Stone Energy Corporation (SGY) today provided a production, operational and conference update.
On September 1, 2015, Stone shut-in its Mary field in Appalachia curtailing approximately 100-110 Mmcfe of production per day, leaving approximately 25 Mmcfe per day producing from the Heather and Buddy fields in Appalachia. Low commodity pricing, including negative differentials in the region, combined with fees for transportation, processing and gathering, reduced the operating margins to an unacceptable level. As a result, despite being above production guidance for the first two months of the third quarter, production for the quarter is now expected to be below the previously stated guidance range of 39-41 Mboe per day, or 234-246 Mmcfe per day, and is being revised to 37.5-38.5 Mboe per day, or 225-231 Mmcfe per day. If the Mary field remains shut-in, the annual guidance of 42-44 Mboe per day, or 252-264 Mmcfe per day, will need to be adjusted to account for these curtailed volumes. Given the low margins in Appalachia, the cash flow impact from the curtailed volumes is not expected to be material for the third quarter. Higher margin Gulf of Mexico volumes experienced minimal downtime in the third quarter.
The ENSCO 8503 deepwater drilling rig has completed its scheduled maintenance and has been outfitted with mooring capabilities. Stone expects to resume rig operations before October 1, 2015 and the rig will be mobilized to Mississippi Canyon block 26 to finish the completion of the Amethyst discovery (100% working interest). Amethyst will be tied back to the Pompano platform, where first production is expected early in the first quarter of 2016. After the Amethyst completion, the rig is currently projected to drill the Cardona #7 development well, followed by the Lamprey and Derbio deep water exploration prospects.
The Vernaccia exploration well, which targets the Miocene interval in a four-way structure, is projected to spud by early October 2015 and is operated by Eni. After a recent sell down of a portion of its position, Stone now has approximately 4% working interest in the drilling cost of the well and will have an approximate 22% working interest ownership thereafter. The well is estimated to take three months to drill.
The company also announced that David H. Welch, the company’s Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, will be presenting at the Johnson Rice Energy Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana at 2:05 p.m. Central time on Monday, September 28, 2015. A live webcast will be available in the “Events & Presentations” section of the company’s website, www.StoneEnergy.com. The presentation material will also be available in the “Events & Presentations” section of the company’s website within 24 hours of the presentation.
Stone Energy is an independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company headquartered in Lafayette, Louisiana with additional offices in New Orleans, Houston and Morgantown, West Virginia. Stone is engaged in the acquisition, exploration, development and production of properties in the Gulf of Mexico and Appalachian basins. For additional information, contact Kenneth H. Beer, Chief Financial Officer, at 337-521-2210 phone, 337-521-9880 fax or via e-mail at CFO@StoneEnergy.com.
