April 24, 2024
WHITECAP RESOURCES INC. ACHIEVES RECORD PRODUCTION, INCREASES GUIDANCE AND ANNOUNCES INVESTOR DAY
CALGARY, ALBERTA – Whitecap Resources Inc. ("Whitecap" or the "Company") (TSX: WCP) is pleased to report its operating and unaudited financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2024.
Selected financial and operating information is outlined below and should be read with Whitecap’s unaudited interim consolidated financial statements and related management’s discussion and analysis for the three months ended March 31, 2024 which are available at www.sedarplus.ca and on our website at www.wcap.ca.
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Financial ($ millions except for share amounts |
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Three Months ended Mar. 31 |
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2024 |
2023 |
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Petroleum and natural gas revenues |
|
|
868.3 |
883.7 |
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Net income |
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59.8 |
262.6 |
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Basic ($/share) |
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|
0.10 |
0.43 |
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Diluted ($/share) |
|
|
0.10 |
0.43 |
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Funds flow 1 |
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384.0 |
448.0 |
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Basic ($/share) 1 |
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0.64 |
0.74 |
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Diluted ($/share) 1 |
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|
0.64 |
0.73 |
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Dividends declared |
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|
109.1 |
87.7 |
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Per share |
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|
0.18 |
0.15 |
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Expenditures on property, plant and equipment 2 |
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393.2 |
253.6 |
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Free funds flow 1 |
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(9.2) |
194.4 |
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Net Debt 1 |
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1,495.4 |
1,471.1 |
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Operating |
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Average daily production |
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|
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|
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Crude oil (bbls/d) |
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88,807 |
86,276 |
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NGLs (bbls/d) |
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19,403 |
16,655 |
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Natural gas (Mcf/d) |
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368,701 |
313,159 |
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Total (boe/d) 3 |
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169,660 |
155,124 |
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Average realized Price 1,4 |
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|
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Crude oil ($/bbl) |
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89.02 |
91.73 |
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NGLs ($/bbl) |
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34.77 |
47.50 |
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Natural gas ($/Mcf) |
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2.61 |
3.56 |
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Petroleum and natural gas revenues ($/boe) 1 |
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56.24 |
63.30 |
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Operating Netback ($/boe) 1 |
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|
|
|
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Petroleum and natural gas revenues1 |
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56.24 |
63.30 |
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Tariffs 1 |
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(0.44) |
(0.54) |
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Processing & other income 1 |
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|
0.78 |
0.85 |
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Marketing revenues 1 |
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3.87 |
4.63 |
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Petroleum and natural gas sales 1 |
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60.45 |
68.24 |
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Realized gain on commodity contracts 1 |
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0.36 |
0.65 |
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Royalties 1 |
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(9.43) |
(11.51) |
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Operating expenses 1 |
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(14.27) |
(13.97) |
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Transportation expenses 1 |
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(2.06) |
(2.13) |
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Marketing expenses 1 |
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(3.84) |
(4.60) |
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Operating netbacks |
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31.21 |
36.68 |
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Share information (millions) |
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|
|
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Common shares outstanding, end of period |
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|
598.0 |
603.0 |
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Weighted average basic shares outstanding |
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|
598.0 |
606.1 |
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Weighted average diluted shares outstanding |
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|
601.7 |
610.8 |
MESSAGE TO SHAREHOLDERS
Whitecap had an exceptional first quarter with average production of 169,660 boe/d (108,210 bbls/d of light oil and liquids and 368,701 mcf/d of natural gas) compared to our forecast of approximately 163,500 boe/d (105,000 bbls/d of light oil and liquids and 351,000 mcf/d of natural gas), an increase of over 6,000 boe/d. This was achieved with lower than expected capital expenditures of $393 million compared to our forecast of approximately $430 million.
The first quarter represented the most active in our history. Drilling peaked at 15 rigs during the quarter to spud 96 (88.4 net) wells. We also completed the commissioning and start-up of our owned and operated Musreau battery. First sales volumes were produced through the facility in mid-March, approximately two weeks ahead of schedule and the combined project (including the sales gas pipeline) came in approximately 10% under our budget.
Production outperformance continues to exceed our expectations across our West and East Divisions into the second quarter. To reflect this outperformance that we have achieved year to date, we are increasing our annual production guidance by 2,000 boe/d to an updated guidance range of 167,000 – 172,000 boe/d, with no change to our capital budget of $0.9 - $1.1 billion.
Our balance sheet is in excellent condition with $1.5 billion of net debt (0.7 times debt to EBITDA ratio5) at quarter end. Continued strengthening of our balance sheet through the second quarter remains a priority for both downside price protection and value enhancing opportunities in the future.
We provide the following first quarter 2024 financial and operating highlights:
· Funds Flow. First quarter funds flow of $384 million ($0.64 per share) equated to a funds flow netback1 of $24.87 per boe. Strong WTI crude oil prices and a weak Canadian dollar contributed to our strong netback while the wider differentials experienced on Canadian oil prices that persisted through the first quarter have substantially narrowed with the in service date of the Trans Mountain Expansion pipeline now expected in the second quarter.
· Drilling Program. We spud 96 (88.4 net) wells and brought on production 85 (80.0 net) wells during the first quarter, including 11 (10.5 net) wells in our West Division and 74 (69.5 net) wells in our East Division. Initial results are very strong across both our West and East Divisions, exceeding our internal forecasts on a total production basis and liquids content, particularly from our Glauconite and Montney assets.
· Return of Capital. First quarter dividends declared of $109 million ($0.18 per share) increased by 24% relative to the first quarter of 2023. Our annual base dividend of $0.73 per share represents a stable return of capital to our shareholders and will be further enhanced through share repurchases using our Normal Course Issuer Bid ("NCIB").
· Balance Sheet Strength. Quarter end net debt of $1.5 billion equated to a debt to EBITDA ratio of 0.7 times and an EBITDA to interest expense ratio5 of 27.2 times, both well within our debt covenants of not greater than 4.0 times and not less than 3.5 times, respectively.
OPERATIONS UPDATE
West Division
The progression of our Montney development took a significant step forward with the commissioning and startup of our Musreau battery near the end of the first quarter. Initial sales volumes flowed through the facility approximately two weeks ahead of schedule and initial production rates from our first 4-well (4.0 net) pad at Musreau are higher than anticipated. Tie-in of our second 4-well pad at Musreau was completed in early April and each well on this pad has now been brought on production on a staged basis.
At Kakwa, our two recent 3-well pads that were drilled to a wider six wells per section spacing compared to offset wells and previously eight wells per section spacing have continued to achieve strong results. Our most recent 3-well (3.0 net) pad, at 03-21B has produced at average IP(90) rates of 1,830 boe/d (34% liquids) per well, which is 20% above our expectations, matching the early-time outperformance of our adjacent 02-26B 3-well (3.0 net) pad. Based on initial outperformance, the per-section economic return profiles of this asset are strengthened utilizing this updated spacing strategy and we are currently evaluating the applicability to other areas of future Montney and Duvernay development.
The 2-well (2.0 net) pad at Lator that was drilled in the back half of 2023 continues to outperform expectations with average IP(150) rates of 1,580 boe/d (42% liquids) per well being 17% above our expectations. Our next two wells at Lator will be drilled in the third quarter this year, while ongoing engineering and commercial work is being advanced to determine the optimal development and infrastructure strategy for our expansive land base at Lator.
In the Duvernay at Kaybob we have just completed drilling our third pad, a 3-well (3.0 net) pad which is expected to be brought on production near the end of the second quarter. The three wells on this pad have been drilled with 4,200 metre lateral lengths, our longest Duvernay laterals to date. Our first seven (7.0 net) wells (4-well and 3-well pads) are 22% above our expectations with average IP(150) rates of 1,498 boe/d (35% liquids) per well. We plan to bring eight (8.0 net) Duvernay wells on production in 2024.
East Division
Our East Division had a very active first quarter, running 11 rigs on average and we brought 74 (69.5 net) wells on production, with an additional 11 (8.3 net) wells from our first quarter program planned to be brought on production by mid-May. Production outperformance across multiple areas allowed us to offset the negative impacts that adverse weather conditions had on our drilling program and production in the quarter.
Strong results from our first quarter drilling program include four (3.9 net) Glauconite wells, a three-well (2.9 net) pad and a single (1.0 net) infill well. All four wells are producing significantly above initial expectations and have been aided by increased infrastructure access in the area. We are in the process of drilling 5 (4.8 net) Glauconite wells through breakup with 2 (2.0 net) wells to be brought on by the end of the second quarter.
In East Saskatchewan, we drilled 17 (15.7 net) wells in the first quarter, including 11 (10.3 net) triple leg horizontal wells targeting the Frobisher formation. Early time results on our Frobisher program are tracking above our type curve for the area. Efficiency improvements by drilling dual and triple-leg wells are notable and the significant majority of our 2024 program will utilize multi-laterals in the Frobisher.
OUTLOOK
2024 is off to a great start with March production volumes averaging over 175,000 boe/d as a result of our Musreau battery coming online as well as from high flush volumes from our first quarter drilling program in both the West and East Divisions. We are particularly excited about our first 4-well (4.0 net) Musreau pad, with initial results exceeding our expectations for the area. Musreau was identified as key acreage in our 2022 XTO acquisition and upcoming development is expected to generate top tier economics.
We will continue to optimize our expansive portfolio of 6,442 (5,619 net) high quality drilling locations6 by reducing drilling days, refining completions parameters on a pad-by-pad basis (such as proppant intensity, cluster spacing and fluid optimization) and expect our operating costs per boe to continue to improve as we move through the remainder of the year.
As mentioned earlier, we are increasing our production guidance by 2,000 boe/d to an updated guidance range of 167,000 – 172,000 boe/d, with no change to our $0.9 - $1.1 billion capital budget.
We are comfortable with the sustainability of our current monthly dividend of $0.0608 per share that has been stress tested down to US$50/bbl WTI and $2.00/GJ AECO and is further supported by a fortified balance sheet. Our focus is now on share repurchases through our NCIB to continue to enhance our per share metrics.
At current strip prices7, we are forecasting 2024 funds flow of approximately $1.7 billion8 which results in free funds flow of $700 million8 after capital investments.
We see continued tailwinds for Canadian crude oil producers with the TMX pipeline expansion expected to begin commercial operations on May 1, 2024, resulting in tighter differentials for both heavy and light oil over the next several years. As Whitecap is predominately a light oil producer, we are seeing the benefits of the Edmonton Par Differential narrow from over US$8.50/bbl in the first quarter of 2024 and is expected to average less than US$3.00/bbl over the remainder of the year.
Natural gas production in Western Canada remains near all-time highs, resulting in depressed AECO prices that are expected to remain challenged in the near to medium term. However, AECO prices are expected to improve with the start-up of LNG Canada phase 1 commissioning and the associated ramp up in the latter part of this year. Although Whitecap’s production mix is 65% oil and liquids which represents 90% of our revenues, this will have a positive impact to our cash flows as we currently produce approximately 370,000 mcf/d of natural gas.
With the tailwinds for Canadian Energy, Whitecap's deep inventory set, strong operational execution and a clean balance sheet to execute on share buybacks and/or disciplined acquisitions, we are well positioned to deliver exceptional returns for shareholders in 2024 and beyond.
On behalf of our employees, management team and Board of Directors, we would like to thank our shareholders for their continued support.
INVESTOR DAY
We are also pleased to announce a virtual Investor Day to be held on Tuesday, June 11, 2024 from 8:30 - 10:00 am MT (10:30 am - 12:00 pm ET). Members of management will present with a Q&A period to follow.
Registration can be made using the following link (Investor Day Registration) or via Whitecap’s website at www.wcap.ca by selecting "Investors", then "Presentations & Events".
NOTES
1 Funds flow, funds flow basic ($/share), funds flow diluted ($/share) and net debt are capital management measures. Funds flow netback ($/boe), average realized price and per boe disclosure figures are supplementary financial measures. Operating netback and free funds flow are non-GAAP financial measures. Operating netbacks ($/boe) is a non-GAAP ratio. Refer to the Specified Financial Measures section in this press release for additional disclosure and assumptions.
2 Also referred to herein as "capital expenditures", "capital investment" and "capital budget".
3 Disclosure of production on a per boe basis in this press release consists of the constituent product types and their respective quantities disclosed herein. Refer to Barrel of Oil Equivalency and Production, Initial Production Rates and Product Type Information in this press release for additional disclosure.
4 Prior to the impact of risk management activities and tariffs.
5 Debt to EBITDA ratio and EBITDA to interest expense ratio are specified financial measures that are calculated in accordance with the financial covenants in our credit agreement.
6 Disclosure of drilling locations in this press release consists of proved, probable, and unbooked locations and their respective quantities on a gross and net basis as disclosed herein. Refer to Drilling Locations in this press release for additional disclosure.
7 Based on the following strip commodity pricing and exchange rate assumptions for the remainder of 2024: US$80/bbl WTI, $1.76/GJ AECO, USD/CAD of $1.37.
8 2023 Funds flow was $1.8 billion and 2023 free funds flow was $838 million.
CONFERENCE CALL AND WEBCAST
Whitecap has scheduled a conference call and webcast to begin promptly at 9:00 am MT (11:00 am ET) on Thursday, April 25, 2024.
The conference call dial-in number is: 1-888-390-0605 or (587) 880-2175 or (416) 764-8609
A live webcast of the conference call will be accessible on Whitecap’s website at www.wcap.ca by selecting "Investors", then "Presentations & Events". Shortly after the live webcast, an archived version will be available for approximately 14 days.
For further information:
Grant Fagerheim, President & CEO
or
Thanh Kang, Senior Vice President & CFO
Whitecap Resources Inc.
3800, 525 – 8th Avenue SW
Calgary, AB T2P 1G1
(403) 266-0767
www.wcap.ca
InvestorRelations@wcap.ca
Refer to full press release for forward-looking statements and advisories.
