HCLP: This is great news!

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dan_s
Posts: 34648
Joined: Fri Apr 23, 2010 8:22 am

HCLP: This is great news!

Post by dan_s »

HCLP and EMES have pulled back with oil prices because of concerns that drilling budgets will be cut. Demand for frac sand is "White Hot" today and even if drilling budgets are cut 10% to 15%, the demand for frac sand will still be "Red Hot". The E&P companies are getting much better results by using a lot more sand. This will be a theme many of the E&P companies talk about on their Q3 conference calls. I have seen reports that completed well costs per boe of proven reserves being added has dropped by as much as 30% in the last year, primarily because of longer laterals, tighter frac spreads and using more sand.

I do not think drilling budgets will be cut unless WTI drops to $80 and stays there for at least six months. Drilling schedules are not turned on and off with a switch. A lot of long-term commitment and logistics for rigs and other oilfield services are needed to carry out drilling programs and they are not changed unless their is a very significant change in the outlook for commodity prices.

Halliburton is one of the leading companies in horizontal well completions. They would not make a commitment like the one below unless they have a lot of confidence in the demand for their services. Regardless of why they did it, this is GREAT NEWS for HCLP.
Dan
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Houston, Texas - October 9, 2014 - Hi-Crush Partners LP (NYSE: HCLP), or Hi-Crush, today announced an amendment of its long-term frac sand purchase agreement between Hi-Crush Operating LLC, a subsidiary of Hi-Crush, and Halliburton Energy Services, Inc., or Halliburton. The amendment to the agreement, which requires Halliburton to pay a specified price for a specified minimum volume of frac sand each month, increases the annual minimum committed volumes through December 31, 2018. The agreement continues to provide for further significant increases in annual volumes dependent on Halliburton's aggregate annual demand for Northern White frac sand.

"Halliburton has been an important partner to Hi-Crush since the inception of our operations. We continue to broaden our relationship with Halliburton by increasing the volumes we sell to them," said James M. Whipkey, Co-Chief Executive Officer of Hi-Crush. "This most recent contract announcement brings our total aggregate contracted volumes in 2015 to 6.6 million tons. As previously announced, our sponsor has started the permitting process for development of a fourth Northern White frac sand production facility to meet the growing demand for our sand. In addition, we are adding expanded silo storage capacity at several of our distribution facilities to allow for even more efficient delivery of frac sand to our customers."

During 2014, Hi-Crush has announced several new contracts and contract amendments, increasing committed volumes in 2015 under long-term contracts from 2.4 million tons to 6.6 million tons. All of the Hi-Crush sand supply agreements are for specified volumes of frac sand at specified prices, known in the industry as "take-or-pay" contracts. The average remaining life of the contracts has been extended from 2.8 years as of January 1, 2014 to 4.5 years as of today. Hi-Crush is also expanding silo storage capacity in the Marcellus and Utica shales by more than 70,000 tons, which will result in over 100,000 tons of silo storage capacity in this region.

"Our business model from inception has been based on long-term relationships," said Robert E. Rasmus, Co-Chief Executive Officer of Hi-Crush. "Our low cost production and focus on both superior customer service and long-term contract execution protect our cash flows, as well as provide our unitholders with meaningful visibility to support our guidance of continued double digit annual increases in our distribution."
Dan Steffens
Energy Prospectus Group
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