Denbury Reports First Quarter 2023 Financial and Operational Results

PLANO, Texas–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#blueoil–Denbury Inc. (NYSE: DEN) (“Denbury” or the “Company”) today provided its first quarter 2023 results. Supplemental materials for the quarter are also available at www.denbury.com. The Company will host a webcast to review its results tomorrow, May 4, at 11:00 a.m. Central Time (12:00 p.m. Eastern Time) on its website.

	KEY 1Q HIGHLIGHTS
		First quarter 2023 net cash flows provided by operating activities totaled $89 million, and adjusted cash flows from operations(1) totaled $140 million. Net income for the quarter was $89 million, or $1.66 per diluted share, and adjusted net income(1)(2) was $73 million, or $1.36 per diluted share. Ended the first quarter with $68 million borrowed on the Company’s bank credit facility and $672 million of financial liquidity (including cash on hand and borrowing capacity under the credit facility). Commissioned the first CO2 recycle facility at the Cedar Creek Anticline (“CCA”) Enhanced Oil Recovery (“EOR”) project in March 2023; initial EOR production expected in 2Q23. Drilled first stratigraphic test well in the Orion CO2 sequestration site in Alabama. Subsequent to quarter-end, Denbury expanded its dedicated CO2 storage portfolio with the addition of a 30,000-acre site in Texas, southwest of Houston.

(1) A non-GAAP measure. See accompanying schedules that reconcile GAAP to non-GAAP measures along with a statement indicating why the Company believes the non-GAAP measures provide useful information for investors.

(2) Calculated using weighted average diluted shares outstanding of 53.8 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2023.

CEO Comment

Chris Kendall, the Company’s President and CEO, commented, “Denbury’s performance in the first quarter was strong, and we achieved significant milestones in both our EOR operations and CCUS businesses. At our anchor CCA EOR project, we have progressed the installation of our initial CO₂ recycle facilities, and first tertiary production from this multi-decade asset is expected in the second quarter. Production from CCA will drive volume growth and margin expansion for our Company, while also significantly increasing the production of our carbon-negative “blue” oil, a unique commodity that we believe will be highly sought after for the production of low-carbon fuels. In our CCUS business, we expanded our dedicated CO₂ sequestration portfolio with a new strategic site added in southeast Texas, and we drilled our first U.S. Gulf Coast stratigraphic test well. Negotiations with industrial customers for CO₂ transportation and storage services continue to progress, and I look forward to announcing new agreements in the coming months. I remain convinced that Denbury is uniquely positioned to provide the most certain, most reliable, and most efficient CO₂ transportation and storage system in the U.S.”

Oil & Gas Operations Highlights
	1Q 2023	4Q 2022	1Q 2022
Sales volumes (BOE/d)	47,655	46,641	46,925
Avg. oil price, including hedges ($ per Bbl)	$75.36	$73.13	$70.43
Blue oil (% oil volumes using industrial CO2)	30%	29%	25%
Industrial CO2 injected (million metric tons)	1.14	1.15	0.94
Industrial CO2 injected (% total CO2 used in EOR operations)	40%	40%	36%
Oil & gas development capital ($ 000s)	$99,791	$120,971	$57,606

First quarter 2023 sales volumes were consistent with expectations, slightly above the midpoint of the Company’s annual guidance range. As compared to the fourth quarter of 2022, higher sales volumes were mostly related to the recovery of production lost due to late 2022 severe winter storms and an increase at Tinsley primarily due to the sale of inventory built in the fourth quarter. Approximately 56% of total volumes were from the Company’s Gulf Coast assets with the remaining 44% from the Rocky Mountain region. Gulf Coast production benefited from strong sales volumes at Oyster Bayou and Soso Rodessa Phase 1. Rocky Mountain region sales volumes included continued strong CO₂ flood response at the Wind River Basin assets and recent horizontal development at CCA in the Mission Canyon reservoir. The Company’s average oil price differential in the first quarter of 2023 was $1.28 below the West Texas Intermediate average, in line with the Company’s guidance.

CO₂ revenues for the quarter of nearly $11 million were slightly below expectation as a result of third-party purchaser downtime.

Lease operating expenses in first quarter 2023 totaled $129 million, or $30.12 per barrel of oil equivalent (“BOE”), and depletion, depreciation, and amortization (“DD&A”) was $42 million, or $9.80 per BOE for the quarter, both within the Company’s annual guidance range. General and administrative expenses totaled $23 million, slightly below expectation.

First quarter 2023 oil & gas development capital expenditures, excluding capitalized interest, totaled $100 million, consistent with expectation. Capital spend in the Gulf Coast region included the drilling and completion of horizontal wells in the Webster field and well conversion work for Soso Rodessa Phase 2 development. In the Rocky Mountain region, capital activities included a waterflood expansion project in the Charles formation within the Cabin Creek field of CCA, as well as the completion of two new wells in the Bell Creek field.

Cedar Creek Anticline EOR Development

Slightly more than 40% of Denbury’s first quarter 2023 oil & gas development capital was spent on the CCA EOR project, primarily focused on the construction of four CO₂ recycle facilities planned for 2023, well conversions, and completion of the Pennel CO₂ pilot well. Curtailed production averaged slightly more than 500 Bbl/d at CCA during the first quarter 2023, which is anticipated to return to production as the CO₂ recycle facilities startup.

Commissioning of the first CO₂ recycle facility was completed in March 2023, with the commissioning of a second CO₂ recycle facility currently underway. Commissioning is planned for two additional CO₂ recycle facilities in the latter part of the third quarter 2023. Associated with the startup of the first CO₂ recycle facility, the Company is anticipating initial EOR production response in second quarter 2023. As CO₂ recycle facilities are brought online and expanded, Denbury anticipates incremental EOR production from CCA to reach 2,000 Bbl/d by the end of this year and 7,500 to 12,500 Bbl/d by the end of 2024.

Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (“CCUS”) Highlights
	1Q 2023	4Q 2022	1Q 2022
Signed CO2 transport and/or storage offtake (cumulative million metric tons per year)	22	20	6
Secured CO2 sequestration capacity (cumulative million metric tons)	2,065	2,025	1,420
Class VI CO2 injection permit applications submitted – cumulative	3	3	–
Stratigraphic test wells drilled	1	–	–
CCUS capital expenditures ($ 000s)	$19,688	$32,505	$20,949

During first quarter 2023, the Company finalized a definitive agreement for the right to develop a dedicated CO₂ sequestration site on nearly 15,000 acres in Campbell County, Wyoming, directly underneath the Company’s Greencore CO₂ Pipeline. Denbury estimates potential CO₂ sequestration capacity of the site (named Corvus) to be 40 million metric tons. In April 2023, the Company acquired exclusive development rights over a dedicated CO₂ sequestration site southwest of Houston in Matagorda County, Texas. The approximately 30,000-acre site, known as project Dorado, is estimated to have a storage potential of more than 115 million metric tons. A 60-mile CO₂ pipeline is required to connect the site to the Company’s existing CO₂ pipeline network and would also provide access to additional markets and customers for CO₂. Including the acquisition of the Dorado site, the Company’s dedicated CO₂ sequestration portfolio now exceeds 2.1 billion metric tons of CO₂.

During first quarter 2023, Denbury executed agreements with two eFuels companies, HIF Global and Monarch Energy Development LLC, to source and transport up to 2.4 million metric tons per year of CO₂ to planned projects in southeast Texas. Also during the first quarter, the Company invested a combined $7 million into two emerging carbon capture technology companies, ION Clean Energy, an industry leader in liquid solvent technologies, and Aqualung Carbon Capture, a leader in membrane CO₂ capture and separation technology.

First quarter 2023 capital expenditures for CCUS included the drilling of a stratigraphic test well in the Orion dedicated CO₂ sequestration site in Alabama, as well as various costs for seismic licensing and acreage acquisition on both existing and new dedicated CO₂ sequestration sites. The Orion stratigraphic test well was drilled to a total depth of 11,415 feet. Initial results from the well are consistent with expectations, and the Company is analyzing the core taken during drilling operations. In late April 2023, the Company submitted an additional application to the EPA for 6 Class VI well permits for the Company’s Leo CO₂ sequestration site in Mississippi, which is directly underneath the Company’s NEJD CO₂ Pipeline.

Updated Outlook

Second quarter 2023 sales volumes are anticipated to be similar to the first quarter based on increased production associated with the commencement of the CCA EOR flood, along with new production from the Charles development wells at CCA, primarily offset by a planned Delhi facility turnaround and the timing of inventory sales at Tinsley. Associated with the startup and ramp of EOR production at CCA, the Company anticipates DD&A and LOE per BOE to increase from first quarter levels, driven by the expected recording of initial tertiary reserves at CCA and the conversion of CO₂ injection to LOE rather than capital.

Second quarter 2023 capital expenditures are anticipated to be modestly higher than the first quarter of the year, led by CCUS capital expenditures, which should increase based on CO₂ storage site acquisition and pre-development spend. Oil & gas development capital is expected to be at similar levels as the first quarter of the year.

Additional guidance details are available in the Company’s supplemental earnings materials on its website.

About Denbury

Denbury is an independent energy company with operations and assets focused on Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (“CCUS”) and Enhanced Oil Recovery (“EOR”) in the Gulf Coast and Rocky Mountain regions. For over two decades, the Company has maintained a unique strategic focus on utilizing CO₂ in its EOR operations and since 2012 has also been act in CCUS through the injection of captured industrial-sourced CO₂. The Company currently injects over four million tons of captured industrial-sourced CO₂ annually, with an objective to fully offset its Scope 1, 2, and 3 CO₂ emissions by 2030, primarily through increasing the amount of captured industrial-sourced CO₂ used in its operations. For more information about Denbury, visit www.denbury.com

Follow Denbury on Twitter and LinkedIn.

This press release, other than historical information, contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties detailed in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Denbury’s 2022 Annual Report on Form 10-K. These risks and uncertainties are incorporated by this reference as though fully set forth herein. These statements are based on financial and market, engineering, geological and operating assumptions that management believes are reasonable based on currently available information; however, management’s assumptions and the Company’s future performance are both subject to a wide range of risks, and there is no assurance that these goals and projections can or will be met. Actual results may vary materially. In addition, any forward-looking statements represent the Company’s estimates only as of today and should not be relied upon as representing its estimates as of any future date. Denbury assumes no obligation to update its forward-looking statements.

Financial and Statistical Data Tables and Reconciliation Schedules

The following tables include selected unaudited financial and operational information for the comparative three-month periods ended March 31, 2023 and 2022, in order to assist investors in understanding the comparability of the Company’s financial and operational results for the applicable periods. All sales volumes and dollars are expressed on a net revenue interest basis with gas volumes converted to equivalent barrels at 6:1.

Denbury Inc. Consolidated Statements of Operations (Unaudited)
The following information is based on GAAP reporting earnings. Additional required disclosures will be included in the Company’s periodic reports:
		Quarter Ended
In thousands, except per-share data		March 31, 2023				March 31, 2022
Revenues and other income
Oil sales		$	312,572			$	381,242
Natural gas sales			1,917				3,669
CO2 sales and transportation fees			10,686				13,422
Oil marketing revenues			14,548				13,276
Other income			1,295				250
Total revenues and other income			341,018				411,859
Expenses
Lease operating expenses			129,174				117,828
Transportation and marketing expenses			5,389				4,645
CO2 operating and discovery expenses			1,196				2,817
Taxes other than income			29,038				31,381
Oil marketing purchases			14,468				13,040
General and administrative expenses			22,977				18,692
Interest, net of amounts capitalized of $1,693 and $1,158, respectively			927				657
Depletion, depreciation, and amortization			42,032				35,345
Commodity derivatives expense (income)			(23,123	)			192,719
Other expenses			1,491				2,112
Total expenses			223,569				419,236
Income (loss) before income taxes			117,449				(7,377	)
Income tax provision (benefit)
Current income taxes			2,338				(561	)
Deferred income taxes			25,912				(5,944	)
Net income (loss)		$	89,199			$	(872	)
Net income (loss) per common share
Basic		$	1.73			$	(0.02	)
Diluted		$	1.66			$	(0.02	)
Weighted average common shares outstanding
Basic			51,503				51,602
Diluted			53,763				51,602

Denbury Inc. Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (Unaudited)
		Quarter Ended
		March 31,
In thousands		2023				2022
Cash flows from operating activities
Net income (loss)		$	89,199			$	(872	)
Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to cash flows from operating activities
Depletion, depreciation, and amortization			42,032				35,345
Deferred income taxes			25,912				(5,944	)
Stock-based compensation			4,938				2,971
Commodity derivatives expense			(23,123	)			192,719
Receipt (payment) on settlements of commodity derivatives			2,065				(93,057	)
Debt issuance costs and discounts			531				685
Other, net			(1,958	)			(1,267	)
Changes in assets and liabilities, net of effects from acquisitions
Accrued production receivable			793				(72,795	)
Trade and other receivables			(2,425	)			1,644
Other current and long-term assets			4,506				189
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities			(42,247	)			11,410
Oil and natural gas production payable			(2,861	)			23,348
Asset retirement obligations and other liabilities			(8,840	)			(4,233	)
Net cash provided by operating activities			88,522				90,143
Cash flows from investing activities
Oil and natural gas capital expenditures			(104,782	)			(58,707	)
CCUS storage sites and related capital expenditures			(14,645	)			(14,900	)
Acquisitions of oil and natural gas properties			(35	)			—
Pipelines and plants capital expenditures			(623	)			(15,204	)
Equity investments			(7,108	)			—
Other			(5,879	)			(1,396	)
Net cash used in investing activities			(133,072	)			(90,207	)
Cash flows from financing activities
Bank repayments			(319,000	)			(274,000	)
Bank borrowings			358,000				274,000
Other			5,619				(3,068	)
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities			44,619				(3,068	)
Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash			69				(3,132	)
Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at beginning of period			47,880				50,344
Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at end of period		$	47,949			$	47,212

Denbury Inc. Consolidated Balance Sheets (Unaudited)
In thousands, except par value and share data		March 31, 2023				Dec. 31, 2022
Assets
Current assets
Cash and cash equivalents		$	525			$	521
Accrued production receivable			143,484				144,277
Trade and other receivables, net			29,770				27,343
Derivative assets			23,554				15,517
Prepaids			14,803				18,572
Total current assets			212,136				206,230
Property and equipment
Oil and natural gas properties (using full cost accounting)
Proved properties			1,474,721				1,414,779
Unevaluated properties			284,584				240,435
CO2 properties			192,107				190,985
Pipelines			218,822				220,125
CCUS storage sites and related assets			85,059				64,971
Other property and equipment			111,265				107,133
Less accumulated depletion, depreciation, amortization and impairment			(340,312	)			(306,743	)
Net property and equipment			2,026,246				1,931,685
Operating lease right-of-use assets			16,768				18,017
Derivative assets			1,617				—
Intangible assets, net			76,849				79,128
Restricted cash for future asset retirement obligations			47,424				47,359
Other assets			51,023				45,080
Total assets		$	2,432,063			$	2,327,499
Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity
Current liabilities
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities		$	215,291			$	248,800
Oil and gas production payable			77,507				80,368
Derivative liabilities			1,613				13,018
Current maturities of long-term debt			107				—
Operating lease liabilities			4,430				4,676
Total current liabilities			298,948				346,862
Long-term liabilities
Long-term debt, net of current portion			68,276				29,000
Asset retirement obligations			315,169				315,942
Deferred tax liabilities, net			97,031				71,120
Operating lease liabilities			14,407				15,431
Other liabilities			13,649				16,527
Total long-term liabilities			508,532				448,020
Commitments and contingencies
Stockholders’ equity
Preferred stock, $0.001 par value, 50,000,000 shares authorized, none issued and outstanding			—				—
Common stock, $0.001 par value, 250,000,000 shares authorized; 50,276,526 and 49,814,874 shares issued, respectively			50				50
Paid-in capital in excess of par			1,049,830				1,047,063
Retained earnings			574,703				485,504
Total stockholders’ equity			1,624,583				1,532,617
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity		$	2,432,063			$	2,327,499

Denbury Inc. Operating Highlights (Unaudited)
All sales volumes and dollars are expressed on a net revenue interest basis with gas volumes converted to equivalent barrels at 6:1.
		Quarter Ended
		March 31,
		2023				2022
Average daily sales (BOE/d)
Tertiary
Gulf Coast region			23,125				23,016
Rocky Mountain region			10,424				9,220
Total tertiary sales			33,549				32,236
Non-tertiary
Gulf Coast region			3,398				3,630
Rocky Mountain region			10,708				11,059
Total non-tertiary sales			14,106				14,689
Total Company
Oil (Bbls/d)			46,389				45,466
Natural gas (Mcf/d)			7,600				8,753
BOE/d (6:1)			47,655				46,925
Unit sales price (excluding derivative settlements)
Gulf Coast region
Oil (per Bbl)		$	74.86			$	93.17
Natural gas (per mcf)			2.74				4.71
Rocky Mountain region
Oil (per Bbl)		$	74.87			$	93.16
Natural gas (per mcf)			2.83				4.62
Total Company
Oil (per Bbl)(1)		$	74.87			$	93.17
Natural gas (per mcf)			2.80				4.66
BOE (6:1)			73.32				91.14
Average NYMEX differentials
Gulf Coast region
Oil (per Bbl)		$	(1.29	)		$	(1.37	)
Natural gas (per mcf)			(0.05	)			0.16
Rocky Mountain region
Oil (per Bbl)		$	(1.28	)		$	(1.38	)
Natural gas (per mcf)			0.04				0.08
Total Company
Oil (per Bbl)		$	(1.28	)		$	(1.37	)
Natural gas (per mcf)			0.01				0.11

(1)	Total Company realized oil prices including derivative settlements were $75.36 per Bbl and $70.43 per Bbl during the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

Denbury Inc. Supplemental Non-GAAP Financial Measures (Unaudited)
Reconciliation of net income (loss) (GAAP measure) to adjusted net income (non-GAAP measure)
Adjusted net income is a non-GAAP measure provided as a supplement to present an alternative net income (loss) measure which excludes expense and income items (and their related tax effects) not directly related to the Company’s ongoing operations. Management believes that adjusted net income may be helpful to investors by eliminating the impact of noncash and/or special items not indicative of the Company’s performance from period to period, and is widely used by the investment community, while also being used by management, in evaluating the comparability of the Company’s ongoing operational results and trends. Adjusted net income should not be considered in isolation, as a substitute for, or more meaningful than, net income (loss) or any other measure reported in accordance with GAAP, but rather to provide additional information useful in evaluating the Company’s operational trends and performance.
		Quarter Ended								Quarter Ended
		March 31, 2023								March 31, 2022
In thousands, except per-share data		Amount				Per Diluted Share(1)				Amount				Per Diluted Share(1)
Net income (loss) (GAAP measure)		$	89,199			$	1.66			$	(872	)		$	(0.02	)
Adjustments to reconcile to adjusted net income (non-GAAP measure)
Noncash fair value gains on commodity derivatives(2)			(21,058	)			(0.39	)			99,662				1.81
Delta pipeline incident costs (included in other expenses)(3)			(999	)			(0.02	)			—				—
Accelerated depreciation			1,117				0.02				—				—
Noncash fair value adjustment – contingent consideration(4)			—				0.00				185				0.01
Estimated income taxes on above adjustments to net income (loss) and other discrete tax items(5)			5,047				0.09				(5,853	)			(0.11	)
Adjusted net income (non-GAAP measure)		$	73,306			$	1.36			$	93,122			$	1.69

(1)	Includes the impact of potentially dilutive securities including nonvested restricted stock, restricted stock units, performance stock units, shares to be issued under the employee stock purchase plan and warrants.
(2)	The net change between periods of the fair market values of open commodity derivative positions, excluding the impact of settlements on commodity derivatives during the period.
(3)	Represents true-up to actual of a preliminarily assessed civil penalty proposed in May 2022 by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration related to the Company’s February 2020 Delta-Tinsley pipeline incident.
(4)	Expense related to the change in fair value of the contingent consideration payments related to the Company’s March 2021 Wind River Basin CO2 EOR field acquisition.
(5)	Represents the estimated income tax impacts on pre-tax adjustments to net income which rate incorporates discrete tax adjustments. During the three months ended March 31, 2022, discrete tax adjustments primarily represented the release of the valuation allowance on certain of the Company’s federal and state deferred tax assets totaling $5.9 million.

Denbury Inc. Supplemental Non-GAAP Financial Measures (Unaudited)
Reconciliation of net income (loss) (GAAP measure) to Adjusted EBITDAX (non-GAAP measure)
Adjusted EBITDAX is a non-GAAP measure which management uses and excludes certain items that are included in net income (loss), the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure. Items excluded include interest, income taxes, depletion, depreciation, and amortization, and items that the Company believes affect the comparability of operating results such as items whose timing and/or amount cannot be reasonably estimated or are nonrecurring. Management believes Adjusted EBITDAX may be helpful to investors in order to assess the Company’s operating performance as compared to that of other companies in the industry, without regard to financing methods, capital structure or historical costs basis. It is also commonly used by third parties to assess leverage and the Company’s ability to incur and service debt and fund capital expenditures. Adjusted EBITDAX should not be considered in isolation, as a substitute for, or more meaningful than, net income (loss), cash flow from operations, or any other measure reported in accordance with GAAP. The Company’s Adjusted EBITDAX may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of another company because all companies may not calculate Adjusted EBITDAX, EBITDAX or EBITDA in the same manner. The following table presents a reconciliation of the Company’s net income (loss) to Adjusted EBITDAX.
In thousands		Quarter Ended
		March 31,
		2023				2022
Net income (loss) (GAAP measure)		$	89,199			$	(872	)
Adjustments to reconcile to Adjusted EBITDAX
Interest expense			927				657
Income tax expense (benefit)			28,250				(6,505	)
Depletion, depreciation, and amortization			42,032				35,345
Noncash fair value losses (gains) on commodity derivatives			(21,058	)			99,662
Stock-based compensation			4,938				2,971
Noncash, non-recurring and other			(1,956	)			(411	)
Adjusted EBITDAX (non-GAAP measure)		$	142,332			$	130,847

Contacts

Brad Whitmarsh, 972.673.2020, brad.whitmarsh@denbury.com
Beth Palmer, 972.673.2554, beth.palmer@denbury.com

Read full story here