HOUSTON, Feb. 25, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Carrizo Oil & Gas, Inc. (Nasdaq:CRZO)today announced the Company's financial results for the fourth quarter of 2013, proved oil and gas reserves for year-end 2013 and provided an operational update, which included the following highlights:

  • Record Oil Production of 13,033 Bbls/d, 44% above the fourth quarter of 2012
  • Oil Revenue of $110.2 million, representing 85% of total revenue, and 36% above the fourth quarter of 2012
  • Net Loss from continuing operations of $22.2 million, or $0.52 per diluted share, and Adjusted Net Income (as defined below) of $17.0 million, or $0.39 per diluted share
  • Adjusted EBITDA (as defined below) of $101.2 million, 8% above the fourth quarter of 2012
  • Delivered 485% reserve replacement from all sources at a drill-bit F&D cost of $10.93 per Boe
  • Reiterating 2014 crude oil production growth target of 50%

Carrizo reported a fourth quarter of 2013 net loss from continuing operations of $22.2 million, or $0.52 per basic and diluted share as compared to net income from continuing operations of $16.8 million, or $0.42 per basic and diluted share in the fourth quarter of 2012. The net loss from continuing operations for the fourth quarter of 2013 includes certain items typically excluded from published estimates by the investment community. Adjusted net income, which excludes the impact of these items as described in the statements of operations included below, for the fourth quarter of 2013 was $17.0 million, or $0.40 and $0.39 per basic and diluted share, respectively, compared to $21.7 million, or $0.55 and $0.54 per basic and diluted share, respectively, in the fourth quarter of 2012.

For the fourth quarter of 2013, adjusted earnings before interest, income taxes, depreciation, and depletion and amortization, as described in the statements of operations included below ("Adjusted EBITDA"), was $101.2 million, an increase of 8% from the prior year quarter.

Production volumes during the fourth quarter of 2013 were 2,279 MBoe, or 24,772 Boe/d, a decrease of 4% from the fourth quarter of 2012. The decrease in production volumes during the quarter was due to the sale of the Company's remaining oil and gas properties in the Barnett Shale on October 31, 2013. Adjusting for the sale of the Barnett Shale, production increased 31% versus the prior year quarter. Oil production during the quarter averaged 13,033 Bbls/d, while natural gas and NGL production averaged 70,435 Mcfe/d. Thanks to continued strong performance from the Company's Eagle Ford Shale assets, fourth quarter oil production exceeded the high-end of Company guidance despite more than 400 Bbls/d of weather-related downtime in the Niobrara.

Drilling and completion capital expenditures for the fourth quarter of 2013 were $124.1 million. Approximately 68% of the fourth quarter drilling and completion spending was in the Eagle Ford Shale. Land and seismic expenditures during the quarter were $90.7 million, with the majority of the spending used for the acquisition of Avista Capital's interest in a portion of the Company's Utica Shale acreage. For 2014, Carrizo's drilling and completion capital expenditure plan is unchanged at $650.0-$670.0 million. The Company's 2014 land and seismic capital expenditure plan is also unchanged at $75.0 million. Carrizo expects to allocate the vast majority of this capital to acreage acquisitions in the Eagle Ford and Utica shales.

Carrizo is maintaining its 2014 oil production guidance of 17,000-17,800 Bbls/d. Using the midpoint of this range, the Company's 2014 oil production growth guidance equates to 50%. For natural gas and NGLs, Carrizo is also maintaining its 2014 guidance of 67-75 MMcfe/d. For the first quarter of 2014, Carrizo expects oil production to be 14,100-14,500 Bbls/d and natural gas and NGL production to be 60-66 MMcfe/d. A summary of Carrizo's production and cost guidance is provided in the attached tables.

S.P. "Chip" Johnson, IV, Carrizo's President and CEO, commented on the results, "This was another outstanding quarter for Carrizo and it caps one of the best years in our history. For the quarter, we once again delivered crude oil production growth that exceeded our forecast despite challenging winter weather. This brought our full-year 2013 crude oil production growth to 48%."

"We began our shift from gas to oil back in 2010, and I'm pleased to say that we've now completed the transition. Crude oil now accounts for more than 60% of our proved reserves, and even though we sold almost 45% of our 2012 U.S. reserve base through our Barnett Shale and other non-core divestitures, we were still able to increase our PV-10 by 44% in 2013. Oil also now accounts for the majority of our production, as we expect it to be approximately 60% of 2014 volumes."

"We are well positioned to deliver continued strong production growth. We have a deep inventory of oily drilling locations in the Eagle Ford Shale, Utica Shale, and Niobrara Formation, and the balance sheet to develop them. At year-end, our net-debt-to-adjusted EBITDA ratio was below 2.0x, and we have significant liquidity with an undrawn revolver and more than $150 million of cash on hand."

"We continue to be very pleased with the performance of our initial Utica Shale well in Guernsey County, Ohio. The well has been producing for approximately 48 days, and continues to flow at a stabilized rate of more than 500 Bbls/d of condensate, which puts it above our type curve. We plan to move a rig into the Utica next month to begin our 2014 drilling program in the play."

2013 Proved Reserves

The Company's proved reserves as of December 31, 2013 were 101.5 million barrels of oil equivalent ("MMBoe"), a 60% increase over year-end 2012 after adjusting for divestitures, including a record 62.0 million barrels ("MMBbls") of crude oil, a 63% increase over year-end 2012 after adjusting for divestitures. The Company's PV-10 value was a record $2.0 billion as of December 31, 2013.

The table below summarizes the Company's year-end 2013 proved reserves and PV-10 by region as determined by the Company's independent reservoir engineers, Ryder Scott Company, L.P. in accordance with Securities and Exchange Commission guidelines, using pricing for the twelve months ended December 31, 2013 based on the West Texas Intermediate benchmark crude oil price of $96.78/Bbl and the Henry Hub benchmark natural gas price of $3.67/MMBtu, before adjustment for differentials.

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