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As Parsley Energy Inc. (PE) can attest, in the end good rock rules many a shale companies’ fortune.
Permian operator Parsley had a strong second quarter in 2015, with production higher than expected.
The company also upped its capex budget by 27%. And the company did some old style horse trading, bolting on acreage and trading land to add net horizontal locations in their territory. Overall, Parsley walked away with $4 million in net proceeds.
Parsley said it divested what it called “lower priority” assets in Gaines County, Texas, and bolted-on acres in the Reagan County, Texas, core area.
The deal involved Parsley divesting 12,742 net acres with no identified locations in Gaines. The company also purchased 480 net acres.
In the final piece of the deal, Parsley made an acre-for-acre trade of 1,200 net acres. The company said the deal extends its horizontal inventory’s average lateral length by more than 300 feet.
The deal follows a $17 million bolt-on in May in which Parsley added 3,562 net Midland Basin core acres, adding 114 net horizontal locations.
Since June, the company has decreased its net Permian Basin acreage by roughly 10% and added 29 net horizontal locations.
David Tameron, senior analyst, Wells Fargo Securities, said Parsley plans to spend more and produce more.
The company’s fiscal year 2015 capex increased up to $375 million from its previous ceiling of $300 million.
Increased second half spending will garner the most attention, Tameron said. The market hasn’t been kind to most companies that have increased their capex in the earnings season.
“Parsley could get a pass given its combination of production growth, large hedge book and significant liquidity of $476 million” at the end of the second quarter, Tameron said.
Parsley’s liquidity includes $21 million cash and a $455 million revolver. In the second half of 2015, 84% of oil production is hedged at $58 per barrel (bbl) and 35% of natural gas. In 2016, 79% of Parsley’s oil production is hedged at $59/bbl, said Brian Gamble, analyst, Simmons & Co. International.
The company also said it plans to drill a Spraberry well in the Midland Basin and an appraisal well in the Upper Wolfcamp of the Southern Delaware Basin, Gamble said.
“Parsley is recognizing efficiencies and is guiding completions up to 45-50 in fiscal year 2015, up 25% from previous expectations,” he said.
Largely that’s due to rig efficiencies, allowing more wells to be completed than originally planned.
Contact the author, Darren Barbee, at dbarbee@hartenergy.com.
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