'Billionaire' Soros fund added to $HNR shares http://bit.ly/fNIrZ7 ,
just weeks prior to today's +$300M deal..
(HNR) says it will look to pay down debt and focus on International Oil & Gas, such as Indonesia, Gabon and Oman.
March 2nd Operational update for (HNR) :
Harvest President and Chief Executive Officer, James Edmiston, said, "2010 was a gratifying year for Harvest as our growth plan began to bear fruit. In Utah, the Company proceeded from its discovery at the Bar F well in March of last year, to its successful delineation and appraisal program of this very exciting oil resource play where we believe we have up to 1,200 future drilling locations targeting the Green River and Wasatch oil-bearing formations. In Venezuela, Petrodelta logged substantial increases in reserves as the potential of the El Salto Field gained clarity."
Mr. Edmiston continued, "2011, we hope, will be even more exciting as we plan to test significant exploration projects in both Indonesia and Gabon. In Indonesia, the Lariang LG-1 well has provided encouragement as the secondary target Miocene section drilled to date has confirmed the presence of hydrocarbons and significant formation overpressure. The high formation pressure gradient, combined with mechanical problems with the top drive on the rig, has contributed to slower than expected progress. After setting the 9-5/8 inch casing, we will proceed to drill ahead and test the primary target Eocene sands in the coming weeks."
Mr. Edmiston concluded saying, "The exploration of strategic alternatives announced in September is ongoing. We've received interest from multiple parties in both our producing assets as well as our exploration portfolio. The evaluation of those alternatives, along with the execution of our current exploration drilling programs in Indonesia and Gabon, will be our focus in the near term."
Operational Highlights:
United States
- Net production to Harvest during the months of January and February 2011 was approximately 650 barrels of oil equivalent per day (BOEPD).
- We are currently producing from 14 wells in the Monument Butte Extension project, including 13 wells operated by Newfield Exploration and one well operated by Harvest;
- We have established production from five wells in the Harvest-operated Lower Green River/Upper Wasatch development project. A sixth well has been drilled and will be hydraulically fractured in early March. A seventh well is currently drilling and is expected to reach total depth in early March, and be hydraulically fractured in early April. We expect to achieve a sustained gross Harvest operated production rate in excess of 1,000 BOPD when the above-mentioned seven wells are all producing routinely in April 2011;
Venezuela
- The Before Tax Discounted Future Net Income from the six fields 2P reserves net to Harvest has increased to approximately $2.3 billion, 68 percent increase from year end 2009;
- The 2011 capital budget is expected to be approximately $220 million, which includes provisions to drill 28 oil wells, two water injector wells, one gas injector well and construction costs for pipeline and related facilities. Shareholders of Petrodelta are discussing acceleration of program;
- During 2011, Petrodelta has drilled three development wells, two were put on stream in Uracoa and Temblador with average initial production of 460 BOPD. Another well at El Salto field was recently finished and is currently under evaluation;
- Petrodelta's first appraisal well is currently drilling in the untested Isleno field which is expected to be completed and tested by mid-March;
Indonesia
- The Lariang LG-1 Well, the first of two planned exploration wells was spud on January 6, 2011 in the Budong Budong Block, West Sulawesi. The well is to be drilled to a depth of approximately 7,200 feet;
- The well has reached 4,536 feet in the Miocene, the secondary objective, and has logged and wireline tested several oil and gas sands from 1,509 to 1,689 feet and 2,362 feet to 2,411 feet. 9-5/8 inch casing was set at 4,525 feet;
Gabon
- The Company has purchased all long lead items required for drilling and they are either on site or on route to Port Gentil. Projected spud date of the exploration well expected to occur at the beginning of the second quarter of 2011.
VENEZUELA
During 2010, Petrodelta drilled and completed 16 development wells. Petrodelta produced approximately 8.6 million barrels of oil, an increase of 9 percent over the previous year. Petrodelta also sold 2.2 billion cubic feet (BCF) of natural gas, a decrease of 50 percent from 2009. The average sales price for Petrodelta's crude oil production was $70.36 per barrel, 22 percent higher than 2009, and the average sales price received for natural gas remains contractually fixed at $1.54 per thousand cubic feet. Petrodelta's average production rate during 2010 was 23,455 BOPD, 9 percent higher than the previous year.
Petrodelta's production output for the first quarter of 2011 is projected to be approximately 29,000 BOPD and the target for the year is 36,000 BOPD. The 2011 Petrodelta capital budget is expected to be approximately $220 million with a significant portion of that total related to infrastructure costs to support the further development of the Temblador and El Salto fields. This program should be self-funding at a WTI oil price of $70 per barrel in 2011. Petrodelta expects to drill 28 oil wells, two water injector wells and one gas injector well, and the drilling program includes utilizing two rigs to drill both development and appraisal wells for both increasing production capacity and appraising the substantial resource base.
The reserve report for the Venezuela fields assumes a West Texas Intermediate crude oil price of $79.43 per barrel, which yields $70.43 per barrel after adjustment for location and quality. The natural gas reserves were based on a contractual price of $1.54 per thousand cubic feet (MCF). Both oil and gas prices were held constant.