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Battalion Oil Corporation (BATL)

Q2 2015 Earnings Call· Fri, Jul 31, 2015

$3.73

+0.73%

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Transcript

Operator

Operator

Good day, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Halcón Resources Second Quarter 2015 Earnings Conference Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. We will have a question-and-answer session later on, and the instructions will follow at that time. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. Now, I would like to welcome our host for today's conference, Executive Vice President, CFO and Treasurer, Mark Mize. Please go ahead. Mark J. Mize - Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer & Executive VP: Okay, thank you, good morning. This conference call contains forward-looking statements. For a detailed description of our disclaimer, see our earnings release issued yesterday and posted on our website. I'll start the call today by summarizing the steps we've taken over the past few months to improve our balance sheet, and then I'll provide commentary about the second quarter financials. As it relates to the balance sheet improvement, we've executed on several initiatives over the first half of 2015. One, we extended the maturity of our 8% senior convertible notes to 2020 from 2017. We've also initiated an ATM equity program to raise up to $150 million in proceeds over time. To date, we have raised about $15 million under this program at an average stock price about $1.63, but we're not doing any more transactions at this time just due to current trading levels. Third, we negotiated with bondholders to exchange $250 million in face value of our senior unsecured notes in the common equity at around $1.80 a share. And then fourthly, we've issued about $700 million in senior secured second lien notes due 2020 and used the proceeds to repay outstanding borrowings under our revolver. As a result of the capital raise, we currently have very little drawn on our revolver and are…

Operator

Operator

Thank you. And our first question is from the line of Brian Corales from Howard Weil. Your line is now open.

Brian Michael Corales - Scotia Howard Weil

Analyst

Good morning, guys. Just a question more – I guess the run rate in the back half of the year is $70 million to $75 million in capital a quarter. Is that likely to maintain in 2016 based on your thoughts today? Floyd C. Wilson - Chairman & Chief Executive Officer: The way the trend is going right now, Brian, the three-rig program, and a lot hinges on when you actually complete these large multi-well pads up at Fort Berthold, would be – we would spend less in 2016 than we will spend in 2015. So if we end up with $325 million or thereabout this year, the same rig program we would spend less next year. We're not giving that guidance just yet, but – and then we think we can do that and maintain production fairly well as well.

Brian Michael Corales - Scotia Howard Weil

Analyst

And I guess if we – if you run three rigs would it kind of have a similar make up, two in the Bakken, one in El Halcón, or when you get the pads would El Halcón potentially get more of the capital? Floyd C. Wilson - Chairman & Chief Executive Officer: Well, the – while the current economics at El Halcón are attractive, they really don't compare to what goes on up at Fort Berthold. So we would not increase our rig usage at El Halcón at this time.

Brian Michael Corales - Scotia Howard Weil

Analyst

Okay. Thanks, guys.

Operator

Operator

And our next question is from the line of Jason Wangler from Wunderlich. Your line is now open.

Jason A. Wangler - Wunderlich Securities, Inc.

Analyst

Good morning. Was curious at El Halcón as you move to the development, what kind or how big are the pads are you looking to drill? Is it going to be a couple of wells at a time and where do you see that going as you kind of get into that program? Floyd C. Wilson - Chairman & Chief Executive Officer: Charles is sitting here. Let me just let him address that. He's been doing all this planning with our operation teams just recently, so it's right on the tip of his tongue. Charles E. Cusack - Chief Operating Officer & Executive Vice President: Yeah. I'll say it's going to be – it's going to be variable. We're basically – we're transitioning into it, but it will be a variety from two well pads up to probably four well pads. And so it will be two, three and four. It all depends on the unit configurations and where we are, and if we're trying to drill into one unit or two units. So it's going to be a smorgasbord, and that's why we're – the cost of – the savings will vary pad to pad. As we get further into it, we'll probably have more and more wells, but we're kind of transitioning into it right now.

Jason A. Wangler - Wunderlich Securities, Inc.

Analyst

Okay, great. And Floyd, you mentioned at the close of your comments there about opportunities to add inventory. Could, I guess this last month has obviously been pretty ugly. Just what you're seeing out there and may be if you could give any color on what or where you're targeting as you look to the M&A market? Floyd C. Wilson - Chairman & Chief Executive Officer: No.

Jason A. Wangler - Wunderlich Securities, Inc.

Analyst

Always worth a shot. Floyd C. Wilson - Chairman & Chief Executive Officer: We don't – we don't talk about that. We're just doing what we do here, and we don't really talk about that.

Jason A. Wangler - Wunderlich Securities, Inc.

Analyst

Okay. I appreciate it.

Operator

Operator

And our next question is from Chad Mabry from MLV & Company. Please go ahead. Chad L. Mabry - MLV & Co. LLC: Thank you. Guys, good color on the call. It looks like you've done a good job of achieving your midyear well cost targets in both the Bakken and Eagle Ford. I'm just curious if there's any room for savings? How long do you think this is sustainable, just general thoughts on cost trends? Floyd C. Wilson - Chairman & Chief Executive Officer: Well, our partners in our business in the service side are under the same sorts of pressure that we are. And so our partnership with them persists even though it seems like we're pushing for lower costs all the time. The costs that you've seen on a – the actual historical costs that you've seen reported by us for the entire first half of this year involve a mixture of wells drilled on kind of older cost structure, maybe with a newer less expensive frac. So the trend will continue this year that our per well cost on our historical, our reported wells, will go down. When we say an AFE, that means a well that we're going to spud soon. We'll be at that level if oil prices – this is only an opinion – if oil prices stay low. There's going to be more pressure on service costs to go down, and that's just a fact of life. Chad L. Mabry - MLV & Co. LLC: All right, that's helpful. Thanks. And then one question for Mark maybe, just curious any kind of guidance you can provide on the borrowing base in the fall? I know that was reset and with maturity incentives, et cetera. Do you see that staying at $900 million? Mark J. Mize - Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer & Executive VP: We've stayed in very close contact with our two lead banks, which is JPMorgan and Wells Fargo, and every indication that we've received is that there will not be any surprises. We'll stay at $900 million maybe. Could there be a slight reduction of some amount? Maybe, but we're not expecting any significant movements. Chad L. Mabry - MLV & Co. LLC: All right. That's it for me. Thank you.

Operator

Operator

And your next question is from the line of James Spicer from Wells Fargo. Please go ahead.

James A. Spicer - Wells Fargo Securities LLC

Analyst

Yeah. Good morning, guys. You mentioned in your prepared remarks, Mark, looking at other alternatives to strengthen the balance sheet. Just wondering if you had any specifics you could could provide there? I don't know if those would include things like bond repurchases or anything along those lines? Floyd C. Wilson - Chairman & Chief Executive Officer: Let me answer for Mark. No. No comment.

James A. Spicer - Wells Fargo Securities LLC

Analyst

No comment? Okay. Then another question I had here, in the 10-Q, it looks like there's some additional disclosure around your agreement with Apollo and the TMS regarding minimum drilling commitments and the potential for the redemption of some preferred shares. Just wondering if you could provide some color on what's really changed there if anything? Floyd C. Wilson - Chairman & Chief Executive Officer: Let me ask David. He's sitting right here – to address that, but nothing has really changed. The contract and the agreement with Apollo had all of these things set out in them, and I think we've made an adjustment to extend some of the timeframe. But what else, David?

Unknown Speaker

Analyst

That's right, Floyd. We just extended some dates, and everything is maintaining the way it is. Both parties are working together, but based on commodity prices and what's happened in the TMS, we've just extended out the contract a bit.

James A. Spicer - Wells Fargo Securities LLC

Analyst

Okay, thank you.

Operator

Operator

And our next question is from the line of Neal Dingmann from SunTrust. Please go ahead.

Neal D. Dingmann - Suntrust Robinson Humphrey, Inc.

Analyst

Morning guys. Say, hey, Mark, just one clarification, you mentioned about given the sort of current status you guys could operate through 2018. Is that just assuming kind of that current three-rig environment you all have? Mark J. Mize - Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer & Executive VP: Yes, that's correct.

Neal D. Dingmann - Suntrust Robinson Humphrey, Inc.

Analyst

Okay. And then just lastly, Floyd, would it – you're right now, Floyd, the I'm just wondering on locations at Fort Berthold, your thoughts there and is the opportunity for – I know you guys had down spaced a bit more, just if you could comment about locations there or in Williams County? I'm just kind of curious on what you have and if there's potential for a bit more? Floyd C. Wilson - Chairman & Chief Executive Officer: Well, I mentioned that we have just round numbers of a couple of hundred locations at Fort Berthold and 400 or more in Williams County. We believe them all to be viable under the current expectation of drilling and completion cost. Spacing is specific throughout the field. We space Three Forks wells if they're – if they're in the same unit with middle Bakken wells. Little differently – we space here and there differently based on results. I don't – Charles is sitting here. I don't know if we have a standardized 660 or 800 or whatever across the field. Charles E. Cusack - Chief Operating Officer & Executive Vice President: Well in the middle – on the Fort on the middle Bakken we're pretty much laying out at 660s now, and that's what we are drilling at. I will say some of the offset operators, there are some 400 foot spacings right now we're are watching very closely. So there's a chance. There's upside to go closer there. And them Three Forks, like Floyd alluded to, we've been a little more conservative. We've been spaced a little wider than that. So there's certainly a chance you can tighten up that Three Forks to the same 660 or so spacing. So there's some upside there as well. Floyd C. Wilson - Chairman & Chief Executive Officer: So Neil, the answer to your question is really about frac jobs and how more complex can you make them but keep them closer to the drilled wellbore. And that's improving in our industry day-by-day and as that improves that gives you a chance to leave less oil behind in the reservoir and down space your wells in an economic fashion. So we're watching what others are doing, and we're watching our frac technology quite closely to see if that lends itself to tighter spacing.

Neal D. Dingmann - Suntrust Robinson Humphrey, Inc.

Analyst

All right. Thank you, guys.

Operator

Operator

Thank you. And our last question is from the line of Ron Mills from Johnson Rice. Please go ahead. Ronald E. Mills - Johnson Rice & Co. LLC: Thanks. Floyd, just on the – just to not to belabor the cost savings, but this sounds like about two-thirds of that has been service costs, a third efficiencies. You're pretty clear that in this environment you expect the service costs to continue to come down. How much more meat do you think is on the bone relative to the efficiency side, which obviously would remain in place even if or when commodity prices improve? Floyd C. Wilson - Chairman & Chief Executive Officer: Well, that's kind of the cool thing that goes on here. Efficiencies were ongoing before the current situation with oil prices. I mean, two years ago it's taken us X days to drill a well and these days it's taken us two-thirds of X days or whatever. And those efficiencies will remain when prices go up. So that part is good. Now as far as continued improvements, that's our business and our peers' business is to continue to search for that perfect balance of cost and reward. And you never get to the perfect one, but you always are working for it and we're looking for all the time. So I think there's room for more. And there could be some breakthrough by one of the – one of us that one of these days that even has step-change there, but it's there's room for more on the efficiency side. Ronald E. Mills - Johnson Rice & Co. LLC: And then in the El Halcón area, the transition development mode is happening a little bit sooner than what I thought. I thought it was going to be later…

Operator

Operator

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for participating in today's conference. This concludes the program and you may call disconnect. Have a wonderful day everyone.