Whitebark Energy upgrades Canadian oil and gas reserves
Processing facility at Whitebark Energy’s Point Lomo project in Alberta, Canada.
Oil and gas explorer and producer Whitebark Energy (ASX: WBE) has upgraded the 2P (proven plus probable) reserves at its Point Loma joint venture project in Alberta, Canada, boosting its position by 184%.
The company, which owns the project in a joint venture partnership with Canadian operator Point Loma Resources, today reported 2P reserves of 2.36 million barrels of oil equivalent, as well as 1P (proven) reserves of 1.39 million boe.
The reserves update to 31 December 2017 was independently assessed by McDaniels and Associates and represented a 32% and 34% increase in respective 1P and 2P reserves, compared to the booked reserves position at 30 June 2017.
However, when adding the reserves from the Point Loma joint venture’s most recent acquisition, announced last week and now being referred to as the Gilby project, the 1P and 2P reserves were boosted by 104% and 184%, respectively.
The newly acquired Gilby project covers 26,500 gross acres (107sq km) of land and associated facilities that are currently producing 450 boe per day, with around a third of output being oil and natural gas liquids.
“Growing reserves and production has been, and remains, a strategic focus for Whitebark, and I am pleased with the progress we made in 2017,” Whitebark managing director David Messina said.
“An increase of almost three times our 2P reserves in six months provides future cashflow opportunity, strengthens our balance sheet and places us in a strong position for further growth in 2018,” he added.
The reserves assessment has been presented on a “company gross” basis, which is defined as Whitebark’s working interest share. This comprises a 20% stake in the original Point Loma joint venture and 30% in the Gilby project.
The estimates were based on a review of the volumetric data and performance characteristics of the individual crude oil or natural gas wells and reservoirs in question.
Undeveloped reserves were associated with undrilled locations within existing producing fields and only proposed wells that were deemed commercially viable were included in the estimates, Whitebark said.
The assessment was also based on McDaniels’ commodity price forecast, which anticipates West Texas Intermediate crude oil to be around US$58.50 per barrel in 2018 and up to US$73.10 per barrel in 2022.