Gran Tierra Energy Inc. reported a net loss of $9.7 billion for the first three months on Tuesday, but said it expects to bolster its cash flow with higher oil production for the rest of 2023.
“Gran Tierra incurred a net loss of $0.03 per share, compared to a net profit of $0.09 per share in the prior quarter and $0.04 per share a year ago,” the Canadian company said , which operates mainly in Colombia, in a press release.
While it missed a profit in the January-March period as oil revenues fell, it posted net income of $115 million in the past 12 months. Gran Tierra reported earnings of $33.275 million in the previous quarter and $14.119 million in January-March 2022.
It collected $144.19 million from oil sales, down from $162.637 million in October-December 2022 and $174.569 million in the first quarter of last year.
“Changes in oil sales were primarily driven by the decline in the price of Brent oil and the expansion of quality and transportation discounts over the same time periods,” the Calgary-based company said.
Gran Tierra produced 31,611 barrels of oil per day on average between January and March 2023, down three percent from the previous quarter but up eight percent from a year earlier.
It drilled 14 development wells over the past three months, President and CEO Gary Guidry noted in the announcement, saying, “By completing the majority of our development program in the first three months of 2023, we expect to benefit higher oil production rates for the rest of the year with the aim of maximizing our production and cash flow”.
Gran Tierra had $106 million in cash as of March 31. It posted operating expenses of $14.59 a barrel and capital expenditures of $71.062 million.
Increase in production
Gran Tierra added 10 wells to its drilling program at Colombia’s Acordionero field, with five on production by the end of the quarter. In the Costayaco oil field, four wells are expected to break ground this year. During the quarter, two more wells were put on production in the Moqueta de Gran Tierra project.
It plans to restart exploration drilling in the Southeast in the second half of 2023 after securing a 20-year extension to the block’s operation, also in the South American country. Suroriente has increased Gran Tierra’s gross oil production by 32 percent this year since it was acquired in 2019, it said in announcing the contract extension agreement with Colombia’s majority state-owned Ecopetrol SA on 11 of April
That deal calls for an initial investment of $123 million, but has yet to get regulatory approval, according to Tuesday’s earnings report.
In Ecuador, Gran Tierra plans to explore four wells, “three in the Charapa block to evaluate the discovery in the Hollin Formation and one in the Chanangue block during the second half of 2023.”
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