John Herrlin (Merrill Lynch): How much is completed well cost running in Bakken?
Mark G. Papa: We are listing them in the IR presentation at about $5.2 million right now, but within six months we will be showing lower numbers than that. We are driving it to down.
John Herrlin (Merrill Lynch): Is the sweet spot geologic or fracturing related type stuff?
Loren M. Leiker: These sweet spots are both controlled by tectonics or fracturing and by stratigraphy. We now believe we have extended the sweet spot all the way from Parshall into the Austin area in nine miles north that is not a linear sounding box. We are not going to comment anymore today but I would say that both are involved.
John Herrlin (Merrill Lynch): Does the new royalty framework in Canada mean that in 2009 you will consider backing off more in terms of long-term activity in Canada or switch to other plays?
Mark G. Papa: We have calculated the impact of that new royalty on our existing production, it is de minimis. In Alberta a lot of the stuff we do is the real shallow gas drilling that biogenic gas and has essentially no impact on go forward shallow gas drilling. What it does have an impact is if you are drilling wells 7,000 - 10,000 feet deep. It is confiscatory royalty change. For those areas which are up in the deep basin area of Alberta the Wapiti area where we drill some wells on the margin it is going to cause us to drill less wells and shift some capital in those areas, shift some capital to other areas.
John Herrlin (Merrill Lynch): Does that mean because your biogenic wells tend to be low volume, you do not get clipped on the royalties?
Mark G. Papa: We will continue that program on a go forward basis but 25% of our CapEx the last 3 years is going to the deep base of Alberta areas like the Wapiti area where we are drilling at 7500 feet. If you get a well that will come in at the million a day Royalty jumps from 26% to 40%. Starting in 2009, we and every other producer will have less time to drill those kinds of wells.
John Herrlin (Merrill Lynch): Is there anything in the winter that would make you more positive in some of the deeper shale plays about the economics in the Rockies in a $7 gas world?
Loren M. Leiker: We have participated in two wells now, into the deeper shales below what we call the Mesaverde and the results are not definitive at this point. There is a big basin in our gas sales and there is plenty of gas intersection and it has a fixed section. We are talking to 2000 feet of the rock there but of the economics we are not sure justified that they are drilling at this point. It comes down to same kind of question we had in some of the other basin-centered sales –what is controlling sweet spot. At this point there has not been enough drilling into that section to know whether it is a pervasive wide spread sweet area or there is going to be much more localized tectonic fracturing.
Ray Deacon (BMO Capital Markets): Are you looking at basis hedging at this point?
Mark G. Papa: We are not looking to actively hedge any basis. The Rocky Mountain situation will clear itself once REX comes into service.
Ray Deacon (BMO Capital Markets): In the Barnett other than the core and tier 1 where are you going to devote the bulk of your effort?
Mark G. Papa: As far as the Barnett over the next several years it is going to be a mix. Johnson County is still going to carry the lion share of the load but what you will see is Hill County and the Western Counties take on bigger proportions of the load as you get into 2008 and 2009.
Joe Allman (JP Morgan): Do you think the North Dakota Bakken Austin well is part of the Parshall field or do you think it is outside of it in a relatively sweet spot?
Loren M. Leiker: We are going to see 700,000 barrels per well at every location between them and Parshall that remains to be seen but we believe that the whole area is going to be a sweet spot.
Joe Allman (JP Morgan): You got six rigs running, where are you focusing at drilling at this point?
Loren M. Leiker: We did have rig drilling our third well at Austin area to the North. The other rigs are all down in the Parshall area.
Joe Allman (JP Morgan): Are the additional 45,000 net acres that were accumulated all in this area or are you stepping out on to new area as well?
Loren M. Leiker: We are continuing to lease in the Parshall area picking up interest as we can and in Austin area and in the box to 20/6 mile box. In general this leasing on the whole trend is not fully defined at this point.
Joe Allman (JP Morgan): On your pricing flexibility for next year''s CapEx, are you focused on the spot prices or the 12 month futures or on what the differentials are? |