Enerplus Corporation (NYSE:ERF) Q3 2023 Earnings Conference Call November 3, 2023 11:00 AM ET

Company Participants

Drew Mair - Investor Relations

Ian Dundas - President & Chief Executive Officer

Wade Hutchings - Senior Vice-President & Chief Operating Officer

Jodine Jenson Labrie - Senior Vice-President & Chief Financial Officer

Conference Call Participants

Justin Ho - RBC Capital Markets

Patrick O'Rourke - ATB Capital Markets

James Kubik - CIBC

Operator

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Enerplus Q3 2023 Results Conference Call. At this time, all lines are in a listen-only mode. But following the presentation we will conduct a question-and-answer session. [Operator Instructions]. Also note that this call is being recorded on Friday, November 3, 2023.

And now I'd like to turn the conference over to Drew Mair. Please go ahead, sir.

Drew Mair

Thank you, operator, and good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining the call. Before we get started, please take note of the advisories located at the end of our third quarter news release. Our financials have been prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Our production volumes are reported on a net after deduction of royalty basis. And our financial figures are in U.S. dollars, unless otherwise specified.

I'm here this morning with Ian Dundas, our President and Chief Executive Officer; Wade Hutchings, Senior VP and Chief Operating Officer; Jodi Jenson Labrie, Senior VP and Chief Financial Officer; Garth Doll, VP Marketing; and Shaina Morihira, VP, Finance. Following our discussion, we will open up the call for questions.

With that, I will turn it over to Ian.

Ian Dundas

Good morning, everyone. Our positive operating momentum this year continued through the third quarter. Liquids production was up 14% sequentially, outperforming our forecast. Once again, underpinning this production performance is strong well productivity from our core Bakken position. The outperformance of our wells has taken our annual production forecast higher, and we have increased our 2023 production guidance. The guidance update points to an increase in annual total production of 2,000 BOE per day, and liquids production of 1,000 barrels per day at the midpoint.

Adjusting for the divestment of our Canadian assets last year, the midpoint of our guidance is moving to 7% year-over-year liquids production growth in 2023. This is the second consecutive year of exceeding our stated 3% to 5% annual liquids growth projection, and has positioned us meaningfully ahead of the five year plan we rolled out in 2021. Although anticipated to be modestly lower, we expect fourth quarter liquids production to remain resilient through the end of the year, and are guiding to Q4 liquids volumes of 60,500 to 64,500 barrels per day. This will leave us well positioned as we enter 2024.