W&T Offshore Provides Operational Update and Announces Timing of First Quarter Earnings Reporting and Additional Natural Gas Hedges

HOUSTON, April 30, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- W&T Offshore, Inc. (NYSE: WTI) (“W&T” or the “Company”) today provided an operational update and announced that as provided under an SEC Order dated March 25, 2020, it intends to temporarily delay filing its first quarter 2020 Form 10-Q due to circumstances related to COVID-19, within the time limits allowed by the SEC Order. W&T also disclosed additional natural gas hedges.

Key highlights included:

• Produced 53,553 barrels of oil equivalent per day (“Boe/d”), or 4.9 million Boe (48% liquids), in the first quarter of 2020, near the high end of W&T’s guidance range, reflecting a 61% increase from the first quarter of 2019 and slightly higher than the fourth quarter of 2019;
• Responded to the current low oil price environment with definitive actions to maintain financial flexibility, protect cash flow and preserve future value:
  • Suspended all drilling activities and significantly reduced its estimate of 2020 capital expenditures to $15 million to $25 million;
  • Proactively curtailed production at selected oil-weighted fields operated by the Company and has received notice of potential shut-ins of non-operated production;
  • Implementing 15% to 25% reductions in lease operating expenses without compromising safety or operational capabilities and reviewing G&A costs for additional savings.

Tracy W. Krohn, W&T's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, commented, “This is an extraordinary time for energy companies with the drastic fluctuations in supply and demand which has been compounded by the global COVID-19 pandemic. With that said, as provided by the SEC, we are temporarily delaying the filing of our 10-Q due to matters related to the pandemic.” 

“This is one of the most volatile and challenging markets I have seen in the past 40 years, but our overall strategy remains unchanged with our focus steadfastly on preserving and generating cash flow. While we have significantly reduced our expected 2020 capital spend by suspending our drilling activity, we remain confident in the long-term viability of our substantial inventory of drilling opportunities. We have proactively curtailed production on selected oil-weighted fields operated by the Company in this weak price environment, but maintain production at our Mahogany field and our key natural gas fields at our Mobile Bay complex. We have also received notification of potential shut-in production at non-operated properties. We will continue to monitor the oil markets to see if additional shut-ins are appropriate. From an expense standpoint, we are well on our way to implementing meaningful costs savings. We have an exceptional operational team in place, a diverse asset base with good-quality natural gas and oil fields and a strong hedge book, all of which provide us with the ability to weather uncertain commodity price environments.”