Earnings Labs

GeoPark Limited (GPRK)

Q3 2018 Earnings Call· Sun, Nov 11, 2018

$9.29

+0.54%

Key Takeaways · AI generated
AI summary not yet generated for this transcript. Generation in progress for older transcripts; check back soon, or browse the full transcript below.
Transcript

Operator

Operator

Good morning, and welcome to the GeoPark Limited Conference Call following the results announcement for the Third Quarter ended September 30, 2018. [Operator Instructions] If you do not have a copy of the press release, please call Sard Verbinnen & Co. in New York at +1 -212-687-8080, and we will have one sent to you. Alternatively, you may obtain a copy of the release at the Investor Support section on the company's corporate website at www.geo-park.com. A replay of today's call may be accessed through this website in the Investor Support section of the GeoPark corporate website. Before we continue, please note that certain statements contained in the results press release and on this conference call are forward-looking statements rather than historical facts, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described. With respect to such forward-looking statements, the company seeks protections afforded by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These risks include a variety of factors, including competitive developments and risk factors listed from time to time in the company's SEC reports and public releases. Those lists are intended to identify certain principal factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements but are not intended to represent a complete list of the company's business. All financial figures included herein were prepared in accordance with the IFRS and are stated in US dollars unless otherwise noted. Reserve figures correspond to the PRMS standards. On the call today from GeoPark is Chief Executive Officer James F. Park; Chief Financial Officer Andrés Ocampo; Chief Operating Officer Augusto Zubillaga; and Shareholder Value Director Stacy Steimel. And now I'll turn the call over to Mr. James F. Park. Mr. Park, you may begin.

James Park

Analyst

Thank you, and welcome, everyone. We're joining you this morning with our executive team from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Let's please start off mentioning some of our high level, record operational and financial results for the third quarter, which helped illustrate our tremendous overall forward momentum, then move to highlight some of our active work programs in each country, which are further pushing performance and uncovering more value for the coming periods, and then touch on our newly approved work and investment program for 2019, which will drive GeoPark's growth next year and thereafter. One, third quarter results. Continuing our quarter-after-quarter, year-after-year oil and gas production growth, we are up 31% this quarter to over 37,200 barrels per day with oil production up 35% and gas production up 17%. Our active drilling program with 11 wells drilled this quarter out of 38 wells targeted for the year continues finding more oil and gas fields and extending the boundaries of our known fields, giving us more reserves to support more production. Financially, our EBITDA more than doubled to approximately $100 million for the quarter, which was about three times the invested capital this period, demonstrating our capital and operating efficiency. Third quarter bottom line net income hit $30 million. We have a cash cushion of over $150 million, and our leverage ratio dropped below one times. And most importantly, all of these accomplishments are being made in a safe, environmentally protective and neighborly way, helping to ensure our long-term success. Two, country activity. In Colombia, gross operated production exceeded 65,000 barrels per day and 10 new wells were drilled this quarter, developing known reserves and extending field limits further. Flowline construction to connect Llanos 34 to the main pipeline system is underway and on schedule for a first quarter 2019 completion. We…

Operator

Operator

[Operator Instructions] Our first question comes from the line of Jenny Xenos of Canaccord.

Jenny Xenos

Analyst

I have three quick questions, please. First of all, with regards to your capital budget in Peru, what is the total CapEx to bring the 10,000 barrels a day of production online? And please remind us, will you be carrying Petroperu during that stage? The second question is on Argentina. Could you please update us on the progress of your optimization project there? And when do you expect to see a meaningful impact on production and operating costs? And finally, the question about Brazil. You're generating significant amount of our free cash flow. So why take out a loan in Brazil? Andrés Ocampo: Thank you for your questions. So I'll start with the first one. With respect to Peru, the estimated CapEx that we announced for 2019 is the bulk of what is needed to put the fields on production. So it's nearly $100 million. Our estimated CapEx following that $100 million for the following year. So for 2020, in Peru, it would be somewhere around $25 million, $30 million. So it's not significant compared to what it is in 2019. So largely, we should expect cash flow on production coming from that field in 2020 to start repaying for that CapEx in 2019 and obviously, fund all the CapEx that is required in 2020. So I would say, most of - or all of what is being invested in 2019 is what is expected to put the field on production. We are carrying Petroperu for their stake, which is 25% throughout these investments in 2019. And a portion of that carry is going to be reimbursed through their share of production starting in 2020 onwards. With respect to Argentina, we already started two projects on the third quarter. We already started a pooling campaign to repair some wells for…

James Park

Analyst

Well, thank you, everybody, for your interest in GeoPark and your continued support of our company. We encourage you to please a visit us at our operations in each country and call us at any time for more information. Thank you.

Operator

Operator

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, this does conclude today's conference call. You may now disconnect, and have a wonderful day