PetroBakken, a pioneer in southeastern Saskatchewan’s Bakken formation and one of the leaders in Western Canada’s resource plays, is sticking with its 2012 capital budget of C$875 million as it targets an increase of up to 8 percent in production by year’s end.
The Calgary-based company reported first-quarter output of at least 46,500 barrels of oil equivalent per day — 87 percent light oil and natural gas liquids — including 20,700 boe per day from its Bakken business unit and 16,400 boe per day from its Cardium operations in central Alberta, compared with 41,562 boe per day in the same quarter of 2011.
Although March output was down to 44,200 boe per day, with the Bakken at 19,000 boe per day, PetroBakken reiterated it is still targeting 52,000-56,000 boe per day by Dec. 31.
The drop in March largely resulted from the sale that closed March 19 of non-core assets producing 450 boe per day, including a C$427 million sale in southeastern Saskatchewan, for gross cash proceeds of C$427 million, which gives the company C$1.1 billion of available liquidity from diversified sources of credit.
Transactions so far this year have yielded gross proceeds of C$622.5 million and consisted of about 3,480 boe per day of production and 10.2 million boe of proved reserves. First quarter activity totalled 68 (47 net) wells, including 32 (23 net) in the Bakken and 12 (7 net) in the Cardium.
Entering April, PetroBakken had 22 net wells waiting to be completed or placed on production, five of them in the Bakken and 12 in the Cardium.
—Gary Park
