HOUSTON, June 15, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Evolution Petroleum Corporation (NYSE MKT: EPM) announced today that it has put in place a limited oil price protection program for the months of July through December of 2015. The quantity hedged is 1,100 barrels of oil per day (BOPD), which represents approximately two-thirds of expected sales volume for this period. Half of the hedged quantities (550 BOPD) have a floor price of $54.00 per barrel and a ceiling price of $66.50 per barrel. The balance of the hedged quantities, or 550 BOPD for the six-month period, have a floor price of $56.00 per barrel and a ceiling price of $61.60 per barrel. The remaining one-third of projected sales from our developed assets will continue to receive market prices. All hedges are based on West Texas Intermediate (WTI) pricing. The Company elected to not hedge the basis differential to Light Louisiana Sweet (LLS) crude pricing at this time. The LLS premium versus WTI has averaged over $4.00 per barrel since the beginning of the calendar year.
With the $24 million capital expenditure commitment associated with the planned NGL plant at the Delhi Field through the summer of 2016 combined with our ongoing common stock dividend program of approximately $6.6 million per year, the Board of Directors determined that these limited hedges were prudent given the volatility and uncertainty in near-term commodity prices.
Robert Herlin, CEO of Evolution, noted: "The Company has not hedged its production in recent years. However, given the relatively large capital expenditure obligation for the NGL plant and our desire to maintain our current dividend prior to startup of the plant, we saw compelling reasons to hedge approximately two-thirds of our expected sales volumes in the near term. Once operational in the second half of 2016, the NGL plant is expected to increase cash flow substantially. In the longer-term, we believe that there is a reasonable case for higher oil prices and, therefore, prefer to retain that price exposure and potential value for our shareholders."
About Evolution Petroleum
Evolution Petroleum Corporation develops incremental petroleum reserves and shareholder value by applying conventional and specialized technology to known oil and gas resources, onshore in the United States. Principal assets include interests in a CO2-EOR project in Louisiana's Delhi Field and a patented technology designed to extend the life and increase ultimate recoveries of depletion drive oil and gas wells. Additional information, including the Company's annual report on Form 10-K and its quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, is available on its website at www.evolutionpetroleum.com. Additional information regarding GARP® is available on the www.garplift.com website.
Cautionary Statement
All statements contained in this press release regarding potential results and future plans and objectives of the Company are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or review any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from our expectations include, but are not limited to, those factors that are disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in our documents filed from time to time with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulatory authorities. Statements regarding our ability to complete transactions, successfully apply technology applications in the re-development of oil and gas fields, realize future production volumes, realize success in our drilling and development activity and forecasts of legal claims, prices, future revenues, income, cash flows, dividends and other statements that are not historical facts contain predictions, estimates and other forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that its expectations are based on reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that its goals will be achieved and these statements will prove to be accurate. Many factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those included in the forward-looking statements.
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SOURCE Evolution Petroleum Corporation