- Due to a recent slump in oil prices, Whitebark Energy (WBE) has taken steps to maximise returns from its Wizard Lake oil field in Canada
- Production will be contained between 550-650 barrels of oil per day and 3-4 million cubic feet of gas per day
- The company has been able to reduce operating costs to A$8.40 per barrel
- Drilling of Whitebark’s Rex-4 well has been deferred until May 2020 and all approvals are in place
- Whitebark’s share price is steady, with shares trading for 0.6 cents apiece
Due to the recent reduction in oil prices, Whitebark Energy (WBE) has taken steps to maximise returns from its Wizard Lake oil field in Alberta, Canada.
Brent oil is currently selling for US$33.48 per barrel, a slight increase from the US$31.13 from March 9.
Production from Wizard Lake will be contained to between 550-650 barrels of oil per day (bopd) and 3-4 million cubic feet of gas per day, equating to 1050-1315 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd).
These changes are to optimise the value of reserves while the oil prices remain low, while still generating significant cashflow for Whitebark.
Whitebark’s Wizard Lake oilfield has now been operating for approximately two months following the upgrade of the surface processing facilities.
During these two months, Whitebark has been able to reduce its operating costs, based on the production of 600bopd, to CDN$7.50 (A$8.40) per barrel of oil.
Key costs include oil and water transport costs of CDN$4.35 (A$4.87) per barrel and labour, equipment rental and regulatory costs of CDN$3.15 (A$3.53) per barrel.
“With the recent low oil price environment we have been absolutely focused on costs and at CDN$7.50 per barrel of oil we are in a good position to ride out the current situation,” Managing Director David Messina commented.
“The being said, we only get to sell a barrel of oil once, so we will be maintaining a production level that reflects a balance between pricing and good oilfield practice,” he added.
Drilling of Whitebark’s Rex-4 has been deferred until May 2020 and all approvals are in place.
Whitebark’s share price is steady today, with shares trading for 0.6 cents apiece at 1:06 pm AEDT.