CALGARY, Alberta – Pieridae Energy Limited (“Pieridae” or the “Company”) (PEA.TO) announces the release of its third quarter 2022 financial and operating results, highlighted by year-over-year improvement in financial metrics such as Revenue, Net Operating Income and Adjusted Funds Flow and continued debt reduction. A full version of Pieridae’s management’s discussion and analysis (“MD&A”) and unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements and notes thereto for the fiscal period ended September 30, 2022 are available at www.pieridaeenergy.com and on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
Highlights
During Q3 2022 Pieridae:
- Generated quarterly Revenue of $113.3 million up 39% from $81.3 million in the comparable period in 2021;
- Generated quarterly Net Operating Income1 of $30.0 million ($0.19 per basic and fully diluted share) up 67% from $17.9 million in the comparable period in 2021;
- Generated Adjusted Funds Flow from Operations1 of $22.2 million, up 102% from $11.0 million in Q3 2021;
- Realized net loss of $1.6 million ($0.01 per basic and fully diluted share), an improvement of 89% from a net loss of $14.8 million ($0.09 per basic and fully diluted share) in the comparable period in 2021;
- Produced 35,959 boe/d (weighted 84% to natural gas) down 5% from the comparable period in 2021, due primarily to the previously discussed re-injection of ethane volumes into the sales gas stream, and management’s decision to shut-in a portion of production for a short period in response to volatile AECO gas prices during the quarter; and
- Repaid $15.3 million of senior secured term loan, reducing the amount due at maturity to $227.8 million2.
“During the third quarter we generated strong cash flow despite volatile commodity prices and the decision to curtail production for a short time in August. We also reduced our debt by $15 million during the quarter,” said Pieridae’s Chief Executive Officer Alfred Sorensen. “Additionally, we are pleased to report that subsequent to the end of the third quarter, the Company commenced its previously announced Fall drilling program in the Brown Creek / Stolberg area.”
Selected Q3 2022 Operational & Financial Results
2022 | 2021 | 2020 | ||||||||||||||
($ 000 unless otherwise stated) | Q3 | Q2 | Q1 | Q4 | Q3 | Q2 | Q1 | Q4 | ||||||||
Production | ||||||||||||||||
Natural gas (mcf/day) | 181,030 | 178,918 | 187,719 | 198,596 | 191,439 | 194,232 | 215,179 | 212,220 | ||||||||
Condensate (bbl/day) | 2,911 | 2,864 | 3,201 | 2,851 | 2,555 | 2,950 | 3,158 | 3,259 | ||||||||
NGLs (bbl/day) | 2,876 | 3,695 | 6,003 | 5,354 | 4,133 | 3,083 | 4,975 | 6,171 | ||||||||
Sulphur (tonne/day) | 1,312 | 1,530 | 1,599 | 1,185 | 1,518 | 1,710 | 1,713 | 1,829 | ||||||||
Total production (boe/d) | 35,959 | 36,378 | 40,491 | 41,304 | 38,595 | 38,404 | 43,997 | 44,800 | ||||||||
Financial | ||||||||||||||||
Realized natural gas price before physical commodity contracts ($/mcf) | 4.38 | 7.13 | 4.66 | 4.62 | 3.58 | 3.10 | 3.12 | 1.96 | ||||||||
Realized natural gas price after physical commodity contracts ($/mcf) | 3.62 | 4.67 | 4.08 | 3.67 | 2.7 | 2.59 | 2.63 | 2.16 | ||||||||
Benchmark natural gas price ($/mcf) | 4.28 | 7.22 | 4.75 | 4.69 | 3.59 | 3.11 | 3.16 | 2.67 | ||||||||
Realized condensate price before physical commodity contracts ($/bbl) | 103.71 | 132.60 | 112.09 | 91.69 | 85.25 | 76.72 | 68.85 | 53.48 | ||||||||
Realized condensate price after physical commodity contracts ($/bbl) | 105.82 | 116.61 | 106.13 | 69.71 | 65.33 | 68.08 | 58.4 | 53.48 | ||||||||
Benchmark condensate price ($/bbl) | 115.66 | 132.49 | 122.62 | 100.1 | 70.25 | 64.82 | 59.05 | 56.01 | ||||||||
Net income (loss) | (1,573 | ) | 22,982 | 10,549 | 4,661 | (14,846 | ) | (10,058 | ) | (19,547 | ) | (45,968 | ) | |||
Net income (loss) per share, basic | (0.01 | ) | 0.15 | 0.07 | 0.03 | (0.09 | ) | (0.06 | ) | (0.12 | ) | (0.29 | ) | |||
Net income (loss) per share, diluted | (0.01 | ) | 0.14 | 0.07 | 0.03 | (0.09 | ) | (0.06 | ) | (0.12 | ) | (0.29 | ) | |||
Net operating income (loss) (1) | 30,014 | 55,969 | 47,295 | 30,845 | 17,920 | 14,444 | 20,876 | 12,829 | ||||||||
Cashflow provided by (used in) operating activities | 9,899 | 34,922 | 3,212 | 21,139 | 6,885 | 12,093 | 11,000 | 2,362 | ||||||||
Adjusted funds flow from operations (1) | 22,224 | 48,710 | 45,144 | 23,317 | 10,981 | 8,516 | 14,878 | 8,535 | ||||||||
Total assets | 473,642 | 499,580 | 552,781 | 622,540 | 560,782 | 575,690 | 557,696 | 612,651 | ||||||||
Working capital (deficit) surplus | (63,245 | ) | (61,634 | ) | (64,413 | ) | (87,665 | ) | (52,534 | ) | (47,862 | ) | (28,314 | ) | (19,615 | ) |
Capital expenditures | 7,216 | 9,739 | 3,534 | 1,493 | 9,852 | 17,959 | 5,668 | 8,926 | ||||||||
Development expenses | – | – | – | 225 | 783 | (4,862 | ) | 8,604 | 8,682 |
(1) Refer to the “non-GAAP measures” section of the Company’s Q3 2022 MD&A.
Operating Netback
2022 | 2021 | |||||||||||||
($ per BOE) | Q3 | Q2 | Q1 | Q4 | Q3 | Q2 | Q1 | |||||||
Revenue before physical commodity contracts | 35.54 | 52.94 | 37.04 | 33.53 | 27.40 | 24.28 | 23.82 | |||||||
Loss on physical commodity contracts | (3.64 | ) | (13.34 | ) | (3.18 | ) | (6.04 | ) | (5.69 | ) | (3.86 | ) | (3.19 | ) |
Third party processing and other income | 2.34 | 2.27 | 1.75 | 0.88 | 1.19 | 1.47 | 1.48 | |||||||
Royalties | (6.33 | ) | (7.08 | ) | (5.25 | ) | (4.65 | ) | (1.70 | ) | (1.11 | ) | (0.97 | ) |
Operating | (17.36 | ) | (16.00 | ) | (15.72 | ) | (14.17 | ) | (14.84 | ) | (15.41 | ) | (14.70 | ) |
Transportation | (1.48 | ) | (1.89 | ) | (1.66 | ) | (1.42 | ) | (1.32 | ) | (1.24 | ) | (1.17 | ) |
Netback ($/boe) | 9.07 | 16.90 | 12.98 | 8.13 | 5.04 | 4.13 | 5.27 |
Commodity Pricing and Hedge Position
Commencing the third week of August 2022, daily AECO spot prices dropped significantly as a result of pipeline maintenance on TC Energy’s Nova Gas Transmission Line (“NGTL”) and Enbridge’s Transportation South (“T-South”) systems, an unplanned compressor failure in Alberta and restrictions to gas storage injections. These pipelines connect most of the natural gas production in Western Canada to domestic and export markets, and the pipeline downtime created negative AECO spot prices as volumes were unable to be transported to local and international terminals. Subsequently, current AECO prices have rebounded, however, AECO prices have remained volatile through September and October as further maintenance on the NGTL system was completed.
Notwithstanding the fluctuation in the daily spot AECO pricing during the quarter, the AECO monthly natural gas price index increased 19% in the third quarter of 2022 compared to 2021. Average North American crude oil prices increased 30% in the third quarter of 2022 compared to the third quarter of 2021 based on persistent supply constraints and market uncertainty due to ongoing geopolitical events.
Pieridae’s realized prices reflect the mix of spot sales and physical forward sales contracts consistent with the Company’s hedging policy. In the nine months ended September 30, 2022, volumes sold under physical forward sales contracts represented 61% of total production and 43% of total revenue.
Nine months ended September 30, 2022 | Average Realized Prices | Benchmark Prices |
Natural Gas before physical commodity contracts ($/mcf) (1) | 5.37 | 5.41 |
Natural Gas after physical commodity contracts ($/mcf) (1) | 4.12 | 5.41 |
Condensate before physical commodity contracts ($/bbl) (2) | 115.89 | 123.56 |
Condensate after physical commodity contracts ($/bbl) (2) | 109.37 | 123.56 |
Sulphur ($/tonne) (3) | 47.93 | 395.61 |
(1) AECO 5A benchmark price ($/mcf) assuming a 1.0551 gj/Mcf conversion rate
(2) Condensate benchmark price ($/bbl)
(3) Sulphur ($/tonne)
Pieridae’s outstanding physical forward sales contracts are currently as follows:
after September 30, 2022 | Natural Gas | Condensate | ||
$/gj | gj/d | $/bbl | bbl/d | |
Q4 2022 | 4.47 | 98,641 | 130.543 | 1,000 |
Q1 2023 | 5.40 | 44,139 | 103.244 | 700 |
Q2 2023 | 4.82 | 27,500 | 103.244 | 700 |
Q3 2023 | 4.82 | 27,500 | 103.244 | 700 |
Q4 2023 | 4.82 | 9,266 | – | – |
Pieridae’s outstanding financial risk management contracts are currently as follows:
AECO Swap | WTI Swap | C5 WTI Differential Swap | |||||
$/gj | gj/d | $/bbl | bbl/d | $/bbl | bbl/d | ||
Q4 2022 | 5.54 | 842 | – | – | – | – | |
Q1 2023 | 5.54 | 2,500 | 107.64 | 500 | (4.67 | ) | 500 |
Q2 2023 | 3.94 | 2,500 | 107.64 | 500 | (4.67 | ) | 500 |
Q3 2023 | – | – | 107.64 | 500 | (4.67 | ) | 500 |
Pieridae will continue to hedge in order to mitigate commodity price volatility and protect the cash flow required to fund the Company’s facility maintenance capital requirements, debt service obligations and capital development program while allowing the Company to participate in future commodity price upside.
Production
Production in the third quarter of 2022 averaged 35,959 boe/d, a 5% decrease from 38,595 boe/d in Q3 2021, due to re-injection of ethane volumes into the gas stream and temporary shut-in of production due to AECO spot price volatility.
Pieridae had approximately 54% of its natural gas production hedged during the month of August. However, Pieridae determined it was prudent to temporarily shut-in certain gas wells during this period of extremely low spot AECO prices. As a result, the Company shut-in unhedged gas volumes (750 boe/d) for several days in our Lynx, Palliser, Moose and Tay areas.
As previously mentioned, Pieridae has re-injected liquid ethane (“C2”) back into the natural gas sales stream at two gas processing facilities during the quarter forgoing C2 production of approximately 1,800 – 2,300 boe/d but increasing the heat content and value of the gas stream, resulting in no material impact to revenue. Pieridae expects to continue re-injecting liquid ethane into the gas stream for the remainder of the year and into 2023.
Foothills Drilling Program
Subsequent to quarter end, the Company commenced its three well drilling program at Brown Creek and Stolberg in our Central Alberta Foothills area. The project will incur gross development capital costs during Q4 2022 and Q1 2023 of approximately $27 million. Successful wells in these reservoirs provide significant upside potential of up to 39 additional drilling opportunities in the Central AB Foothills core area.
2022 Guidance
($ 000s unless otherwise noted) | Revised 2022 Guidance | Previous 2022 Guidance | ||
Low | High | Low | High | |
Total production (boe/d) | 37,500 | 39,500 | 37,500 | 39,500 |
Net operating income (1)(2) | 160,000 | 180,000 | 150,000 | 180,000 |
Implied operating netback ($/boe) (2) | 12.00 | 14.00 | 12.00 | 14.00 |
Sustaining capital expenditures (3) | 17,000 | 22,000 | 17,000 | 22,000 |
Development capital expenditures (4) | 20,000 | 25,000 | 25,000 | 30,000 |
(1) Refer to the “non-GAAP measures” section of the Company’s Q3 2022 MD&A.
(2) 2022 outlook assumes average 2022 AECO price of $5.22/Mcf and average 2022 WTI price of USD$90.11/bbl and accounts for fixed price forward commodity sales contracts as of September 30, 2022
(3) Comprised of facility maintenance and turnaround capital expenditures
(4) Comprised of seismic, development and land capital expenditures
Pieridae’s priority is on improving financial flexibility by strengthening the balance sheet while sustaining production, implementing cost control initiatives, optimizing infrastructure logistics and executing non-core asset dispositions.
The Company’s 2022 development capital program guidance range has been decreased and narrowed to $20 – 25 million reflecting small reductions in scope of optimization work and rescheduling of costs related to the Fall drilling program into the first quarter of 2023.
Conference Call Details
A conference call to discuss the results will be held for the investment community on Thursday November 10, 2022 at 8.30 a.m. MDT/10.30 a.m. EDT. To participate in the conference webcast or call, you are asked to register using one of the links provided below. Details regarding the webcast or call will be provided to you upon registration.
Webcast participants registration URL:
https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/7auri9ww
Live call participants registration URL:
https://register.vevent.com/register/BI2beb5d0ec7e844ceb99e6b15fcb3c019