OKLAHOMA CITY, OK -- (Marketwire) -- 10/10/08 -- Quest Resource Corporation (NASDAQ: QRCP)
("QRCP") and Quest Energy Partners, L.P. (NASDAQ: QELP) ("QELP") today
provided the following update on operations, liquidity, and planned
distributions:
Quest Resource Corporation -- Appalachian Basin
QRCP owns the right to develop more than 122,000 net acres within the
recognized fairway of the emerging Marcellus Shale play in the Appalachian
Basin and more than 7,000 net acres outside the fairway. QRCP plans to
drive reserve and production growth through the development of this large
acreage position. The development of this acreage will require significant
amounts of additional capital resources.
In the fourth quarter of 2008, QRCP plans to spend approximately $11
million on Appalachian Basin capital projects including the drilling of one
vertical test well in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, two horizontal wells
in Wetzel County, West Virginia, one horizontal well in Lewis County, West
Virginia, and two vertical wells in Ritchie County, West Virginia.
QRCP currently has one rig drilling the two horizontal wells in Wetzel
County that will be moved to Lewis County upon completion of these wells.
A contractor has begun preparing the drilling location in Lycoming County
for a rig that is expected to be on location by the middle of October. A
rig is expected to arrive on location in Ritchie County to drill the two
vertical wells within the next 10 days.
QRCP must drill these wells to satisfy obligations under various leases
with deadlines prior to the end of the year. If QRCP did not drill some or
all of these wells, it could potentially lose leases covering up to
approximately 15,000 net acres in the Appalachian Basin.
On an unconsolidated basis, QRCP currently has an outstanding term loan of
$33.5 million and total available cash of approximately $1.0 million.
In addition to the capital expenditures discussed above, QRCP and its
affiliates are currently experiencing significant unexpected costs
associated with the investigation of the questionable transfers of funds
from the Quest entities by Mr. Jerry Cash, QRCP's former chief executive
officer. Management believes that QRCP will need to raise significant
additional capital in the near term in order to fund these capital
expenditures and to pay these expenses. QRCP is currently negotiating with
its lender for, among other things, an additional revolving credit facility
and a waiver of any potential defaults that may have occurred as a result
of Mr. Cash's questionable transfers.
QRCP has engaged Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. Securities, Inc. to assist
QRCP in exploring strategic alternatives, including a number of options to,
among other things, secure adequate funding for its planned drilling and
development activities in the Marcellus Shale region, including the sale of
equity securities, the incurrence of additional debt, joint ventures,
farm-outs and selected asset sales. David Lawler, President of each of the
Quest entities, said, "We remain optimistic about the potential associated
with our large acreage position prospective for the Marcellus Shale. We are
also reassigning some of our people to this area from the Cherokee Basin,
which will enhance our operations in the area."
There is no assurance that QRCP will be successful in raising additional
capital, obtaining additional debt financing or obtaining any required
waivers. If QRCP is unsuccessful in its negotiations with its lenders or
raising additional capital, QRCP would experience liquidity issues that
would adversely impact its future plans and results of operations.
Internal Investigation Update
The independent internal investigation initiated by the boards of QRCP and
the general partners of QELP and Quest Midstream Partners, L.P. into the
questionable transfer of funds to Mr. Cash remains ongoing. Based on the
information obtained in the investigation to date, the special committee of
the boards conducting the investigation continues to believe that the
questionable transfers involved a total of approximately $10 million (as
originally announced). QRCP and QELP are aggressively seeking restitution
from Mr. Cash for this amount. The companies cannot accurately predict when
the investigation will be complete, what the final results of that
investigation will be, or whether any recovery of the missing assets can be
made.
In addition, both QRCP and QELP and certain of their officers and directors
have been named as defendants in several class action securities lawsuits
and QRCP and certain of its officers and directors have been named in
lawsuits asserting derivative claims for breach of fiduciary duty related
to the questionable transfers of funds to Mr. Cash. QRCP and QELP have
retained counsel to represent them in such litigation and intend to defend
themselves vigorously against such claims.
Quest Energy Partners, L.P. -- Cherokee Basin
QELP is the largest producer of natural gas in the Cherokee Basin of
southeast Kansas and northeast Oklahoma. QELP's total net natural gas
production averaged an estimated 58.5 million cubic feet per day (Mmcf/d)
in the third quarter of 2008, up from an average of approximately 56.2
Mmcf/d in the second quarter of 2008, a sequential increase of 4%.
QELP has hedging contracts covering approximately 4.5 Bcf of production for
the fourth quarter of 2008. Approximately 35% of the hedge contracts are
tied to NYMEX prices with no basis locks and thus expose the partnership to
the recent widening of the basis differential in the region, which were
$3.38/Mmbtu for the October 2008 bid week and $1.99/Mmbtu for the September
2008 bid week versus an average of $1.37/Mmbtu for the first eight months
of 2008. The partnership currently expects to realize an approximate
weighted average price of between $6.25/Mmbtu and $6.50/Mmbtu on hedged
volumes in the fourth quarter of 2008.
QELP has entered into hedging contracts for approximately 16 Bcf of
production for 2009. Only 5% of the 2009 contracts are tied to NYMEX
prices without basis locks. As a result, the partnership currently expects
to realize a weighted average price of between approximately $7.80/Mmbtu
and $7.90/Mmbtu on hedged volumes in 2009.
As of October 3, 2008, QELP has drilled 336 gross wells in the Cherokee
Basin, which exceeds the 325 wells planned for the year.