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EAST TEXAS AREA
The East Texas area encompasses multiple objectives,
including the Wilcox and Cotton Valley intervals. We are focused
on the Camp Hill Field, a Wilcox steam flood project in Anderson
County, and the Tortuga Grande Prospect, a Cotton Valley sand opportunity.
We have licenses for over 500 square miles of 3-D seismic data in
the East Texas area and 1,449 net acres under lease.
We expect to invest $1.6 million to drill
nine (7.7 net) wells in this region in 2005.
Camp Hill Project. We own interests
in approximately 600 gross acres in the Camp Hill field in Anderson
County, Texas. We currently operate all of these leases. During
the year ended December 31, 2004, the project produced an average
of 56 Bbls/d of 19 API gravity oil. The wells produce from a depth
of 500 feet and utilize a tertiary steam drive as an enhanced oil
recovery process. Although efficient at maximizing oil recovery,
the steam drive process is relatively expensive to operate because
natural gas or produced crude is burned to create the steam injectant.
Lifting costs during the year ended December 31, 2004 averaged $19.87
per barrel ($3.31 per Mcfe). In response to high fuel gas prices,
steam injection was reduced in mid-2000. Because profitability increases
when natural gas prices drop relative to oil prices, the project
is a natural hedge against decreases in natural gas prices relative
to oil prices. The oil produced, although viscous, commands a higher
price (an average premium of $1.00 per Bbl during the year ended
December 31, 2004) than West Texas intermediate crude due to its
suitability as a lube oil feedstock. As of December 31, 2004, we
had 8.6 MMBbls of proved oil reserves in this project, with 969
MBbls of oil reserves currently developed. We have from time to
time chosen to delay development of our proved undeveloped reserves
in the Camp Hill Field in East Texas in favor of (1) pursuing shorter-term
exploration projects with potentially higher rates of return, (2)
adding to our lease position in this field and (3) further evaluating
additional economic enhancements for this field's development. "See
Risk Factors - Our reserve data and estimated discounted future
net cash flows are estimates based on assumptions that may be inaccurate
and are based on existing economic and operating conditions that
may change in the future." The proved undeveloped reserves at the
Camp Hill Field constitute 41.8% of our proved reserves and account
for 27.7% of our present value of net future revenues from proved
reserves as of December 31, 2004. We anticipate drilling additional
wells and increasing steam injection to develop the proved undeveloped
reserves in this project, with the timing and amount of expenditures
dependent on the relative prices of oil and natural gas. We are
currently drilling with one rig and plan to spend approximately
$0.6 million drilling eight gross (7.2 net) wells in 2005. The planned
Camp Hill development expenditures represent a relatively small
portion of the Company's total capital expenditures budgeted in
2005. We continue to invest the majority of our 2005 budgeted capital
expenditures in our Barnett Shale and onshore Gulf Coast areas where
the rates of return are traditionally higher. This is due in large
measure to significantly higher lifting costs associated with Camp
Hill oil production. We have an average working interest of approximately
90% in this field and an approximate net revenue interest of 73%.
Tortuga Grande Prospect. In March 2004
we finalized an agreement to operate the re-entry of an abandoned
Cotton Valley test well that calculates on logs to have over 230
feet of sands with possible production. At the time the well was
originally drilled, the predecessor owner/operator perforated the
objective interval and tested gas but in uneconomic volumes. This
well was drilled before newer fracturing technologies were developed
that could have increased flow rates and during a period when gas
prices were significantly lower. Although this attempted completion
flowed gas at uneconomic rates, we expect to drill another exploratory
well in 2005 in a better structural position. We believe there are
over ten potential extension development locations on our acreage
that may be prospective.
WYOMING/MONTANA COALBED METHANE PROJECT AREA
Rocky Mountain Region
As discussed below under "--Pinnacle Transaction,"
in the second quarter of 2003, we contributed to Pinnacle our Powder
River Basin properties in the Clearmont, Kirby, Arvada and Bobcat
project areas located in Wyoming and Montana. At the end of 2004,
we also own direct interests in approximately 162,489 gross acres
of coalbed methane properties in the Castle Rock project area in
Montana and the Oyster Ridge project area in Wyoming that were not
contributed to Pinnacle, but we currently have no proved reserves
of, and are no longer receiving revenue from, coalbed methane gas
other than through Pinnacle.
In February 2004, the CSFB Parties contributed
additional funds of $11.8 million into Pinnacle to continue funding
the 2004 development program which will increase their ownership
to 66.7% on a fully diluted basis should we and RMG each elect not
to exercise our available options. See "-The Pinnacle Transaction"
for more information on this transaction.
By 2004 year end, Pinnacle had completed the
acquisition and/or drilling of 486 wells (or approximately 276 net).
All of the wells encountered coal accumulations and are apparent
successes in various stages of development and/or stages of production.
Coalbed
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