Enerplus Cuts Dividend; Will Defer Completing North Dakota Wells -- February 21, 2015

The Calgary Herald is reporting:

Low oil and gas prices have prompted Enerplus Corp. to cut capital spending for 2015 by a further 24 per cent, chop its dividend by 44 per cent, sell assets, shut in Pennsylvania gas wells and defer completing North Dakota oil wells.

The news Friday came on the heels of similar budget cutting at another intermediate Calgary producer, Baytex Energy Corp., which announced late Thursday it would cut its 2015 spending by $75 million to a range of $500 million to $575 million and reduce output guidance by 4,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day to 84,000 to 88,000 boe/d.

As New York benchmark oil prices slipped below $51 US per barrel on Friday, less than half the price peak of last summer, Enerplus closed up five cents at $13.54 and Baytex was down 32 cents to $22.23.

On a conference call, Enerplus president and chief executive Ian Dundas said he prefers to think of his company’s moves as “prudent” rather than “conservative.”
“As we continue to experience significant commodity price weakness, we are adjusting our plans to preserve value in the near term and ensure the financial strength of the company,” he said.

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