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Magnum Hunter Resources Corporation has reported an increase of 16.5 MMBoe or a 25% improvement in the quantity of the Company's estimated total proved oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids reserves at December 31, 2014, compared with total proved reserves at December 31, 2013.
The present value of estimated future net cash flows, before income taxes, of the Company's estimated total proved reserves as of year-end 2014, discounted at 10% (PV-10), increased 22% or $163.5 million to $909.3 million, compared with the PV-10 of such reserves at year-end 2013 (information herein regarding the Company's proved reserves and associated PV-10 at year-end 2013 has been adjusted for previously reported divestitures).
Magnum Hunter's estimated total proved reserves increased to 83.8 MMBoe (70% natural gas; 66% proved developed producing) at December 31, 2014, compared with 67.3 MMBoe (60% natural gas; 53% proved developed producing) at December 31, 2013. Reserve increases were primarily due to the continued execution and delineation of the Company's existing leasehold acreage position in the Marcellus Shale and Utica Shale plays in West Virginia and Ohio (~80,000 net Marcellus and ~125,000 net Utica acres). The Company's reserve life (R/P ratio) of its proved reserves at year-end 2014 based on current production is approximately 8.5 years. Magnum Hunter successfully replaced approximately 266% of its 2014 production with reserve additions through the drill bit.
At year-end 2014, the Company had booked proved reserves of 10 Utica Shale wells (two PDP, six PDNP and two PUD). The Company expects to continue increasing its proved reserves in the Utica Shale, where it presently owns over 125,000 net leasehold acres. At December 31, 2014, the Appalachian Basin (including properties in the Marcellus Shale and Utica Shale in West Virginia and Ohio and properties in Kentucky) accounted for approximately 90% of Magnum Hunter's total proved reserves volumes, and the Williston Basin in North Dakota accounted for the remaining approximately 10% of the Company's total proved reserves volumes.
Under Securities and Exchange Commission guidelines, the commodity prices used in the December 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013 proved reserve estimates were based on the 12-month unweighted arithmetic average of the first day of the month prices for the period January 1, 2014 through December 1, 2014, and for the period January 1, 2013 through December 1, 2013, respectively, adjusted by lease for transportation fees and regional price differentials. For crude oil volumes, the average West Texas Intermediate posted price of $94.99 per barrel used to calculate PV-10 at December 31, 2014 was down 2% from the average price of $96.78 per barrel used to calculate PV-10 at December 31, 2013. For natural gas volumes, the average Henry Hub spot price of $4.31 per million British thermal units ("MMBTU") used to calculate PV-10 at December 31, 2014 was up 17% from the average price of $3.67 per MMBTU used to calculate PV-10 at December 31, 2013. All prices were held constant throughout the estimated economic life of the properties.
The estimates of Magnum Hunter's total proved reserves at both December 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013 were prepared by the Company's independent petroleum engineering consultant, Cawley Gillespie & Associates, Inc.
Mr. Gary C. Evans, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Magnum Hunter, commented, "Our focus in 2014 was further delineating our tremendous lease acreage position in both the Marcellus and Utica Shale plays of West Virginia and Ohio. Out of the 24 wells we drilled last year in Appalachia, there were no drilling results that caused us to be concerned about any of this leasehold position in both West Virginia and Ohio. Management has identified over 1,000 potential drilling locations on our net mineral acreage position in this region. Magnum Hunter was successful in placing on production some of the most prolific wells in the region, including the Stewart Winland 1300U well, located in Tyler County, West Virginia at a peak test rate of 46.5 MMcfe per day. Our new third party reserve report excludes most of the new pads we have prepared in Ohio for drilling in the future where management is confident tremendous undeveloped reserve potential exists. Additionally, our affiliate midstream company, Eureka Hunter Pipeline, provides us immediate take-away capacity for our natural gas and liquids as well as tremendous optionality with seven interconnects currently in place with other pipelines."