Midstates Petroleum continues with drilling moratorium

 

Tulsa’s Midstates Petroleum Company has decided to continue its moratorium on new drilling through mid-2019, a move it initiated in the third quarter of 2018 because of low oil prices.

The company explained in its fourth quarter and full-year 2018 financial report that “with the erosion of commodity prices in the fourth quarter of 2018, the company elected to continue the pause in drilling.” It stated the move will maximize free cash flow generation from producing properties. Leadership intends to evaluate future development plans as the company moves forward.

The financial report showed a net income of $49.8 million or $1.91 per share for the full year 2018 and net income of $35.8 million or $1.38 per share in the fourth quarter of 2018.

Its year-end proved reserves totaled 72.4 million barrels of oil equivalent with a net present value of approximately $580 million.

Midstates indicated its adjusted EBITDA for the fourth quarter was $27.8 million which outpaced the quarterly operational capital expenditures by nearly $24.2 million. The full-year 2018 adjusted EBITDA was $116.4 million or nearly $20 million higher than the full-year operational capital expenditures.

The company reported it did not bring online any new saltwater disposal injection wells during the fourth quarter of 2018. It is operating 11 non-Arbuckle injection wells in Woods and Alfalfa Counties of Oklahoma with permitted injection capacity of nearly 240,000 barrels of water a day.

Its current disposal rate into all formations is about 135,000 barrels of water a day.

Production in the fourth quarter of 2018 was down compared to the third quarter, dropping from 17,996 Boepd to 16,351 Boepd.

. Production for the full year 2018 totaled 20,326 Boepd, compared with 22,148 Boepd for the full year 2017. Production from the Company’s Mississippian Lime properties contributed approximately 82%, or 16,747 Boepd, and the Anadarko Basin properties contributed approximately 18%, or 3,579 Boepd. Midstates divested its Anadarko Basin properties in the second quarter of 2018. For the total Company, oil volumes comprised 29% of total production, natural gas liquids (NGLs) 25%, and natural gas 46% for the full year 2018.

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