NEC - Q1-09 Financial Results
Norse Energy Corp. ASA ("NEC" ticker code OSE - NEC, Oslo, Norway, U.S OTC symbol "NSEEF") reports its first quarter 2009 results. Production rates have increased rapidly in the US, while Manati production in Brazil declined in the quarter, mainly caused by temporary softer gas demand. First Quarter Highlights and Subsequent Events • Production was 3,685 BOE/day in Q1-09 with the decline from 4,223 BOE/day in the fourth quarter primarily explained by lower off-take from the Manati gas field and the closing of the Coral field. Production increased in the US, and will continue to increase as more wells come online and the infrastructure capacity at our tie-in points into interstate pipelines is being upgraded. • EBITDA for the first quarter was USD 0.25 million, up from USD -6.8 million in the fourth quarter 2008. This is primarily due to increased EBITDA contribution from our US E&P operations, reduced general and administrative costs and reduced production costs from the Coral field in Brazil that is no longer producing. • Net loss for the first quarter was USD -2.2 million, compared to a net loss of USD -25.3 million in the previous quarter. Net financial items amounted to USD -4.7 million in the first quarter. In the previous quarter net financial items were USD 1.4 million. The increase in net financial cost compared to prior quarter is mainly due to that the effect of the warrants was only USD 0.3 million this quarter compared to USD 11.2 prior quarter. This effect was partially offset by a foreign exchange loss of USD 5.8 million. • In the US, two of the five Herkimer wells drilled in the quarter showed initial production rates as high as 2,500 – 3,000 Mcf (445 – 535 BOE) per day. • An additional 1.93 Bcf (~344,000 BOE) of our US gas production was hedged over a three-year period at 5.72 USD/MMBtu. • Drilling of the Cravo prospect (BCAM-40) was completed in April, with the main target in the Sergi sandstone reservoir water bearing. The well was consequently plugged and abandoned. • Norse Energy do Brasil in April accepted an offer from Petrobras and Queiroz Galvão Oil & Gas to take over the company's 18.33 percent participating interest in block BM-CAL-5 in Brazil (the Copaiba discovery and Jequitiba prospect). • During the quarter, Norse Energy Corp. ASA hired Pareto Securities to act as advisor to evaluate strategic opportunities for its Camamu-Almada assets, including BCAM-40 (Manati). Please find attached the first quarter report and the investor presentation. The presentation will be broadcasted live on webcast from Shippingklubben in Oslo from 08:30. For further information please contact: Anders Kapstad, CFO Cell: +47 918 17 442 E-mail: akapstad@norseenergy.com Jonas Gamre, Investor Relations Cell: +47 97 11 82 92 E-mail: jgamre@norseenergy.com