Unit Corp. increases proven reserves 29 percent in 2012
BY ROD WALTON World Staff Writer
Friday, February 08, 2013
2/08/13 at 5:30 AM
Unit Corp. increased its proved reserves by 29 percent in 2012 and found more than three times as much new oil, gas and liquids than it produced last year, the Tulsa-based contract drilling and production firm reported Thursday.
Estimated year-end reserves hit 150 million barrels of oil equivalent, or 899 billion cubic feet of natural gas equivalent, compared with 116 million BOEs or 696 billion CFEs at the end of 2011. Unit overall produced 14.2 million BOEs, including a 28-percent rise in oil and natural gas liquids.
"2012 was a very good year for Unit," CEO Larry Pinkston said in a statement. "In line with this focus, we completed our acquisition of oil and gas properties from Noble Energy in the Granite Wash in western Oklahoma. This acquisition has provided us not only with new production, but also a substantial drilling inventory for years to come."
Unit Corp. is focusing drilling in oil and NGL-rich areas like the Granite Wash, Wilcox and Marmaton plays. Expense on the $600 million Noble Energy deal was partially offset by selling $270 million worth of "non-core" properties including in the Bakken Shale.
Natural gas made up 62 percent of estimated reserves at year's end, while oil and natural gas liquids accounted for 15 and 23 percent, respectively. Developed reserves topped 118 million BOEs, or 79 percent of estimated overall proved reserves.
The company plans to spend $789 million on capital projects this year. Most of that, or $586 million, is earmarked for oil and natural gas, while $105 million and $98 million are budgeted for the midstream and drilling segments, respectively.
Unit Corp. has subsidiaries for its three segments: Unit Drilling Co. (for contract rig work); Unit Petroleum Co. (for exploration and production); and Superior Pipeline Co. (for the midstream side).
The company will release its fourth-quarter and full-year 2012 earnings on Feb. 19.
Original Print Headline: Unit Corp. increases reserves 29 percent
Rod Walton 918-581-8457
rod.walton@tulsaworld.com
