Earnings Labs

Crescent Energy Company (CRGY)

Q1 2014 Earnings Call· Fri, May 16, 2014

$13.46

+2.95%

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Transcript

Operator

Operator

Please standby. Good day. And welcome to the Contango Results for First Quarter 2014 Conference Call. Today’s conference is being recorded. At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Joe Grady. Please go ahead.

Joe Grady

Management

Thank you, Jenny. I’d like to welcome everyone to Contango’s quarterly earnings call for the quarter ending March 31st. As you are aware, we changed our year end to a calendar year basis in conjunction with our merger with Crimson. So, this is our first -- truly first quarter results reporting for 2014. As we have mentioned in our prior call, we complemented our transition report on Form 10-K, which is prescribed by the SEC, with our Form10-K/A that included audited calendar year end statements for the full year’s ending December 31, 2011 through 2013 and a Form 8-K that includes 12-month 2013 calendar year end financial statements pro forma for the Crimson merger assuming the merger was completed on January 1, 2013. We made these two supplemental filings and our mechanism for use by the investment community in making current historical comparisons going forward. Our results for this quarter include post-merger results for the 2014 quarter, while the 2013 results are pre-merger standalone Contango. I bring today as myself, Allan Keel, our CEO; Steve Mengle, our Senior VP of Engineering; and Carl Isaac, our Senior VP of Operations. I’ll start out with a review of the financial results, Allan will follow with an overview of our operations and then we’ll have a Q&A session after Allan. We will limit our questions in the Q&A to those from analysts that follow our stock closely. As we like most companies, public companies limit questions to their group. As we believe that and this is most constructive and productive use of everyone’s time. Before we begin, I want to remind everyone that the earnings release and the discussion this morning may contain forward-looking statements as defined by the Securities and Exchange Commission that include comments and assumption concerning Contango’s strategic plans, expectations…

Allan Keel

CEO

Thanks Joe and good morning everyone. Thanks for being with us this morning. And it has been a busy quarter for Contango in terms of the combined two entities and one cohesive group and that group has been started on active 2014 capital program. With the exception of the previously mentioned this formal Ship Shoal 255, it’s been a good quarter. We remain committed to our previously detailed onshore program discussed on our last call and in our company presentation. But we decided further offshore exploratory activity to a later time which is consistent with our strategy to limit our dry holes exposure for any particular year. Now, I’d like to share a few highlights about the information we provided in our operations release and where appropriate and meaningful, we will add a few extra comments. In Madison and Grimes counties, Taxes, we continued to experience good results in drilling the Woodbine in our Force area, as evidenced by our three new wells brought on production and reported for the quarter, with two other wells in the early stages of flowback and another one awaiting completion. We have continued to improve on a number of drilling/completion, completing days and cost in the area and therefore plan to drill another six wells during the remainder of the year. Next-door, in our Chalktown area, we drilled on the Vick Trust B #1 in the first quarter, which happens to be looking like our best well in the entire Madison, Grimes area so far. We’ve just spud our next well there at the bore well in the area and expect to have a rig drilled in the Woodbine wells in Chalktown area for the remainder of the year. Moving in south into Grimes County, we are preparing to drill the lateral into the…

Operator

Operator

(Operator Instructions) And we will take our first question from Chad Mabry with MLV & Co. Please go ahead. Chad Mabry - MLV & Co.: Thanks. Good morning. To start up with the Eugene Island, it looks like an encouraging initial rate on that Kodiak well. Just curious how that compared to your internal model and maybe what you might need to see to accelerate activity in that play?

Allan Keel

CEO

I think with regard to our pre-drill estimate, we are a little lower on gas rate than we had expected, but on the other hand, we are a little bit higher on yield. And so I think we need to see which will surprise us. We need to see a little more history yet. That play is very cost-sensitive and very reserve-sensitive, and so the rate of return as we see is starting out. On pre-drill basis it was a little bit lower than the rest of our opportunities. So we need to see enough encouragement to make us want to go out there and actually add that to our portfolio. That’s kind of where we are at -- would like to see. Chad Mabry - MLV & Co.: And what was the cost on that first well?

Joe Grady

Management

Yes, I think including facilities, that was a little over $7 million. Chad Mabry - MLV & Co.: Okay, great. And then on the new opportunities, just a couple points of clarification. First, how closer are you to that target of 40,000 acres? And then second to confirm, are you the operator out there?

Allan Keel

CEO

We are -- I can't say a whole lot about that, Chad, but we are fairly close to that number. And we will share operations on that project with our partner.

Carl Isaac

Analyst · MLV & Co

We’ll probably operate the drilling and they will operate the production. Chad Mabry - MLV & Co.: Okay. That’s helpful. Thanks. I’ll get back in queue.

Allan Keel

CEO

Yeah.

Operator

Operator

(Operator Instructions) Our next question is from Michael Glick with Johnson Rice. Please go ahead.

Michael Glick - Johnson Rice

Analyst · Johnson Rice. Please go ahead

Good morning. Just in the Zavala/Dimmit county area, any thoughts to drilling an Eagle Ford well this year?

Allan Keel

CEO

Yes, Michael, we’re working on that now.

Michael Glick - Johnson Rice

Analyst · Johnson Rice. Please go ahead

And then I guess -- compared to your previous, also I guess, it probably be a longer lateral bigger frac, is that fair?

Allan Keel

CEO

Definitely, longer lateral. Carl, want to say?

Carl Isaac

Analyst · Johnson Rice. Please go ahead

I think, you’ll see us do everything a little bit bigger.

Steve Mengle

Analyst · Johnson Rice. Please go ahead

Which is why Chesapeake has done and had fair amount of success with it, so.

Michael Glick - Johnson Rice

Analyst · Johnson Rice. Please go ahead

Okay. And then in the BUDA, looks like that the Dunlap well is a bit further south compared to your existing wells. I mean, is that thing successful? Do it derisk kind of the acreage in between Dunlap and the Beeler wells?

Allan Keel

CEO

Well, Michael, we like to think so but this is a statistical play. It’s fractured carbonate sections. We’re trying to learn as much as we can. We’re hopeful that that’s the case but we don’t know exactly. If -- even we have a very successful well there, that’s going to happen in between. So we’d be very encouraged obviously if that well plays out in our favor.

Michael Glick - Johnson Rice

Analyst · Johnson Rice. Please go ahead

And then in terms of the Stokes well and Madison/Grimes county. What’s kind of the timeline look like there in terms of evaluating the cores and then going out and kicking out lateral?

Allan Keel

CEO

Well, I think the key there is industry consortium that we’re participating in where a lot technical data science is getting collected. Analog is integrated and we’ll have a better idea what the timing and the future looks like on that well.

Carl Isaac

Analyst · Johnson Rice. Please go ahead

That is probably several months.

Allan Keel

CEO

Yeah. I think we always assumed from a budget perspective that it would be late in the year before we get back after there. And so late this year, early next year is not out of the question.

Michael Glick - Johnson Rice

Analyst · Johnson Rice. Please go ahead

I mean, is it unreasonable to think that maybe next year you could have potentially three rigs in the area, one in Force, one in Chalktown and then other one on Iola/ Grimes spending on. What you see there?

Allan Keel

CEO

Yeah. It’s considerable.

Michael Glick - Johnson Rice

Analyst · Johnson Rice. Please go ahead

Got you. All right. Thank you very much.

Allan Keel

CEO

Thanks Michael.

Operator

Operator

(Operator Instructions) It appears there are no further questions at this time. I'd like to turn the conference back to our speakers for any additional or closing remarks.

Allan Keel

CEO

I’d just thank you for everybody participating today and we’ll look forward to updating you on our next call. That’s all we have. Thanks a lot.

Operator

Operator

And that concludes today’s conference. Thank you for your participation.