Oil Producer Enerplus to Leave Home Turf for U.S. Shale

CALGARY — Enerplus Corp. says it is looking to sell its Canadian assets later this year but will maintain its head office.

The Calgary-based company says it hopes a successful sales process for the seven per cent of its current production will conclude in mid-2022.

As a result of the effort, the company plans to change its reporting currency to U.S. dollars with the release of fourth-quarter results on Feb. 24 because the majority of its crude oil and natural gas properties are located in the United States.

Enerplus says it will also report production volumes on a net basis after deduction of royalties to allow for a direct comparison with other U.S. exploration and production companies.

The company says total production in the fourth quarter was 128,000 barrels of equivalent per day, at the high end of its guidance, and including 81,000 BOE of liquids production. Capital spending was $102 million.

Full-year production was 114,7000 BOE per day, including 70,200 barrels per day of liquids, while capital spending was $378 million.

In November, Enerplus announced a preliminary 2022 capital budget of $500 million expected to result in average company interest production of about 122,000 barrels of equivalent per day, including 75,000 barrels per day of liquids. Following the company’s changes, the preliminary budget corresponds to about US$400 million with net production of 98,000 BOE per day, including 60,000 barrels per day of liquids.

Enerplus follows a number of oil companies including giants such as Shell Plc and ConocoPhillips in selling positions in Canada in recent years to shift investment to U.S. shale plays and elsewhere. In 2019, Ovintiv Inc., formerly Encana, moved its head office to Denver in a blow to Canada’s then beleaguered oil patch, which was plagued by a lack of pipelines and divestment by international funds.

 

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