Earnings Labs

W&T Offshore, Inc. (WTI)

Q1 2013 Earnings Call· Wed, May 8, 2013

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Transcript

Operator

Operator

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by and welcome to the W&T Offshore's First Quarter Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] Today's conference is being recorded, May 8, 2013. I would now like to turn the conference over to Mark Brewer, IR Manager. Please go ahead.

Mark Brewer

Analyst

Thank you, operator, and good morning, everyone. We appreciate you joining us for W&T Offshore's Conference Call to review the results of first quarter of 2013. Before I turn the call over to management, I have a few items to point out. If you wish to listen to a replay of today's call, it will be available in a few hours via webcast by going to the Investor Relations section of the company's website at www.wtoffshore.com or via recorded replay until May 15, 2013. To use the replay feature call (303) 590-3030 and dial passcode 4615599#. Information recorded on this call speaks only as of today, May 8, 2013 and, therefore, time-sensitive information may no longer be accurate as of the date of any replay. Please refer to our first quarter 2013 earnings release for a disclosure on forward-looking statements. And now, I would like to turn the call over to Mr. Tracy Krohn, W&T's Chairman and CEO.

Tracy W. Krohn

Analyst

Thanks, Mark. Good morning, everyone. Thanks for joining us for our first quarter 2013 earnings conference call. This morning, there are several members of the management with me, including Jamie Vazquez, our President; Danny Gibbons, our Chief Financial Officer; Tom Murphy, our Chief Operations Officer; and Steve Schroeder, our Chief Technical Officer. So continuing with our theme of organic growth with a focus on oil, we had another solid quarter that was largely driven by higher oil production and premium oil pricing. Cash from operations was up 33% in the first quarter compared to the first quarter of last year. This primarily reflects the success of the development projects we had underway in 2012. In particular, we saw growth in oil production from our Yellow Rose project in West Texas and from our Mahogany Field offshore. We still have a lot going on in both projects and that should drive further oil reserves and production growth. Our oil production is up 20% year-over-year as we sold 1.8 million barrels of oil in the first quarter. Our total production was 4.5 million barrels of oil equivalent and production volumes which split 41% oil, 12% NGLs and 47% natural gas. Our improved financial results also benefited from the premium pricing we received for our production. Our oil prices averaged $107.15 per barrel for the quarter. We also saw an improvement in our natural gas price realization, which was up 27% to 3.38 per Mcf for the quarter. We're continuing to progress our growth initiatives using a balanced approach. In the first quarter, we spent $136.6 million, of which 63% was dedicated to offshore activities and 37% to onshore activities, while approximately 54% of our first quarter capital went for development activities and 46% for exploration activities. Our capital expenditure should become increasingly…

Operator

Operator

[Operator Instructions] And our first question comes from the line of Noel Parks with Ladenburg Thalmann. Noel A. Parks - Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc., Research Division: I wonder if you could just talk a little bit more about what the nature of the improvements has been in the Yellow Rose verticals. You said that had been occurring over the last few months.

Tracy W. Krohn

Analyst

Yes. Actually, the production is going up nearly 100% on our vertical wells. It just has to do with different completion techniques that we've gotten better at. And also, we've pretty dramatically reduced the number of days it takes to drill those vertical wells. Noel A. Parks - Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc., Research Division: Great. And when you talk about the techniques, is that more sort of, I don't know, just a frac formula-type improvement?

Tracy W. Krohn

Analyst

Yes. It has more to do with the fracs than anything else and just a method of implementation. Noel A. Parks - Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc., Research Division: Okay, great. And just looking ahead, you talked about doing some 20-acre spacing. You've already started experimenting with those. If you got to more of sort of a manufacturing mode out at Yellow Rose, do you have a sense of how much more you might be able to shave costs down?

Tracy W. Krohn

Analyst

Yes. A part of that equation, Noel, is that we're drilling some more horizontal wells out there and we're trying to determine what is the most efficient method for drilling out there in that field. Do we get better, ultimate economics out of the horizontal wells where we can? Or should we drill vertical wells? And we were getting pretty efficient with the vertical wells, too. So it's just in economics consideration. And so the short answer to your question is yes, subject to better understanding of our horizontal economics.

Operator

Operator

[Operator Instructions] And our next question comes from the line of Michael Glick with Johnson Rice. Michael A. Glick - Johnson Rice & Company, L.L.C., Research Division: Just a question on the shelf package. I was wondering if you'd give kind of a little bit more color on kind of the thought process there and kind of what that means for you strategically in terms of kind of future direction in terms of maybe focusing more on the Deepwater.

Tracy W. Krohn

Analyst

Well, we have focused more on the Deepwater in recent years. Occasionally, we sell properties in the Gulf of Mexico and on the shelf and in other places. I just believe that right now is a good time to be selling properties. We're also in the buying mode as well. So I don't see it as really a different strategy from what we've used in the past. It's -- we really hadn't sold anything of size in several years now, and I think sometimes you look at the tree and you need to prune it. That's all.

Operator

Operator

Our next question comes from the line of Noel Parks of Ladenburg Thalmann. Noel A. Parks - Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc., Research Division: Just a follow-up. Sorry if you had commented on this and I missed it. It looks like the production mix was a bit oilier than the guidance suggested for first quarter. Just wondering if -- what was behind that.

Tracy W. Krohn

Analyst

That was a very conscious intent. We had a goal of increasing oil production in our mix. And so we've very judiciously concentrated on development of projects that yielded oil last year, and we are continuing to drill up prospects that yield oil this year as well. Noel A. Parks - Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc., Research Division: So just more -- mostly the Permian then, was the main contributor?

Tracy W. Krohn

Analyst

The Permian and also Mahogany. Mahogany is about 75% oil. So it's a pretty -- and those are pretty high rate wells. So we've spent a lot of time and effort there to, Noel.

Operator

Operator

Our next question comes from the line of Dan McSpirit with BMO Capital Markets.

Dan McSpirit - BMO Capital Markets U.S.

Analyst · BMO Capital Markets.

I just want to go back to the shelf property divestiture. What's contemplated there? Any details that you could possibly relay on where, how much and timing?

Tracy W. Krohn

Analyst · BMO Capital Markets.

Well, we've just sent the package out, and without giving too much detail because it's not like we're sending it out to the entire world here. I will tell you that it's a pretty sizable package in the Gulf of Mexico. I don't want to commit myself to what it should be worth or what that production is but expect it to come in as a pretty large number.

Dan McSpirit - BMO Capital Markets Canada

Analyst · BMO Capital Markets.

As a follow-up to that then, regarding CapEx, you say it's -- it will be weighted towards exploration over the, I guess, over the balance of the year, if I heard that correctly. Can you share with us at all how that may be weighted by quarter over the balance of the year? And whether or not there is any plan to sell down interests in any exploration projects slated for the back half of this year that could reduce that expenditure? I asked this in light of the $450 million CapEx budget for 2013.

Tracy W. Krohn

Analyst · BMO Capital Markets.

Yes. If you look through it in -- if you look in the earnings release, I think we've detailed that pretty well, what we have coming up, I'm not sure if I can right off the top of my head and give it to you by quarter. We're moving after the B-1 well at Main Pass 108, which we just TD and we expect have online in July. We'll be drilling that well and expect to have that on by the end of the year. So you will see that across the third and fourth quarters and the Main Pass 243 A-5 will be on that shortly. We're buttoning up one of our -- the A-2 well over there now. So you'll see that starting in the second and third quarters. And then the Main -- Ship Shoal 349 A-15 you'll see as either in early third quarter or late second quarter and on into the fourth quarter. I don't have any interest in selling down any of these wells. The CapEx will be out in West Texas.

Operator

Operator

[Operator Instructions] And our next question comes from the line of Biju Perincheril with Jefferies. Biju Z. Perincheril - Jefferies & Company, Inc., Research Division: A couple of questions as a follow-up to that previous question in the Deepwater on some of the new field properties. Can you give us sort of where you stand in terms of assessing some of those prospects? And when do you plan to test some of that and...?

Tracy W. Krohn

Analyst

I don't really have a whole lot I can share with you right now other than we're very active in gathering up seismic and data and working up prospects in and amongst all that acreage. We've got -- we've been approached by several other operators to participate in different areas. So we're evaluating that as well. You build and they will come, and that's kind of what's happening. So we're encouraged. We've seen several things that we like. We've seen a few that we didn't particularly care for but mostly, it's been pretty positive. Biju Z. Perincheril - Jefferies & Company, Inc., Research Division: So is there something that we can look forward to, say, in 2014 as far as [indiscernible]?

Tracy W. Krohn

Analyst

I would tell you 2014 and beyond. Biju Z. Perincheril - Jefferies & Company, Inc., Research Division: Okay, okay. And then in the Permian, the horizontal wells that you tested, I think they were all sort of the A zone or the upper member. Can you talk about what your plans are for testing some of the other zones there? And I think the industry sort of had probably more success into the south and, I guess, more of deeper zones. How is that different farther up north were you are?

Tracy W. Krohn

Analyst

Well. that's a fairly comprehensive question, but let me break it down. Yes, we do have the intent to test different benches. I always get a little bit confused by the nomenclature because it varies across the basin with different operators. Some of them call it upper and lower Wolfcamp; some of it call it A, B; some of them call it A, B, C, D, E; and I never know what the correct nomenclature is. But clearly, we're having success in the Wolfcamp, and I don't know which zone it is for all the other operators. We'll call it either the upper or lower. And yes, we will be testing benches, probably even up the hoe before the end of the year. Biju Z. Perincheril - Jefferies & Company, Inc., Research Division: Okay. So that's included in, I think, the 7 wells that you planned for this year? Or is that on top of that?

Tracy W. Krohn

Analyst

Perhaps even more than that, Biju.

Operator

Operator

And I'm showing no further questions in the queue at this time. I'd like to turn the call back to you, Mr. Krohn, for final remarks.

Tracy W. Krohn

Analyst

Okay. Well, that's all I have. Thank you very much for joining us this quarter and we'll talk to you again soon. Thanks so much.

Operator

Operator

Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes our conference for today. If you'd like to listen to the replay of today's call, please dial (303) 590-3030 and enter the access code of 461-5599 followed by the pound sign. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.