Page 14 - LatAmOil Week 11 2023

LatAmOil NEWS IN BRIEF LatAmOil

employed of 60%. 11,000 bpd of oil and 12,000 bpd of oil during
INVESTMENT Sustained Debt Reduction and a Stronger Q1 2023, below the guided 13,500 bpd of oil for
Balance Sheet: Paid down $170mn of gross debt the first quarter.
Petrobras reports on Bahia in 2022 ($275mn since April 2021). Full-year With barging travel now normalised, and the
interest payments decreased to $36.5mn (from contracted barging fleet now expanded to over
Terra Cluster divestment $42.6mn), expected to be further reduced to 1.5mn barrels of capacity (from 1.2mn barrels in
$27-30mn in 2023. Net leverage of 0.7x and no 2022), PetroTal expects to make up the Q1 2023
Petrobras informs that the divestment process principal debt maturities until 2027. Cash in production shortfall in Q2 2023, thus maintain-
of the Bahia Terra Cluster is in the negotiation hand of $128.8mn. ing its 2023 full year production guidance of
phase with the consortium of companies Pet- Tripled Shareholder Returns: 2022 cash div- between 14,000 bpd of oil and 15,000 bpd of oil.
roreconcavo and Eneva, and no decision has idends increased by 236% to $24.3mn. 2022 Drilling Update: The Company completed
been taken by the Executive Board and the share buybacks increased by 206% to $36.3mn. drilling (and coring) its third water disposal well
Board of Directors concerning these assets, Renewed discretionary share buyback pro- (4WD) on January 29, 2023. The core sample
according to the releases disclosed on January gramme for up to 10% of shares outstanding taken from the well is currently being analysed.
5, 2023, December 13, 2022, and November 3, until December 2023. Quarterly cash dividend The water disposal well was completed ahead of
2022. of $0.13 per share, or approximately $7.5mn, schedule and on budget.
Additionally, any intended decisions on payable on March 31, 2023. PetroTal subsequently commenced drilling
investments and asset disposals must be ana- Enhanced ESG Performance, Ratings and development well 14H on February 8, 2023, its
lyzed by the appropriate governance bodies. Recognition: Interconnected the Llanos 34 block 15th oil well at Bretana. The well is estimated to
Material facts will be timely disclosed to the to Colombia’s national power grid and installed cost $15.3mn and will be drilled to a total meas-
market. a solar park in 2022, key drivers to continue ured depth of almost 5,100 metres with a 1,125-
Petrobras, 13 March 2023 improving the Llanos 34 block’s industry-lead- metre horizontal section, making it the longest
ing carbon footprint. 2022 preliminary emis- reaching horizontal well ever drilled on land
sions intensity expected to decrease by 30-35% in Peru. The well is expected to be completed
PERFORMANCE to 12-13 kg CO2e per barrel of oil. MSCI ESG by mid-April 2023, with associated production
Ratings upgraded GeoPark rating to “A”, a mul- capacity available shortly after initial testing.
GeoPark reports on Q4-2022 ti-year rating improvement (“B” in 2018, “BB” in This will allow the field to continue producing at
2019 and “BBB” in 2021). GeoPark was included approximately 20,000 bpd of oil during Q2 2023.
and full-year 2022 results for a second consecutive year in the Bloomberg Cash and Bond Repayment Update: PetroTal
Gender-Equality Index, covering companies has received $26.5mn in regular monthly sched-
GeoPark, a leading independent Latin American with best-in-class gender-related practices and uled payments from Petroperu as at March 1,
oil and gas explorer, operator and consolidator policies. 2023, totalling approximately 40% of the $64mn
reports its consolidated financial results for the 2023 Work Programme: Strong Cash Gen- true up revenue due to the Company from 2022.
three-month period ended December 31, 2022 eration with More Shareholder Returns: 2023 PetroTal has also received $4.5mn from the exer-
(Q4-2022). production guidance of 39,500-41,500 boepd cise of warrants in 2023, further enhancing its
Production Growth in Core and Most Prof- (excluding potential production from explora- cash position.
itable Assets: Average production of 38,433 tion drilling). Self-funded 2023 capital expendi- The Company reiterates its Q1 2023 cash flow
boepd/Full-year 2022 average production of tures programme of $200-220mn to drill 50-55 guidance, which will allow for the remaining
38,620 boepd, within guidance. Llanos 34 block gross wells. At $80-90 per barrel Brent, GeoPark $55mn of bonds to be repaid by the end of March
(GeoPark operated, 45% WI) annual average expects to generate an Adjusted EBITDA of 2023, in addition to the $25mn paid in mid-Feb-
gross production up 2% to 57,016 bpd of oil. $510-580mn and a free cash flow of $120- ruary 2023. The full bond repayment will allow
CPO-5 block (GeoPark non-operated, 30% 140mn, targeting to return 40-50% of free cash for a capital return programme to commence
WI) annual average gross production up 50% to flow after taxes to shareholders. shortly thereafter, with further updates on this
18,600 bpd of oil. GeoPark, 13 March 2023 programme to be made in due course.
Record Revenue, Adjusted EBITDA, Cash To support working capital fluctuations,
Flow & Net Profit: Revenue of $231.0mn/Full- PetroTal announces PetroTal is pleased to advise that it has finalised
year revenue of $1.05bn. Adjusted EBITDA an unsecured revolving $20mn credit facility
of $132.1mn/Full-year adjusted EBITDA of operations update with a Peruvian bank.
$540.8mn. Operating Profit of $81.7mn/Full-
year operating profit of $429.1mn. Cash flow PetroTal has announced various corporate
from operations of $113.4mn/Full-year cash updates, alongside news that it has been recog-
flow from operations of $467.5mn. Net profit of nised by the TSXV as a top 50 performing issuer,
$52.2mn/Full-year net profit of $224.4mn ($3.8 ranking 4th in the energy industry sector.
basic earnings per share). Oil Production Update: After re-establishing
Cost and Capital Efficiency as Key Differenti- barging fleet schedules, PetroTal has been pro-
ators: Despite inflationary pressures, maintained ducing an average of 20,000 barrels per day (bpd)
costs in line: full-year operating costs and cash of oil since the last week of February 2023. Prior
G&A decreased by 1% to $98.6mn and $40.3mn, to that, production was constrained resulting in
respectively. Capital expenditures of $53.6mn/ January and February 2023 average production
Full-year capital expenditures of $168.8mn. of approximately 7,600 bpd of oil and 8,000 bpd
2022 adjusted EBITDA to capital expenditures of oil, respectively. At current oil production
ratio of 3.2x. 2022 annual return on capital rates, the Company expects to average between

P14 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 11 15•March•2023