Whitebark Energy boosts oil and gas output with Canadian acquisition

Oil and gas producer Whitebark Energy (ASX: WBE) has boosted daily output by more than 30% at its Point Loma joint venture project in Alberta, Canada, thanks to the further addition of producing oil and gas assets in the area.

The company reported today that the Point Loma joint venture, which consists of Whitebark (holding a 20% working interest) and Toronto Stock Exchange-listed Point Loma Resources (70%), had been approved for the acquisition of 26,500 gross acres (107sq km) of land and associated facilities.

The newly acquired assets are currently producing 450 barrels of oil equivalent per day, with 30% being oil and natural gas liquids.

According to Whitebark, the assets include significant upside potential with booked proven and probable undeveloped reserves, as well as numerous exploration locations with multi-zone potential across the Mannville, Cardium and Duvernay zones.

The acreage was acquired for a gross amount of C$1.9 million and represented sthe fourth transaction since Whitebark entered into the Point Loma joint venture in May 2017.

“Over the last nine months we have demonstrated we have the capability to identify and execute value adding transactions and we remain focused on growing both production and reserves in Canada as long as the acquisition metrics remain attractive,” Whitebark managing director David Messina said.

The Point Loma joint venture had been expanding its acreage during the second half of 2017, with Whitebark reporting in its December quarter results that 18 additional drilling opportunities had been added to the inventory, thanks to both the land acquisitions and current drilling programs.

The project partners have planned a work program for the first half of 2018 involving drilling, well workovers and well reactivations.

Whitebark also holds a 15% stake in the Xanadu shallow-water oil discovery off the coast of Western Australia, and a 57% interest in the undeveloped onshore Warro gas project in the Perth Basin.

Shares in Whitebark finished up 14% at the end of trade on the latest acquisition news to close at 0.8c.