Chord Energy Corp (CHRD)

Chord Energy Corporation is a Delaware-incorporated independent exploration and production company that acquires, explores, develops and produces crude oil, NGLs and natural gas from long-lived assets in the Williston Basin. It was formerly Oasis Petroleum Inc. and took its current form through a merger of equals with Whiting Petroleum Corporation completed on July 1, 2022. The company says it aims to produce hydrocarbons responsibly while exercising capital discipline, generating strong free cash flow and returning capital to stockholders.

The business is a single exploration and production operation focused on the Middle Bakken and Three Forks formations. At December 31, 2023, Chord held 1,029,263 net leasehold acres in the Williston Basin, almost all held by production, which it describes as the largest acreage position of any operator in the basin. It had 3,760 gross (2,876.0 net) operated producing wells and average 2023 production of 173,425 net Boepd. Independent engineers Netherland, Sewell & Associates estimated net proved reserves at 636.2 MMBoe, of which 71% were proved developed and 58% were crude oil. Reserves comprised 368.4 MMBbls of crude oil, 138.2 MMBbls of NGLs and 777.9 Bcf of natural gas. Since July 1, 2022 the company has reported crude oil, NGLs and natural gas on a three-stream basis. On February 21, 2024, Chord agreed to acquire Enerplus Corporation, an independent North American oil and gas company, in a stock-and-cash transaction. Enerplus shareholders would receive 0.10125 Chord shares and $1.84 in cash per share, with closing expected by mid-2024 subject to conditions.

The text does not describe specific customers or end markets beyond the production and sale of crude oil, NGLs and natural gas from North Dakota-area Williston Basin operations. For shareholders, Chord pays a base dividend of $1.25 per share per quarter and has a $750 million repurchase program, with $683.0 million remaining at year-end 2023. It also plans variable dividends tied to a percentage of adjusted free cash flow that depends on leverage. Liquidity at year-end was $1.3 billion, including $318.0 million of cash and $991.1 million of unused capacity under its credit facility.

Chord operates most of its portfolio, with 96% of net proved reserves on operated properties and an average working interest of 76% in operated wells. It relies on scale to drill longer laterals, drill multiple wells from a single pad, and use centralized production and fluid handling facilities. It uses a hedging program, reports no near-term debt maturities, and says it captured substantially all of its North Dakota natural gas production at year-end 2023. Its Audit and Reserves Committee reviews cybersecurity, and a Board ESG Committee oversees its sustainability policies. Reserve estimates are prepared by NSAI, which covers 100% of reserves, with oversight from an internal engineering and geoscience staff.