DALLAS, Nov 29, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) —
The Board of Directors of EXCO Resources, Inc. (NYSE: XCO) (“EXCO”) has approved a capital budget of $976.2 million for 2011 of which $768.9 million is allocated to development and completion activities. This capital program maintains our current level of activity reflecting our 2010 acquisitions in the Shelby Trough and expansion of our development and exploration activities in Appalachia. The resulting production growth is expected to be in excess of 40% as compared to our 2010 production levels. The capital budget, which is net of an estimated $125.0 million carry by BG Group plc (LSE: BG.L) (“BG Group”) for certain drilling and completion spending in our Appalachian joint venture area, is allocated among our different budget categories as follows:
(Dollars in millions)
| Drilling and Completion |
$ 768.9 |
| Gathering/Water Pipelines/Field Operations |
79.2 |
| Land |
58.5 |
| Seismic |
11.4 |
| Corporate and Other (Includes $34.8 million of capitalized interest) |
58.2 |
| Total |
$ 976.2 |
In addition, we expect to receive approximately $73.0 million from BG Group upon election to participate in certain leasing activities and acquisitions closed prior to 2011.
We currently have 25 operated drilling rigs across our portfolio. Of our expected 2011 average rig count of 27, 14 rigs are on short term contracts which enable us to adjust our drilling program if commodity prices decline below those required to generate appropriate rates of return. Details of our plans within the various divisions are presented below:
| (Dollars in millions) |
Number of Gross Wells |
Number of Net Wells |
Drilling Capital |
Other Capital |
Total Capital |
| East Texas/North Louisiana |
233 |
65.7 $ |
683.0 $ |
98.8 $ |
781.8 |
| Appalachia |
64 |
22.7 |
37.9 |
44.9 |
82.8 |
| Permian |
72 |
69.8 |
48.0 |
5.4 |
53.4 |
| Corporate and Other |
— |
— |
— |
58.2 |
58.2 |
| Total |
369 |
158.2 $ |
768.9 $ |
207.3 $ |
976.2 |
East Texas/North Louisiana Joint Venture (JV):
We plan to spend a total of $757.0 million net to EXCO within our East Texas/North Louisiana JV with BG Group, of which $683.0 million will be spent for drilling and completion costs, $29.8 million for lease acquisitions, $41.8 million for operations projects, and $2.4 million for seismic data acquisition.
We are primarily drilling Haynesville shale targets, and we plan to have 22 operated drilling rigs within this JV area throughout the year. These rigs should allow us to drill and complete 163 gross (58.7 net) operated wells targeting the Haynesville shale. In addition, we plan to participate in 70 gross (7.0 net) wells operated by others. Of our 22 operated drilling rigs, 15 will drill in our Holly area in DeSoto Parish and southern Caddo Parish, Louisiana. Virtually all of our drilling in this area will be full development on 80 acre spacing utilizing multi-well pads. Seven rigs will drill in our Shelby Trough area which includes Nacogdoches, San Augustine and Shelby Counties, Texas. Drilling in this area will be focused on holding leases and delineating our acreage. In particular, we will be focusing some of our efforts in an area which has yielded initial production rates in excess of 30 Mmcf per day. Our 2011 plans are expected to fulfill all of our lease obligations. In addition, we will also be making investments in operating facilities, roads and water handling projects.
Appalachia Joint Venture (JV):
The capital budget program net to EXCO for our Appalachia JV with BG Group totals $82.7 million, of which $37.8 million will be spent to drill and complete 52 gross (16.7 net) operated horizontal Marcellus shale wells and drill 12 gross (6.0 net) horizontal Marcellus shale appraisal wells. The appraisal wells will be used to evaluate a number of our operating areas for future development activities. Other spending within the division includes $25.0 million for lease acquisitions, $13.5 million for operations projects, and $6.4 million for seismic data acquisition.
We currently have two rigs drilling, and plan an average of 4 rigs drilling during 2011. Our development activities will be focused in areas that have contiguous acreage positions and access to takeaway capacity. We continue to seek additional acreage in our main focus areas to aid in our development plans and expand our footprint.
Permian Division:
We have a capital budget totaling $53.4 million for our Permian Division. Within this budget, $48.0 million will be spent to drill and complete 72 gross (69.8 net) operated wells. The target zones include Clearfork, Wolfcamp, Canyon and Fusselman formations, which we believe contain higher oil bearing opportunities. As a result of the outstanding results experienced in early 2010, we added a second rig in August 2010 and will drill with two rigs in 2011. Our net oil production in this region has grown by more than 30% during 2010.
Midstream Affiliates:
TGGT Holdings, LLC (“TGGT”) and Appalachia Midstream, LLC are the midstream joint ventures owned equally by EXCO and BG Group in East Texas/North Louisiana and Appalachia, respectively. The primary focus of these entities’ capital programs is the building of gathering infrastructure and associated facilities in support of our upstream activities in each area. A substantial portion of the capital programs will be funded by internally generated cash flow. Although our Board of Directors has approved capital contributions of up to $150 million for 2011 (which are not included in the aforementioned $976.2 million capital budget), TGGT is currently negotiating a credit facility which would be used to fund these capital needs.
EXCO Resources, Inc. is an oil and natural gas exploration, exploitation, development and production company headquartered in Dallas, Texas with principal operations in East Texas, North Louisiana, Appalachia and West Texas.
Additional information about EXCO Resources, Inc. may be obtained by contacting EXCO’s Chairman, Douglas H. Miller, or its President, Stephen F. Smith, at EXCO’s headquarters, 12377 Merit Drive, Suite 1700, Dallas, TX 75251, telephone number (214) 368-2084, or by visiting our website at www.excoresources.com. Our SEC filings and press releases can be found under the Investor Relations tab.
This release may contain forward-looking statements relating to future financial results or business expectations.Business plans may change as circumstances warrant.Actual results may differ materially from those predicted as a result of factors over which EXCO has no control.Such factors include, but are not limited to: estimates of reserves, commodity price changes, regulatory changes and general economic conditions.These risk factors and additional information are included in EXCO’s reports on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission.EXCO undertakes no obligation to publically update or revise any forward-looking statements.
SOURCE: EXCO Resources, Inc.
EXCO Resources, Inc.
Douglas H. Miller, 214-368-2084
Chairman
or
Stephen F. Smith, 214-368-2084
President
www.excoresources.com
