CALGARY, AB, April 24, 2024 /CNW/ - Whitecap Resources Inc. ("Whitecap" or the "Company") (TSX:WCP) is pleased to report its operating and unaudited financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2024. Selected financial and operating information is outlined below and should be read with Whitecap's unaudited interim consolidated financial statements and related management's discussion and analysis for the three months ended March 31, 2024 which are available at www.sedarplus.ca and on our website at www.wcap.ca. Financial ($ millions except for share amounts and percentages) Three Months ended Mar. 31 2024 2023 Petroleum and natural gas revenues 868.3 883.7 Net income 59.8 262.6   Basic ($/share) 0.10 0.43   Diluted ($/share) 0.10 0.43 Funds flow 1 384.0 448.0   Basic ($/share) 1 0.64 0.74   Diluted ($/share) 1 0.64 0.73 Dividends declared 109.1 87.7   Per share 0.18 0.15 Expenditures on property, plant and equipment 2 393.2 253.6 Free funds flow 1 (9.2) 194.4 Net Debt 1 1,495.4 1,471.1 Operating Average daily production   Crude oil (bbls/d) 88,807 86,276   NGLs (bbls/d) 19,403 16,655   Natural gas (Mcf/d) 368,701 313,159 Total (boe/d) 3 169,660 155,124 Average realized Price 1,4   Crude oil ($/bbl) 89.02 91.73   NGLs ($/bbl) 34.77 47.50   Natural gas ($/Mcf) 2.61 3.56 Petroleum and natural gas revenues ($/boe) 1 56.24 63.30 Operating Netback ($/boe) 1   Petroleum and natural gas revenues1 56.24 63.30   Tariffs 1 (0.44) (0.54)   Processing & other income 1 0.78 0.85   Marketing revenues 1 3.87 4.63 Petroleum and natural gas sales 1 60.45 68.24   Realized gain on commodity contracts 1 0.36 0.65   Royalties 1 (9.43) (11.51)   Operating expenses 1 (14.27) (13.97)   Transportation expenses 1 (2.06) (2.13)   Marketing expenses 1 (3.84) (4.60) Operating netbacks 31.21 36.68 Share information (millions) Common shares outstanding, end of period 598.0 603.0 Weighted average basic shares outstanding 598.0 606.1 Weighted average diluted shares outstanding 601.7 610.8 MESSAGE TO SHAREHOLDERS Whitecap had an exceptional first quarter with average production of 169,660 boe/d (108,210 bbls/d of light oil and liquids and 368,701 mcf/d of natural gas) compared to our forecast of approximately 163,500 boe/d (105,000 bbls/d of light oil and liquids and 351,000 mcf/d of natural gas), an increase of over 6,000 boe/d. This was achieved with lower than expected capital expenditures of $393 million compared to our forecast of approximately $430 million. The first quarter represented the most active in our history. Drilling peaked at 15 rigs during the quarter to spud 96 (88.4 net) wells. We also completed the commissioning and start-up of our owned and operated Musreau battery. First sales volumes were produced through the facility in mid-March, approximately two weeks ahead of schedule and the combined project (including the sales gas pipeline) came in approximately 10% under our budget. Production outperformance continues to exceed our expectations across our West and East Divisions into the second quarter. To reflect this outperformance that we have achieved year to date, we are increasing our annual production guidance by 2,000 boe/d to an updated guidance range of 167,000 – 172,000 boe/d, with no change to our capital budget of $0.9 - $1.1 billion. Our balance sheet is in excellent condition with $1.5 billion of net debt (0.7 times debt to EBITDA ratio5) at quarter end. Continued strengthening of our balance sheet through the second quarter remains a priority for both downside price protection and value enhancing opportunities in the future.   We provide the following first quarter 2024 financial and operating highlights: Funds Flow. First quarter funds flow of $384 million ($0.64 per share) equated to a funds flow netback1 of $24.87 per boe. Strong WTI crude oil prices and a weak Canadian dollar contributed to our strong netback while the wider differentials experienced on Canadian oil prices that persisted through the first quarter have substantially narrowed with the in service date of the Trans Mountain Expansion pipeline now expected in the second quarter. Drilling Program. We spud 96 (88.4 net) wells and brought on production 85 (80.0 net) wells during the first quarter, including 11 (10.5 net) wells in our West Division and 74 (69.5 net) wells in our East Division. Initial results are very strong across both our West and East Divisions, exceeding our internal forecasts on a total production basis and liquids content, particularly from our Glauconite and Montney assets. Return of Capital. First quarter dividends declared of $109 million ($0.18 per share) increased by 24% relative to the first quarter of 2023. Our annual base dividend of $0.73 per share represents a stable return of capital to our shareholders and will be further enhanced through share repurchases using our Normal Course Issuer Bid ("NCIB"). Balance Sheet Strength. Quarter end net debt of $1.5 billion equated to a debt to EBITDA ratio of 0.7 times and an EBITDA to interest expense ratio5 of 27.2 times, both well within our debt covenants of not greater than 4.0 times and not less than 3.5 times, respectively. OPERATIONS UPDATE West Division The progression of our Montney development took a significant step forward with the commissioning and startup of our Musreau battery near the end of the first quarter. Initial sales volumes flowed through the facility approximately two weeks ahead of schedule and initial production rates from our first 4-well (4.0 net) pad at Musreau are higher than anticipated. Tie-in of our second 4-well pad at Musreau was completed in early April and each well on this pad has now been brought on production on a staged basis. At Kakwa, our two recent 3-well pads that were drilled to a wider six wells per section spacing compared to offset wells and previously eight wells per section spacing have continued to achieve strong results. Our most recent 3-well (3.0 net) pad, at 03-21B has produced at average IP(90) rates of 1,830 boe/d (34% liquids) per well, which is 20% above our expectations, matching the early-time outperformance of our adjacent 02-26B 3-well (3.0 net) pad. Based on initial outperformance, the per-section economic return profiles of this asset are strengthened utilizing this updated spacing strategy and we are currently evaluating the applicability to other areas of future Montney and Duvernay development. The 2-well (2.0 net) pad at Lator that was drilled in the back half of 2023 continues to outperform expectations with average IP(150) rates of 1,580 boe/d (42% liquids) per well being 17% above our expectations. Our next two wells at Lator will be drilled in the third quarter this year, while ongoing engineering and commercial work is being advanced to determine the optimal development and infrastructure strategy for our expansive land base at Lator. In the Duvernay at Kaybob we have just completed drilling our third pad, a 3-well (3.0 net) pad which is expected to be brought on production near the end of the second quarter. The three wells on this pad have been drilled with 4,200 metre lateral lengths, our longest Duvernay laterals to date. Our first seven (7.0 net) wells (4-well and 3-well pads) are 22% above our expectations with average IP(150) rates of 1,498 boe/d (35% liquids) per well. We plan to bring eight (8.0 net) Duvernay wells on production in 2024. East Division Our East Division had a very active first quarter, running 11 rigs on average and we brought 74 (69.5 net) wells on production, with an additional 11 (8.3 net) wells from our first quarter program planned to be brought on production by mid-May. Production outperformance across multiple areas allowed us to offset the negative impacts that adverse weather conditions had on our drilling program and production in the quarter. Strong results from our first quarter drilling program include four (3.9 net) Glauconite wells, a three-well (2.9 net) pad and a single (1.0 net) infill well. All four wells are producing significantly above initial expectations and have been aided by increased infrastructure access in the area. We are in the process of drilling 5 (4.8 net) Glauconite wells through breakup with 2 (2.0 net) wells to be brought on by the end of the second quarter. In East Saskatchewan, we drilled 17 (15.7 net) wells in the first quarter, including 11 (10.3 net) triple leg horizontal wells targeting the Frobisher formation. Early time results on our Frobisher program are tracking above our type curve for the area. Efficiency improvements by drilling dual and triple-leg wells are notable and the significant majority of our 2024 program will utilize multi-laterals in the Frobisher. OUTLOOK 2024 is off to a great start with March production volumes averaging over 175,000 boe/d as a result of our Musreau battery coming online as well as from high flush volumes from our first quarter drilling program in both the West and East Divisions. We are particularly excited about our first 4-well (4.0 net) Musreau pad, with initial results exceeding our expectations for the area. Musreau was identified as key acreage in our 2022 XTO acquisition and upcoming development is expected to generate top tier economics. We ...