February 17, 2015 - 7:00 AM EST
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Magnum Hunter Resources Announces 2015 Upstream Capital Expenditure Budget

Flexible 2015 Upstream Budget of $100 Million

HOUSTON, TX--(Marketwired - Feb 17, 2015) - Magnum Hunter Resources Corporation (NYSE: MHR) (NYSE MKT: MHR.PRC) (NYSE MKT: MHR.PRD) (NYSE MKT: MHR.PRE) ("Magnum Hunter" or the "Company") announced today that its Board of Directors has approved a $100 million upstream capital expenditure budget for fiscal year 2015. Of this amount, the Company has allocated approximately $70 million to its Utica Shale and Marcellus Shale exploration and development drilling program in Ohio and West Virginia, approximately $10 million to its properties in the Williston Basin in North Dakota (substantially all of which are non-operated properties) and approximately $20 million for leasehold acreage acquisitions in the Utica and Marcellus Shale plays. The Company expects this Appalachian focused upstream capital expenditure program to further drive its production volumes and enable it to maintain its projected 2015 average daily production volumes of approximately 29,000 - 33,000 BOE per day.

At the midstream operations, the Company's pro rata portion of the capital expenditure budget is expected to be funded by Eureka Hunter's existing senior credit facility and by Eureka Hunter's other principal owner pursuant to pre-existing funding arrangements between the Company and the other principal owner established last year.

The Company's total 2015 capital expenditure budget of $100 million is expected to be funded from a combination of internally-generated cash flow, borrowings under the Company's existing senior revolving credit facility, proceeds from asset sales, possible capital markets transactions and certain anticipated strategic initiatives in progress.

The Company's exploration and development drilling plan in 2015 will be concentrated primarily on the delineation and further development of its combined ~208,000 net mineral acre leasehold position in the Utica and Marcellus Shale plays of Ohio and West Virginia. Specifically, the Company plans to further delineate its acreage positions in Monroe, Noble and Washington Counties, Ohio and in Tyler and Ritchie Counties, West Virginia. In 2015, Magnum Hunter plans to bring on production three net horizontal wells in the Marcellus Shale and eight net horizontal wells in the Utica Shale. A number of these wells have already been drilled and are in various stages of completion. Therefore, capital for these projects was previously expended in fiscal year 2014. Based on the combination of recent production additions and new wells expected to be brought on production in 2015, the Company anticipates that it will produce an average of approximately 29,000 - 33,000 BOE per day in 2015.

Management Comments

Mr. Gary C. Evans, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Magnum Hunter, commented, "Our Board of Directors has approved up to $100 million of capital to be spent on our upstream activities in the Utica and Marcellus Shale plays. This budget is "flexible" in that we are limiting capital spending at this time to allow upstream service costs to catch up with the drop in benchmark commodity prices that has occurred over the past several months. Therefore, we expect that most of this capital will be spent during the second half of the year. We are in a very unique position of anticipating 100% production growth year over year with minimal capital expenditures. Additionally, the focus on minimizing capital spending may change throughout the year as our Ohio shale play joint venture discussions with interested parties progress and we determine how this anticipated new capital will be spent on our Ohio leasehold acreage position and associated development activities."

About Magnum Hunter Resources Corporation

Magnum Hunter Resources Corporation and subsidiaries are a Houston, Texas based independent exploration and production company engaged in the acquisition, development and production of crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids, primarily in the states of West Virginia and Ohio. The Company is presently active in two of the most prolific unconventional shale resource plays in North America, the Marcellus Shale and Utica Shale located in Northwest West Virginia and Southeast Ohio.

Availability of Information on the Company's Website

Magnum Hunter is providing a reminder that it makes available on its website (at www.magnumhunterresources.com) a variety of information for investors, analysts and the media, including the following:

  • annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and any amendments to those reports as soon as reasonably practicable after the material is electronically filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission;
  • the most recent version of the Company's Investor Presentation slide deck;
  • announcements of conference calls, webcasts, investor conferences, speeches and other events at which Company executives may discuss the Company and its business and archives or transcripts of such events;
  • press releases regarding annual and quarterly earnings, operational developments, legal developments and other matters; and
  • corporate governance information, including the Company's corporate governance guidelines, committee charters, code of conduct and other governance-related matters.

Magnum Hunter's goal is to maintain its website as the authoritative portal through which visitors can easily access current information about the Company. Over time, the Company intends for its website to become a primary channel for public dissemination of important information about the Company. Investors, analysts, media and other interested persons are encouraged to visit the Company's website frequently.

Certain information included on the Company's website constitutes forward-looking statements and is subject to the qualifications under the heading "Forward-Looking Statements" below and in the Company's Investor Presentation slide deck.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes "forward-looking statements." All statements other than statements of historical facts included or incorporated herein may constitute forward-looking statements. Actual results could vary significantly from those expressed or implied in such statements and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. Although Magnum Hunter believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, Magnum Hunter can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. The forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that affect operations, financial performance, and other factors as discussed in filings made by Magnum Hunter with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Among the factors that could cause results to differ materially are those risks discussed in the periodic reports filed by Magnum Hunter with the SEC, including Magnum Hunter's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2013, and its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarters ended after such fiscal year. You are urged to carefully review and consider the cautionary statements and other disclosures made in those filings, specifically those under the heading "Risk Factors." Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of the document in which they are contained, and Magnum Hunter does not undertake any duty to update any forward-looking statements except as may be required by law.

Contact:
Cham King
AVP, Investor Relations
ir@magnumhunterresources.com
(832) 203-4560


Source: Marketwired (Canada) (February 17, 2015 - 7:00 AM EST)

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