Penn Virginia Corporation today provided an update of its oil and gas operations, including third quarter 2010 results.
Highlights
Operational results for the three months ended September 30, 2010 and other highlights include the following:
• Production of 13.3 billion cubic feet of natural gas equivalent (Bcfe), or 144.3 million cubic feet of natural gas equivalent (MMcfe) per day, which was 27 percent higher than the second quarter of 2010 and 19 percent higher than pro forma production in the third quarter of 2009;
• A 78 percent increase in oil and natural gas liquids (NGLs) production over the second quarter of 2010;
• Continued success and improvements in our development plays, including the Granite Wash, Haynesville Shale, Cotton Valley and Selma Chalk;
• Promising open-hole logs in two Granite Wash prospects which, if successful, are expected to provide a multi-year inventory of additional Granite Wash drilling locations; and
• Relocation of two drilling rigs from East Texas and Mississippi to the Eagle Ford Shale and Marcellus Shale to commence initial testing in both plays.
Continued Shift Towards Oil and Liquids-Rich Plays
Due to the decline in natural gas prices, we have elected to further increase our exposure to oil and liquids-rich plays by shifting drilling in the fourth quarter of 2010 from the Cotton Valley and Haynesville Shale in East Texas to our recently acquired Eagle Ford Shale acreage in south Texas. In addition, we will move a drilling rig from the Selma Chalk in Mississippi to the Marcellus Shale as we commence testing of our acreage in Pennsylvania. We believe that testing both our Eagle Ford Shale and Marcellus Shale positions is a more effective use of capital in the near term than drilling in East Texas and Mississippi, despite encouraging recent results, as acreage in these two areas is largely held-by-production.
The shift in drilling activity will lead to declines in production from East Texas and Mississippi beginning in the fourth quarter of 2010. The deferral of drilling in these two areas is expected to last until there is a meaningful recovery in natural gas prices. These production declines are expected to be offset in 2011 by production growth primarily from the Granite Wash and other liquids-rich Mid-Continent plays, as well as expected new production contributions from the Eagle Ford Shale and Marcellus Shale.
Production
Production in the third quarter of 2010 was 13.3 Bcfe, or 144.3 MMcfe per day, as compared to 12.4 Bcfe, or 134.9 MMcfe per day, in the third quarter of 2009 and 10.5 Bcfe, or 115.1 MMcfe per day, in the second quarter of 2010. Adjusted for the divestiture of our Gulf Coast assets in January 2010, production in the third quarter of 2010 was 19 percent more than the pro forma 11.2 Bcfe, or 121.3 MMcfe per day, in the prior year quarter and 27 percent more than the second quarter of 2010.
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