CS - People & Companies - April 1, 2020Bonterra Energy Corp. announced Dan Reuter resigned from the board of directors on March 10. Gary Drummond also advised the company he does not plan to stand for re-election to the board at the next annual general meeting. Drummond has more than 20 years of service with Bonterra. Replacements for the outgoing board members have not been announced. Australia-based, Montney-focused Calima Energy is appointing Michael Dobovich as its president. Dobovich is based in Calgary and was...
Apr 01, 2020
CS - Tourmaline builds NEBC scale through $82.4MM in recent M&A - March 2020Tourmaline Oil announced a series of acquisitions totaling $82.4 million that further consolidates its position in the Northeast British Columbia Montney gas and condensate play. It signed a corporate deal to acquire publicly traded Chinook Energy, completed a second for privately held Polar Star Canadian Oil & Gas, and came forward as the buyer of NEBC Montney assets sold byPainted Pony Energyduring Q4. Tourmaline is acquiring all the issued and outstanding common shares of Chinook...
Mar 11, 2020
CS - A similar refrain for O&G and protestors: ‘Hold the line!’ - March 2020Canada’s oil and gas sector got off to a decent start this year, but new problems— the COVID-19 virus and a Saudi-Russian oil price war—as well some old friends like the country’s regulatory regime, have made the future far more uncertain. Teck Resources abandoned its $20.6 billion Frontier oil sands project days before a nine-year regulatory process was finally set to end (PG.1), and it hasn’t been the only project to suffer (PG.8). Rig counts began the year with a slight improvement over the...
Mar 11, 2020
CS - Tourmaline, Topaz and CWC face charges over 2018 H2S release - January 2020The Alberta Energy Regulator has laid charges against Tourmaline Oil Corp., its spinoff Topaz Oil Corp. and drilling and well services company CWC Energy Services Corp.for a hydrogen sulfide release near Spirit River, Alberta, in February 2018. Tourmaline and Topaz are each facing five charges, and CWC Energy Services is facing three. The companies’ first court appearance will be Feb. 19 in Grand Prairie. Tourmaline said a small amount of H2S was released by a contractor during an...
Jan 29, 2020
CS - Perpetual plans Q1 drilling on reduced borrowing base - January 2020Lenders in the Perpetual Energy syndicate reduced the company’s revolving credit facility borrowing base to $45 million from $55 million, which will take effect by Jan. 22. The facility matures at the end of March and has a one-year extension option. If Perpetual does not extend the facility, it must repay its balance outstanding by Nov. 30. The company said that with its credit facility and the current market value of its 1.66 million-share stake in Tourmaline Oil net of the associated...
Jan 08, 2020
CS - Tourmaline forecasts $1.75B in free cash flow through 2024 - January 2020Tourmaline Oil announced that it anticipates generating $345 million in free cash flow in 2020, based on strip commodity pricing. For the forward-looking five-year period, the company expects annual free cash flow to grow steadily and aggregate $1.75 billion during the period. The company announced a 2020 capital expenditures budget of $900-925 million, a nearly 25% reduction from the $1.225 billion it had set for 2019. The company said it will support acquisition activity with funds...
Jan 08, 2020
CS - Tourmaline completes $775MM spinoff of Topaz Energy - December 2019Leading Canadian gas producer Tourmaline Oil Corp. completed a $775 million transaction creating Topaz Energy Corp., a private, hybrid royalty and infrastructure company. Tourmaline said the deal, which closed Nov. 14, monetized some of the untapped value in its E&P and infrastructure businesses without major impact to its free cash flow. Topaz, which is expected to launch an initial public offering next year, acquired a royalty interest on Tourmaline lands, non-op 45% stakes in gas processing...
Dec 11, 2019
CS - Arrow forms committee to evaluate strategic alternatives - December 2019Colombia-focused Arrow Exploration formed a special committee to evaluate strategic alternatives to improve its balance sheet, including addressing its $3.2 million working capital deficit, long-dated payables, and its $7.1 million in net debt. The process is intended to explore alternatives including a sale, merger or other business combination; a disposition of all or some assets; recapitalization and refinancing opportunities; sourcing new financing and equity capital; and other...
Dec 11, 2019
CS - Tourmaline lowers 2020 E&P capex guidance on D&C efficiencies - November 2019Tourmaline Oil Corp. has approved a 2020 E&P capital program of $900-925 million, which is expected to result in 2020 average production of 315,000-322,500 boe/d and is $100-125 million lower than previous guidance. Maintenance capital for 2020 is estimated to be $800-825 million. Full-year 2019 E&P capital is expected to reach $1.04 billion. The company spent $201 million in Q3, down 50% YOY. Capital efficiency improvements, primarily reduced drilling and completion costs, have helped...
Nov 13, 2019
CS - Tourmaline mines value from assets with new firm Topaz Energy - October 2019Tourmaline Oil Corp. found a gem of an idea to monetize some of the untapped value in its E&P and infrastructure businesses without major impact to its free cash flow. It formed private royalty and infrastructure energy company Topaz Energy Corp. and plans to sell it a royalty interest on Tourmaline lands, non-operated stakes in gas processing plants and a piece of its current third-party revenue. The $775 million price tag will be paid in cash and new Topaz shares that will give...
Oct 23, 2019
CS - Canada’s oil patch approaches YE19 with a heavy heart
- October 2019As 2019 approaches its end, the Canadian oil patch continues to labor under the weight of challenges from within and without. At the macro level, recent events in the Middle East have rendered forecasts about the short- and medium-term trajectory of prices futile. However, the country’s burdens are largely homegrown and continue to be marked by regulatory heaviness and recently revealed corruption (PG.13), as well as supply constraints and foreign capital flight. Despite these...
Oct 23, 2019
CS - Tourmaline gunning for CNRL’s spot as leading gas producer - October 2019Throughout the year, Tourmaline Oil Corp. has been predicting that it will overtake Canada Natural Resources Ltd. as the largest natural gas producer in Canada. Considering that in just 11 years Tourmaline has gone from zero production to a 2019 guidance of 300,000 boe/d, it’s not a stretch to imagine it may close in on that milestone. In Q2, the company averaged just over 280,000 boe/d, 82% of which came from gas production of 1.37 Bcf/d. The quarter’s gas production was up 6% YOY. At...
Oct 23, 2019
CS - Rigs, wells & deals down YOY, but LNG provides bright spot - August 2019Upstream M&A continues its sluggish pace in Canada, with only two deals announced in July for a total disclosed value of $30.3 million, down 88% from June’s $253.9 million. Notably, the only billion-dollar-plus transaction YTD was another multinational exit, with Devon Energy’s $3.7 billion sale of its Canadian business to Canadian Natural Resources, continuing a two-year-plus trend that optimists dub “Canadian consolidation” and pessimists call “foreign flight.” Infrastructure issues...
Aug 21, 2019
CS - Quarterly results mixed, while M&A remains sluggish - August 2019Canadian oil and gas producers continue to recalibrate their financial, operational and M&A remains sluggish Canadian oil and gas producers continue to recalibrate their financial, operational and M&A strategies within a market beset by challenges from within and without. On the macro level, market volatility continues to be the background noise of the global industry. At home, supply constraints, heavy regulation and mandatory production curtailments continue to force companies to reassess...
Aug 21, 2019
CS - Tourmaline Oil pre-tax net up 61% YOY to $62.8 million - August 2019Tourmaline Oil Corp. reported Q2 net income of $154.9 million, aided heavily by a $141 million tax allowance, compared with $26 million a year ago. Without the tax benefit, earnings were $62.8 million, a 61% jump over comparable earnings before tax impacts reported a year ago. The company reported revenue of $486 million, or 18% higher YOY, though it cited “extremely low commodity prices” in the quarter. Tourmaline also cut 2019 capex again, this time by $25 million to bring total projected...
Aug 21, 2019