In May 2012, Summit closed the sale of all of its operated properties in North Dakota and all of its Montana properties for cash proceeds of approximately US$70 million. This disposition included approximately 900 Boe/d of production and 42 net sections of land. During the first quarter of 2013, Summit closed the sale of its non-operated joint venture operations and lands in North Dakota for aggregate gross proceeds of US$22.5 million, subject to closing adjustments. This disposition included approximately 200 Boe/d of production and undeveloped land. With the closing of these transactions, substantially all of Paramount's US assets and operations have been sold.
Combined with the 2011 sale of undeveloped land in the United States for US$40 million, approximately US$130 million in cash proceeds has been realized from the sale of US properties, significantly in excess of the book value of these assets.
Southern COU sales volumes decreased 18 percent to 2,814 Boe/d in 2012 compared to 3,424 Boe/d in 2011, mainly as a result of the disposition of the operated US properties in May. Wells drilled in 2012 include three (2.2 net) wells in Harmattan in southern Alberta, one of which was completed and is scheduled to be brought-on production in the second quarter of 2013.
Plans for the Southern COU's properties in 2013 consist primarily of routine maintenance and production optimization programs.
Northern 2012 2011 % Change------------------------------------------------------------------------Sales Volumes Natural gas (MMcf/d) 8.3 10.3 (19) NGLs (Bbl/d) 29 19 53 Oil (Bbl/d) 235 343 (31) ---------------------------- Total (Boe/d) 1,657 2,073 (20) ----------------------------Exploration and Development Expenditures ($ millions) Exploration, drilling, completions and tie-ins 21.2 21.8 (6) Facilities and gathering 6.9 3.4 103 ---------------------------- 28.1 25.2 9 ---------------------------- Gross Net Gross Net ----------------------------Total Land Holdings (sections) 962 690 959 592Wells Drilled 3 3.0 2 2.0------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sales volumes in the Northern COU were 1,657 Boe/d in 2012, 20 percent lower than 2011, as a result of natural declines at Cameron Hills and Bistcho and second quarter processing disruptions at the Bistcho plant.
Paramount's initial well at Birch in Northeast British Columbia was brought on-stream in December 2012 following the completion of modifications to surface facilities. Two additional wells drilled in 2012 have been completed and tied-in. The Company has 3 MMcf/d of raw gas processing capacity at Birch, and is currently working to optimize production from these wells. In the third quarter, Paramount drilled a vertical evaluation well at Birch to evaluate the lower Montney formation and preserve surrounding mineral rights.
