A corporate revolution is afoot at Oklahoma City-based Chaparral Energy Inc. During last week’s results call, the company formally introduced its new CEO and board of directors while focusing on its financial strength and business operations following an exit from Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings.
“This past year has been a transformative one for Chaparral,” said Earl Reynolds, Chaparral’s Chief Executive Officer. “Our recent emergence from Chapter 11 has provided Chaparral with an extremely healthy balance sheet and the security necessary to continue to deliver excellent performance as we develop our approximately 100,000 net acre position in the STACK.”
Despite posting a net loss of $416 million in 2016, the emergence from bankruptcy allowed Chaparral to shed $1.2 billion in debt and eliminated $107 million in annual interest payments.
At last week’s board meeting, Chaparral’s directors discussed plans to centralize its operational efforts in the STACK play, where it completed 16 new wells and participated in an additional 36 gross non-operated wells during 2016.
For the year, Chaparral produced 24.4 MBoe/d, of which 55% was oil, 16% was NGLs and 29% was natural gas. The company also recorded a 35% increase in its STACK production, growing from 1.97 MBoe in 2015 to 2.67 MBoe in 2016.
“From a financial perspective, Chaparral now has one of the healthiest balance sheets in the industry compared to companies our size and is well positioned to deliver significant returns and competitive growth even in the current commodity price environment,” said Reynolds during the results call.
The company’s total capital expenditures for the year were $150 million, with $61 million spent on drilling in the STACK, $72 million in other operated areas and $16 million for acquisitions. Revenues for 2016, before the effects of hedging activities, were $252 million, down from $324 million in 2015.
Chaparral anticipates spending $135 million to $155 million in 2017 to produce between 8.2 million and 8.6 million Boe.
