.88 118.05
Net sales 156,557 202,354
Operating costs (75,357) (73,317)
Depletion, depreciation and amort. (46,898) (24,770)
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Net Operating Income from Operations 34,302 104,267
General & administrative expenses (20,836) (11,800)
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Earnings before undernoted 13,466 92,467
Other items(1) (36,547) (18,311)
Non-cash items(2) (40,026) 4,168
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Net Income (Loss) for the period (63,107) 78,324
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Interest expense and others 16,225 6,031
Income tax expense 20,673 13,355
Depletion, depreciation and amort. 46,898 24,770
Non cash unrealized loss on risk
management contract (7,282) -
Foreign exchange (gain) loss 69,279 (5,012)
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EBITDA 82,686 117,468
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Net Income per share - basic and diluted(3)
- basic (0.29) 0.37
- diluted (0.29) 0.35
Capital expenditures 88,141 66,311
Total assets 2,498,875 2,312,091
Fund flow from operations(4) 55,677 117,032
(1) Other items in the third quarter of 2009 and 2008 include:
Sep. 09 Sep. 08
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Interest expense (11,284) (3,334)
Other expense (4,590) (1,622)
Income tax expense (20,673) (13,355)
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Total gain (loss) impact (36,547) (18,311)
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(2) Other Non-cash items in the third quarter of 2009 and 2008 include:
Sep. 08 Sep. 09
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Foreign exchange loss (gain) (69,279) 5,012
Net overlift effect 22,322 231
Unrealized FV on risk mgmnt. contracts 7,282 -
Other non-cash items (351) (1,075)
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Total gain (loss) impact (40,026) 4,168
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(3) The weighted average number of common shares outstanding for the
three months and nine months ended September 30, 2009 was 214,158,123
and 212,254,026, respectively, to calculate basic loss per share
(210,279,063 and 190,225,603 for the same respective periods in
2008). Diluted shares for three months ended September 30, 2009
totaled 222,548,097.
(4) Calculated based on cash flow from operations before changes in non-
cash operating working capital.
The results for the third quarter of 2009, and by implication those of the first nine months of 2009, reflect the continuous ramp-up of production in the company's operations.
During the third quarter, the company's operated production (volume produced) reached an average of 81,753 boe/d gross (33,398 boed/d net), an increase of 31,574 boe/d gross (12,133 boe/d net) or 63% over the same period last year. This growth in operated production derives primarily from the increase in production at the Rubiales heavy crude oil field. As at
The company's reconciliation of volume produced in the third quarter with volume sold during the quarter provided below:
Total boe Average boe/d
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Inventory Movements (Net) (Net)
------------------- ----- -----
Ending Inventory as of June 2009 142,539 1,566
Overlift position of June 2009* (455,000) (5,000)
Transactions of the third quarter of 2009
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Oil and gas Production 3,039,224 33,398
Purchases of diluents 741,382 8,147
Combined oil and gas sales of the period(xx) (2,830,727) (31,107)
Internal consumption (36,516) (401)
Volumetric compensation (174,000) (1,912)
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Ending inventory as of September 2009 426,902 4,691
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* This volume corresponds to the overlift of 455,000 bbls as of June
2009 which was settled during the third quarter of 2009, resulting
in a lower volume of sales during the current period.
(xx) This volume includes net the overlift position of the Company as of
September 2009 of 67,690 boe.
The company continued its marketing strategy of exporting our oil production to its most attractive international markets (US,
As a result of the significant increase in production, and in spite of the relative lower prices for oil and gas during the third quarter of 2009, compared with the same period last year (WTI US$67.88/bbl versus US$118.05/bbl), the company was able to maintain revenues as compared to the prior period (US$156.6 million in 2009, US$202.4 million in 2008). These revenues and the operational successes that enabled the company to achieve them were modulated by a number of financial charges arising from financial and non-cash items that will level off during the course of the year. These non-cash financial charges reflect mainly foreign exchange risks associated with future income tax liabilities, which may or may not materialize, offset with the effect of overlift volumes that the company marketed during the second quarter which were settled during the third quarter.
The company continues to move forward on its aggressive capital expansion plan, with a focus on the Rubiales field and the Quifa block.
Year to date highlights
Milestones
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- During the third quarter of 2009, the company continued to be the
most dynamic exploration & production company operating in Colombia,
with an average production of 81,753 boe/d gross (33,398 boed/d net),
an increase of 31,574 boe/dgross (12,133 boe/d net) over the same
period of 2008. This growth in operated production came through
increases in the Rubiales field production and development of other
assets.
- On June 30 2009, the company announced an update to the independently
certified Statement of Reserves Data and Other Oil and Gas
Information for the Rubiales/Piriri field, which estimated gross
working interest proved plus probable (2P) reserves to be 258.8
mmboe. Proven reserves increased 5.4%, from 204 mmboe at the end of
2008, to 215.5 mmboe as of June 2009. These reserves represent almost
one barrel of net proven reserves (P1) per outstanding share.
- During the quarter, the company was able to sell 1.61 million barrels
to the international markets at an average price of WTI less US
$2.33/bbl, taking advantage of the significant increase in the price
of heavy crude oils vs. light crudes and negotiating cargoes mainly
with oil majors (Exxon, Shell, Chevron, BP, etc.) and the biggest
US/Canadian independent refinery companies (Valero, Tesoro,
Irving Oil, etc.).
- During the third quarter of 2009 the company handled an average of
24,281 bbl/d (a 30% increase from the average for the third quarter
of 2008) through the new facility in Guaduas (PF2), generating
revenues of US$3.9 million.
- The company continues to maintain transportation flexibility for
its producing assets by utilizing existing systems, pipelines and
trucking capacity to ensure it meets its production growth
projections for the fourth quarter. This is accomplished in great
part through the recently completed construction of the ODL pipeline
and its early start-up of operations, thereby allowing the early
utilization of 60,000 bbl/day of capacity, as well as the continued
operation of PFZ to secure export and domestic market sales.
- The construction of the first phase of the Oleoducto de los Llanos
Orientales ("ODL") pipeline concluded in early September. The line
fill started on September 10, 2009, four days before its inauguration
by Colombian President Mr. Alvaro Uribe. The completion of this first
phase allowed the transportation of 60,000 bbl/d of diluted crude
(18.5 degrees API) from the Rubiales field to the OCENSA System
through the Monterrey pumping station, as soon as the line fill was
completed. During September the Supertintendencia Financiera de
Colombia (the financial regulatory authority in Colombia) approved
the issuance by ODL of a structured debt instrument in the local
capital market. The transaction was successfully completed on October
1, 2009. A total of 500 billion Colombian pesos (equivalent to US$260
million) was allocated among local institutional investors.
- The official inauguration of the ODL pipeline by the President of
Colombia, Mr. Alvaro Uribe, took place in September 14, 2009. ODL is
the most significant oil infrastructure project in Colombia in this
decade.
- Despite lower realized crude oil prices in the third quarter of 2009
when compared with the same period in 2008, the company was able to
maintain revenues as compared to the prior period (US$156.6 million
in 2009, US$202.4 million in 2008), primarily due to a substantial
increase in production.
- On October 22, 2009 the company announced that it had reached the
historical milestone of exceeding 100,000 boe/d of gross operated
production, equivalent to 41,138 boe/d net after royalties. The
100,000 boe/d milestone was reached principally as a result of the
continuous growth in production of heavy oil in the Rubiales/Piriri
blocks, made possible by the ODL pipeline coming into operation in
September of 2009, as well as by the development of the light and
medium oil blocks and the natural gas volume produced (6,000 scf/b)
from the La Creciente block and other smaller fields.
- EBITDA during the first nine months of 2009 totalled US$180.7
million, while in the third quarter of 2009 EBITDA amounted to US
$82.7 million. EBITDA from international sales represented 71% of
this amount, while EBITDA from gas and domestic sales contributed 19%
and 10%, respectively.
- Total cash capital expenditures during the nine months of 2009
totalled US$272.6 million. The actual cash capital expenditures of
the period were US$88.1 million of which US$5.82 million went into
exploration activities including seismic, aerogravimetry,
aeromagnetometry and drilling (US$3.61 million to geophysics and US
$2.21 million to drilling of wells); US$52.16 million were invested
in the expansion and construction of production infrastructure and US
$30.12 million in production drilling activities.
- The company announced on November 4, 2009 an expanded capital plan
for 2010 that includes a US$853 million capital expenditure program.
With this investment program the company expects to double its net
production, after royalties, from the current estimate for year end
2009 of 46,000 boe/d to 92,000 boe/d at the end of 2010. The US$853
million capital program for 2010 includes US$165.5 million for
development drilling, US$190.8 million for exploration, US$471.8
million for production facilities and US$25 million to advance the
STAR pilot project. This is an increase of US$471 million over the
2009 capital expenditures and US$394 million over the previously
projected 2010 budget.
- On May 5, 2009 the company closed on initial commitments totalling US
$180 million under a previously announced senior secured revolving
credit facility of US$250 million. The company subsequently closed on
the remaining US$70 million of the facility by October, 2009, prior
to repaying the facility in full with the proceeds from its recently
announced offering of US$450 million 8.75% Senior Unsecured Notes due
2016, which was completed on November 10, 2009.
Pacific Rubiales, a Canadian-based company and producer of natural gas and heavy crude oil, owns 100 percent of Meta Petroleum Corp., a Colombian oil operator which operates the Quifa block in the Llanos Basin in association with Ecopetrol S.A., the Colombian national oil company. The company is focused on identifying opportunities primarily within the eastern Llanos Basin of
Information in this press release expressed in barrels of oil equivalent (boe) is derived by converting natural gas to oil in the ratio of six thousand cubic feet (mcf) of natural gas to one barrel (bbl) of oil. Boe may be misleading, particularly if used in isolation. A boe conversion ratio of 6 mcf: 1 bbl is based on an energy equivalency conversion method primarily applicable at the burner tip and does not represent a value equivalency at the wellhead.
Cautionary Note Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, that address activities, events or developments that the company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future (including, without limitation, statements regarding estimates and/or assumptions in respect of production, revenue, cash flow and costs, reserve and resource estimates, potential resources and reserves and the company's exploration and development plans and objectives) are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements reflect the current expectations or beliefs of the company based on information currently available to the company. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause the actual results of the company to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements, and even if such actual results are realized or substantially realized, there can be no assurance that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on the company. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things: uncertainty of estimates of capital and operating costs, production estimates and estimated economic return; the possibility that actual circumstances will differ from the estimates and assumptions; failure to establish estimated resources or reserves; fluctuations in petroleum prices and currency exchange rates; inflation; changes in equity markets; political developments in
For further information: Mr. Ronald Pantin, Chief Executive Officer and Director, Mr. Jose Francisco Arata, President and Director, (416) 362-7735; Ms. Belinda Labatte, (647) 428-7035
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