Correction: Q4 22 Operational and Financial Update

RNS Number : 3773R

i3 Energy PLC

28 February 2023

 

28 February 2023

The following amendments have been made to the 'Q4 2022 Operational and Financial Update' announcement released on 27 February 2023 at 7.04 under RNS No 1165R.

'Dividends of £5.1 million paid in the quarter, with total dividends of £15.35 million paid in 2022' instead of 'Dividends of £5.098 million declared and £3.399 million paid in the quarter, with total dividends of £15.351 million paid in 2022'

'Operations commenced on the 2023, USD 64.05 million capital programme ahead of schedule targeting 23 gross wells, with 8 gross (5.5 net) wells drilled' instead of 'Operations commenced on the 2023, USD 64.05 million capital programme ahead of schedule targeting 23 gross wells, with 6 gross (4.3 net) wells drilled'

'i3 continued the successful execution of its expanded 2022 drilling programme into Q4, along with the commencement of its 2023 capital programme, bringing 10 gross (5.7 net) wells on production…' instead of 'i3 continued the successful execution of its expanded 2022 drilling programme into Q4, along with the commencement of its 2023 capital programme, bringing 12 gross (7.7 net) wells on production…'

All other details remain unchanged.

The full amended text is shown below .

i3 Energy plc

("i3", "i3 Energy", or the "Company")

Q4 2022 Operational and Financial Update

i3 Energy plc (AIM:I3E) (TSX:ITE), an independent oil and gas company with assets and operations in the UK and Canada, is pleased to announce the following Q4 2022 operational and financial update.

Highlights:

· Average Q4 2022 production of approximately 22,757 barrels of oil equivalent per day ("boepd"), an 11% increase from the previous quarter, with current production of approximately 23,440 boepd

· Record corporate production exceeding 24,000 boepd achieved in December

·   2022 drilling programme completed, delivering 31 gross (18.4 net) wells, which met or exceeded management's expectations and completed approximately 5% underbudget in a high inflationary environment

· In Q4, 10 gross wells (5.7 net) brought onto production and 8 gross wells (4.3 net) drilled in its core Central Alberta, Wapiti and Clearwater assets

·   Completed the 13/23c-12 appraisal well on the UK North Sea Serenity field, with a single well field development plan now being progressed

· Dividends of £5.1 million paid in the quarter, with total dividends of £15.35 million paid in 2022

· Operations commenced on the 2023, USD 64.05 million capital programme ahead of schedule targeting 23 gross wells, with 8 gross (5.5 net) wells drilled

Majid Shafiq, CEO of i3 Energy plc, commented:

"Q4 2022 was very busy as we completed our 2022 drilling programme which met management expectations, was executed under budget and achieved peak production rates in excess of 24,000 boepd. We have successfully completed the first phase of our 2023 drilling programme, with multiple wells now on clean-up flow and several Clearwater intervals tested, and we are now on course to deliver positive YE2022 financials and reserves data by the end of March."

Production Update

Production in Q4 2022 averaged 22,757 boepd, comprised of 72.4 million standard cubic feet of gas per day ("mmcf/d"), 5,106 barrels per day ("bbl/d") of natural gas liquids, 5,119 bbl/d of oil & condensate and 458 boepd of royalty interest production. The strong quarterly production represents an increase of approximately 25% and 11% over Q4 2021 and Q3 2022, respectively. The growth realized in the fourth quarter marks the seventh consecutive quarter-on-quarter production increase for i3, which reflects both the predictable low-decline nature of the Company's base assets and the efficiency of its 2022 drilling programme.

		Period Average Production Comparison: Last Five Quarters
		Q4 2022	Q3 2022	Q2 2022	Q1 2022	Q4 2021
Production (boepd)		22,757	20,571	19,502	18,391	18,229
Oil & Condensate (bbl/d)		5,119	4,396	3,886	3,945	3,624
NGLs (bbl/d)		5,106	5,038	5,099	4,942	4,601
Gas (mcf/d)		72,442	64,180	60,785	54,689	58,037
Royalty Interest (boepd)		458	440	385	389	331

In Q4, i3 achieved record corporate production, with peak daily rates exceeding 24,000 boepd in December as new wells were brought on stream, cleaned-up and optimized.

Current corporate production averaged 23,472 boepd, for the seven-day period ending  18 February 2023 , comprised of approximately 70.7 mmcf/d, 7,132 bbl/d of NGLs, 4,516 bbl/d of oil and condensate and an estimated 400 boepd of gross overriding royalty interest production. Although intermittent seasonal production curtailments occurred, due to operational freeze-up, the continued performance of i3's predictable, low-decline asset base positions the Company to meet or exceed management's production forecasts.

Hedging Programme

i3 continues to employ a defensive risk management strategy, protecting USD ~41.5 million⁽¹⁾ of NOI for 2023 with current hedges in place to cover 38.3%, 20.3%, 11.1% and 6.2% of the Company's projected Q1, Q2, Q3 and Q4 2023 production volumes, respectively. I3's hedges are as follows:

		Swaps				Costless Collars			Basis Swaps
GAS		Volume (GJ)	Price (C$/GJ)		Volume (GJ)	Avg Floor Price (C$/GJ)	Avg Ceiling Price (C$/GJ)	Volume (mmbtu)	Price ($US/mmbtu)
Q1 2023		2,397,500	4.41		1,125,000	5.8	10.09
Q2 2023								960,101	(1.46)
Q3 2023								970,652	(1.46)
Q4 2023								327,067	(1.46)
									Participation Swaps(2)
OIL		Volume (bbl)	Price (C$/bbl)		Volume (bbl)	Avg Floor Price (C$/bbl)	Avg Ceiling Price (C$/bbl)	Volume (bbl)	Avg Floor Price (C$/bbl)
Q1 2023		58,500	106.85		162,000	100.00	124.22
Q2 2023		36,400	112.83		113,650	100.00	127.35	91,000	90.00
Q3 2023		92,000	100.25
Q4 2023		92,000	100.25
PROPANE		Volume (bbl)	Price (C$/bbl)		Volume (bbl)	Avg Floor Price (C$/bbl)	Avg Ceiling Price (C$/bbl)
Q1 2023					45,000	42.00	51.61

Q4 2022 Operational Results

i3 continued the successful execution of its expanded 2022 drilling programme into Q4, along with the commencement of its 2023 capital programme, bringing 10 gross (5.7 net) wells on production, which focussed on operated oil and liquids rich gas wells in its strategically important Central Alberta (Glauconite, Falher, Belly River), Wapiti (Cardium, Dunvegan), and Clearwater (operated and non-operated) assets. In the quarter, the Company participated in 8 gross (4.3 net) wells across its drilling portfolio, including 5 gross (3.4 net) operated wells and 3 gross (0.9 net) non-operated wells. 

In total, i3's 2022 Canadian drilling programme delivered 16 gross (14.2 net) operated wells and 15 gross (4.2 net) non-operated wells incurring a total drilling capex of USD 71 million. The programme efficiently served to further delineate and develop its core areas, with the aggregate well performance of key targeted reservoirs meeting or exceeding management expectations. Further, the Company diligently managed its use of capital and was pleased to achieve a total budget underspend of 5.3%, a significant achievement in an environment of high inflation.

Simonette (Montney)

i3's initial 2 gross (1.99 net) Middle Montney and Lower Montney extended-reach 2-mile horizontal wells at North and South Simonette, respectively, were drilled and tied-in to production in late Q3 2022. The South Simonette Lower Montney well is now fully cleaned up and has demonstrated strong results, with initial production rates of over 1000 boepd. The single well targeting the Middle Montney formation in North Simonette continues to produce lower water cuts and higher gas oil ratios as load fluid recovery progresses.  Peak producing day production rates exceed 500 boepd.  These results, showcasing modern stimulation technology, are very encouraging for future full field pad development. 

In addition to the Montney formation, the Company's Simonette acreage has additional oil and gas potential in the Dunvegan and Wilrich formations with hundreds of potential future drilling locations. i3 plans to drill 2 Dunvegan wells and 1 Wilrich well in the Simonette field in H2 2023.

Marten Hills (Clearwater)

In Q4, i3 and its working interest partner drilled three gross (0.9 net) nine-leg multilateral horizontal wells at Marten Hills. The wells were equipped and tied-in to production facilities in November and put on clean up flow with production results exceeding Company forecasts, achieving an average gross initial 30-day producing rate of 235 bbl/d .  

2023 Capital Programme

In December 2022, i3 announced a USD 64.05 million capital programme for 2023 focussed on drilling activities in its Canadian portfolio and is forecast to deliver 23 gross wells (15.2 net, 70% i3 operated). The drilling programme was accelerated and commenced in December 2022 with 3 gross operated (1.77 net) 1.5 mile horizontal Cardium oil wells and one gross (0.22 net) non-operated Dunvegan oil well drilled in Wapiti / Elmworth, a 100% working interest, 1.5 mile, Cardium oil well in Carnwood (Central Alberta), and 3 gross (2.5 net) Clearwater wells being drilled in Dawson and Marten Creek - the Company's two largest contiguous Clearwater land positions. These wells are either being flowed back for clean-up or being tied-in to production facilities to commence clean-up.

Year-End 2022 Reserves Update

i3's year end 2022 reserves audit is in progress and the Company expects to release its final numbers in March, prior to the dissemination of 2022 year-end financial statements.

Serenity

In October 2022 the Company completed operations on the Serenity appraisal well in the UKCS. i3 continues to work with its partner Europa Oil and Gas to advance a field development plan for a one well development for the Serenity field.

Environmental, Social and Governance ("ESG")

In Q4 i3 continued with its ongoing methane reduction initiatives. After completing the upgrading of high bleed pneumatic controllers to low bleed or non-bleed alternatives across its portfolio, the Company commenced replacement of pneumatic pumps with solar driven pumps (no venting). These initiatives have resulted in a decrease of 71,450 tonnes of CO2e/year, which is the equivalent of removing 15,530 cars off the road per year. i3 also completed the electrification of 30 pumpjacks in its Carmangay and Retlaw properties, reducing CO2e emissions by approximately 6,366 tonnes/year. The Company further partnered with Recover Energy Services to manage the efficient disposal of oil-based drilling waste and as determined by Recovery, avoided 2,773 metric tonnes of CO2e emissions.

i3 published an updated ESG report in December, which included disclosure on the assets acquired from Cenovus Energy in 2021. This data was not available when the inaugural report was published in July 2022.

Return of Capital

The Company remains committed to delivering a sustainable monthly dividend as part of its total return model. In Q4 the Company paid dividends of £5.1 million via its monthly dividend programme of 0.1425 pence/share. The Company paid a total dividend of £15.35 million in 2022.

(1) Unless otherwise denoted, all figures are referenced in USD ($) and assume a foreign exchange rate of 1.30 CAD:USD, which is the average forecast for 2022 and 1.12 GBP:USD which was the average over the period September to October 2022, when costs were incurred for the UK drilling programme.

(2) i3 receives the average floor price plus 50% of difference between the average floor price and the realised price if higher. 

END

Qualified Person's Statement

In accordance with the AIM Note for Mining and Oil and Gas Companies, i3 discloses that Majid Shafiq is the qualified person who has reviewed the technical information contained in this document. He has a Master's Degree in Petroleum Engineering from Heriot-Watt University and is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers. Majid Shafiq consents to the inclusion of the information in the form and context in which it appears.

Enquiries:

i3 Energy plc Majid Shafiq (CEO)	c/o Camarco Tel: [phone]
WH Ireland Limited (Nomad and Joint Broker) James Joyce, Darshan Patel	Tel: [phone]
Tennyson Securities (Joint Broker) Peter Krens	Tel: [phone]
Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited (Joint Broker) Ashton Clanfield, Callum Stewart	Tel: [phone]
Camarco Georgia Edmonds, Violet Wilson, Sam Morris	Tel: [phone]

Notes to Editors:

i3 Energy is an oil and gas Company with a low cost, diversified, growing production base in Canada's most prolific hydrocarbon region, the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin and appraisal assets in the North Sea with significant upside.

The Company is well positioned to deliver future growth through the optimisation of its existing 100% owned asset base and the acquisition of long life, low decline conventional production assets.

i3 is dedicated to responsible corporate practices and the environment, and places high value on adhering to strong Environmental, Social and Governance (" ESG ") practices.   i3 is proud of its performance to date as a responsible steward of the environment, people , and capital management.   The Company is committed to maintaining an ESG strategy, which has broader implications to long-term value creation, as these benefits extend beyond regulatory requirements.

i3 Energy is listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange under the symbol I3E and on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol ITE. For further information on i3 Energy please visit  https://i3.energy

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the UK version of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 which is part of UK law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, as amended ("MAR"). Upon the publication of this announcement via a Regulatory Information Service, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

 

END

 

 

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