Firefly Value Partners Calls on Gulfport to Schedule 2020 Annual Meeting

Firefly Value Partners, LP (together with its affiliates, “Firefly”), which manages funds that, together with affiliates, collectively beneficially own 13.1% of the outstanding common stock of Gulfport Energy Corporation (“Gulfport” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: GPOR), today issued the following statement:

“We continue to believe that Gulfport’s intrinsic value is far in excess of where Gulfport’s equity and debt trade today in the capital markets. The Company has great assets and strong free cash flow potential, and unlike many other industries in the current economic landscape, the natural gas sector is in a position of strength.

Nevertheless, markets have assigned Gulfport’s securities a discounted valuation, with a share price that is down roughly 33% this year, lagging its low-cost Appalachian peers.¹ We believe that a portion of this discount stems from shareholders’ lack of confidence that the Board will make the right capital allocation and strategy decisions to help generate strong returns from Gulfport’s terrific assets and opportunities.

It is time for Gulfport to give its shareholders a chance to have their voices heard. Gulfport should announce the date for its 2020 annual meeting of shareholders and should hold that meeting as usual in June. Despite the unique challenges presented by COVID-19, 14 of the 16 public companies Gulfport names as peers in its 2019 proxy statement have already set their 2020 annual meeting dates. It is well past time for Gulfport to do the same.

Gulfport has a great opportunity to create value for shareholders as the sector is experiencing favorable trends. 2021 natural gas strip prices are $2.75/MMBtu, having increased more than 15% since our March 19^th letter. These prices, while attractive for Gulfport given its cost base, are not high enough to support drilling activity outside of the lowest-cost natural gas plays. Not surprisingly, then, natural gas directed rig counts continue to drop, down nearly 20% over the last month, and more than 30% year-to-date. At the same time, oil directed rigs have fallen more than 40% in the last month and year-to-date, creating ever-improving natural gas supply fundamentals.