December 16, 2024
WHITECAP RESOURCES CONTINUES TO ACHIEVE OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE IN THE FOURTH QUARTER AND CONFIRMS MONTHLY DIVIDEND FOR DECEMBER
CALGARY, ALBERTA – Whitecap Resources Inc. ("Whitecap" or the "Company") (TSX: WCP) is pleased to provide an operational update for the fourth quarter of 2024. Our fourth quarter production is now forecast to average approximately 175,500 boe/d (65% liquids)1 compared to our previous guidance of 170,000 boe/d based on 2024 average production guidance of 172,500 boe/d. Full year production is expected to average 174,000 boe/d which is 9,000 boe/d, or 5% above our original budget of 162,000 – 168,000 boe/d that was set in October 2023. Our annual production per share growth2 in 2024 is expected to be 13%, significantly above our targeted 3% – 8% annually. Operational outperformance has been driven by new wells exceeding type curve expectations, base production optimizations, timing of production adds, and lower than forecasted downtime.
Our Duvernay development at Kaybob continues to exceed expectations, with fourth quarter production above our forecast by 1,000 boe/d. Contributing to this increase is our most recent Duvernay five-well pad (5.0 net), the 11-14B pad, as we were able to bring the pad on production one week earlier than forecast and, initial production rates have exceeded our expectations. The 11-14B pad is testing vertical benching within the Duvernay formation and we are encouraged with initial results.
At Musreau, we are currently producing 17,500 boe/d through our 5-9 battery, with condensate production being maintained at facility capacity of approximately 11,000 bbl/d. As we have now completed and tied in our fourth four-well pad (4.0 net), production capability is approximately 25,000 boe/d. We will continue to observe performance of this initial development program at Musreau over the coming months to determine the optimal future development strategy, which will contemplate moderating the pace of development or expanding our facility. Both are compelling options and support the returns on this asset being significantly better than our initial expectations.
In Lator, design and engineering work on Phase 1 of our new 4-13 facility is progressing, with front-end engineering complete. Production from our two 2023 wells has now reached IP3651 with an average production of approximately 1,300 boe/d (430 bbl/d of condensate). In addition to those two wells, we have recently brought online our second of two 2024 delineation wells and are pleased with the early-time results, with condensate-to-gas ratios and inflow matching our initial expectations. As the field is facility constrained at this time, our efforts will remain focused on technical delineation efforts until late 2026 to early 2027 when our 4-13 facility is expected to come online.
Across both the Montney and Duvernay assets, our operations team has achieved strong results on our drilling and completions activity in 2024 and we are making continued progress towards our long-term capital efficiency targets.
Our Central Alberta Glauconite assets have contributed approximately 1,400 boe/d to fourth quarter production outperformance through both higher production rates and increased third-party facility throughput. Throughout 2024, we have collaborated with third-party facility operators to de-bottleneck and optimize operations, culminating in enhanced gas egress in the region in the fourth quarter. Looking ahead, we remain focused on identifying and pursuing opportunities to further expand egress, ensuring our assets continue to deliver optimal value. In addition to these efforts, we are delivering on capital efficiency improvements through 10% cost reductions from monobore drilling and continued production outperformance.
In Eastern Saskatchewan, our Frobisher assets have continued to exceed our expectations, contributing approximately 700 boe/d to the fourth quarter production outperformance. Production results from our tier one inventory has been strong and we are excited to expand and improve on our high-quality inventory through step out Frobisher drilling at Steelman and our State A open hole multi-lateral ("OHML") pilot well. Through 90 days of production, our State A OHML pilot well has achieved an average production rate of 224 boe/d (73% liquids), ranking the economics similar to our tier one Frobisher inventory and de-risking the potential to add up to three years of drilling inventory.
Our team has done a tremendous job executing on our operational and financial goals in 2024. Our tailored approach to unconventional development, emphasis on inventory enhancement initiatives to continually improve our capital efficiencies and focus on maintaining low leverage with ample liquidity, positions us well for continued outperformance in 2025.
Whitecap also confirms that a cash dividend of Cdn. $0.0608 per common share in respect of December operations will be paid on January 15, 2025 to shareholders of record on December 31, 2024. This dividend is an eligible dividend for the purposes of the Income Tax Act (Canada).
NOTES
1 Disclosure of production on a per boe basis in this press release consists of the constituent product types and their respective quantities disclosed herein. Refer to Barrel of Oil Equivalency and Production, Initial Production Rates & Product Type Information in this press release for additional disclosure.
2 Production per share is the Company's total crude oil, NGL and natural gas production volumes for the applicable period divided by the weighted average number of diluted shares outstanding for the applicable period. Production per share growth is determined in comparison to the applicable comparative period.
For further information:
Grant Fagerheim, President & CEO
or
Thanh Kang, Senior Vice President & CFO
Whitecap Resources Inc.
3800, 525 – 8th Avenue SW
Calgary, AB T2P 1G1
(403) 266-0767
www.wcap.ca
InvestorRelations@wcap.ca
Refer to full press release for forward-looking statements and advisories.
