California Resources Announces Q4 Results

crc_logoCalifornia Resources Corporation (NYSE:CRC), announced an adjusted net loss of $77 million or ($0.20) per share for the fourth quarter of 2015, compared with an adjusted net loss of $7 million or ($0.02) per share for the fourth quarter of 2014.

The loss for the full year of 2015 was $311 million or ($0.81) per share, compared with net income of $650 million or $1.67 per share for the same period in 2014.

Los Angeles-based CRC also said the New York Stock Exchange alerted the company in late February that its share price has fallen below the minimum for continued listing on the exchange. CRC will ask shareholders to approve a reverse stock split at the company’s May 2016 annual meeting. The shares will continue to be listed and traded on the NYSE during this period.

Todd Stevens, President and CEO of the company that formerly was part of Occidental Petroleum, said, “As we work to live within our means again in 2016, the main focus of our teams will be to protect our base production and build inventory to take advantage of any sustained price increases.”

The company’s financial results, he said, “highlight the resiliency of our asset base. Despite a severe downturn in commodity prices and an 81% capital reduction in 2015, we increased crude oil production 5%. Our focus on steamflood and waterflood opportunities and drilling efficiencies helped us add reserves at a cost lower than our historical average.”

With crude oil prices remaining low, he said, the company has taken “additional steps” to reduce its capital investments and staffing levels. “Expect to see us demonstrate financial discipline to maintain sufficient liquidity through 2016,” he said. “We plan to continue building economically viable drilling inventory, while managing our activity consistent with our principle of living within cash flow.”

The fourth quarter’s adjusted net loss of $77 million excluded the effect of non-cash, after-tax impairment charges of $2.9 billion ($4.9 billion pre-tax) required under accounting rules to reflect the recent decline in commodity prices. Including those impairment charges, the net loss for the quarter was $3.3 billion or ($8.54) per diluted share.

In the year-earlier quarter, the non-cash, after-tax impairment charges was $2.0 billion ($3.4 billion pre-tax.

The company expects to develop the properties whose decline in current value contributed to the impairment charge as energy prices recover.

Average oil production in the fourth quarter of 2015 decreased by 3% or 3,000 barrels per day compared to the same period of the prior year, to 102,000 barrels per day.

NGL production decreased by 5% to 18,000 barrels per day, and natural gas production decreased by 15% to 212 million cubic feet (MMcf) per day.

Total daily production volumes averaged 155,000 barrels of oil equivalent (BOE) in the fourth quarter of 2015, compared with 165,000 BOE in the fourth quarter of 2014.

Realized crude oil prices decreased 33% to $45.88 per barrel, including the effect of hedges, in the fourth quarter of 2015 from $68.54 per barrel in the fourth quarter of 2014.

Realized natural gas prices decreased 39% to $2.44 per thousand cubic feet (Mcf), including the effect of hedges, in the fourth quarter of 2015, compared with $4.00 per Mcf in the same period of 2014.

Production costs for the fourth quarter of 2015 were $221 million or $15.51 per BOE, compared with $252 million or $16.65 per BOE for the fourth quarter of 2014, a 7% reduction on a unit basis.

California Resources Corporation is the largest oil and natural gas exploration and production company in California on a gross-operated basis.

 

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