Stockwatch Energy Summary April 24https://www.stockwatch.com/News/Item.aspx?bid=Z-C:*MKTOIL-2747470&symbol=*MKTOIL®ion=C 2019-04-24 19:00 ET - Market Summary by Stockwatch Business Reporter
(...) While most companies are now finalizing their financials for the first quarter of 2019, a handful of stragglers are still putting them out for the fourth quarter of 2018. Such is the case with Rob Zakresky's B.C. Montney producer, Leucrotta Exploration Inc. (LXE), up one cent to 88 cents on 360,700 shares. It released its 2018 financials this morning. In fairness, it already put out a good chunk of information in its reserve report last month, in which it pegged its fourth quarter production at about 3,200 barrels of oil equivalent a day. This in turn implied a full-year 2018 average of around 3,550 barrels a day. (Leucrotta's production peaked during 2018 at 4,180 barrels a day in the first quarter. It then dropped every quarter thereafter, which is why the full-year 2018 average is higher than the fourth quarter figure.) The full-year average of 3,550 barrels a day was slightly below Leucrotta's guidance of 3,600 barrels a day, but was still up nicely from 2,865 barrels a day in 2017. The rise in production helped Leucrotta narrow its net loss to just $43,000 in 2018 from $8.2-million in 2017. (The 2017 figure included a $6.2-million exploration expense related to a non-Montney exploration well that proved uneconomic.)
Leucrotta is continuing to forecast a relatively quiet 2019. It expects its production to stay fairly flat at about 3,200 barrels a day for the first three quarters, followed by a boost in the fourth quarter as new wells are brought on production. Leucrotta does not specify the number of new wells, merely stating that it has an inventory of six drilled but non-producing wells, of which "some" will be brought on-line. Another well will "possibly" be drilled before year-end. Results of new wells will be reported "in the near future." Investors have yet to find such talk particularly inspiring. Unlike many other energy stocks that have rallied alongside oil prices since the start of 2019, Leucrotta's stock, at 88 cents, has been going sideways for months. This time last year it was worth around $2.