QUESTAR MARKET RESOURCES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES |
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS |
| | | | |
| | June 30, | December 31, | |
| | 2002 | 2001 | |
| | (Unaudited) | | |
| | | | |
| | (In Thousands) | |
| ASSETS | | | |
| Current assets | | | |
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ 1,355 | $ 2,270 | |
| Notes receivable from Questar Corp. | 27,800 | 9,500 | |
| Accounts receivable, net | 87,438 | 98,303 | |
| Fair value of hedging contracts | 13,015 | 55,593 | |
| Inventories, at lower of average cost or market - | | | |
| Gas and oil storage | 3,411 | 14,245 | |
| Materials and supplies | 4,234 | 5,127 | |
| Prepaid expenses and other | 7,185 | 11,661 | |
| | | | |
| Total current assets | 144,438 | 196,699 | |
| | | | |
| Property, plant and equipment | 2,043,169 | 1,979,164 | |
| Less accumulated depreciation, depletion and amortization | 778,349 | 731,330 | |
| | | | |
| Net property, plant and equipment | 1,264,820 | 1,247,834 | |
| | | | |
| Investment in unconsolidated affiliates | 22,803 | 23,829 | |
| Goodwill | 66,823 | 66,823 | |
| Cash held in escrow account | 5,213 | | |
| Other | 4,205 | 3,279 | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | $ 1,508,302 | $ 1,538,464 | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDER'S EQUITY | | | |
| Current liabilities | | | |
| Notes payable to Questar Corp. | $ 175,900 | $ 275,100 | |
| Accounts payable and accrued expenses | 122,824 | 133,053 | |
| Current portion of long-term debt | 21,526 | 1,696 | |
| Fair value of hedging contracts | 10,157 | 5,323 | |
| | | | |
| Total current liabilities | 330,407 | 415,172 | |
| | | | |
| Long-term debt, less current portion | 459,460 | 402,226 | |
| Other liabilities | 11,840 | 11,244 | |
| Deferred income taxes | 167,947 | 175,024 | |
| Minority interest | 8,034 | 8,369 | |
| Common shareholder's equity | | | |
| Common stock | 4,309 | 4,309 | |
| Additional paid-in capital | 116,027 | 116,027 | |
| Retained earnings | 415,023 | 383,254 | |
| Other comprehensive income (loss) | (4,745) | 22,839 | |
| | | | |
| Total common shareholder's equity | 530,614 | 526,429 | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | $ 1,508,302 | $ 1,538,464 | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| See notes to the consolidated financial statements | | | |
|
QUESTAR MARKET RESOURCES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES |
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS |
(Unaudited) |
| | | |
| 6 Months Ended | |
| June 30, | |
| 2002 | 2001 | |
| | | |
| (In Thousands) | |
OPERATING ACTIVITIES | | | |
Net income | $ 40,419 | $ 58,979 | |
Depreciation, depletion and amortization | 60,232 | 42,675 | |
Deferred income taxes | 9,110 | 8,263 | |
Abandonment and impairment of gas and oil properties | 1,055 | 2,595 | |
(Income) loss from unconsolidated affiliates, net | | | |
of cash distributions and minority interest | 834 | (127) | |
Gain from sale of properties | (4,828) | (10,591) | |
Changes in operating assets and liabilities | 15,212 | 65,727 | |
| | | |
NET CASH PROVIDED FROM | | | |
OPERATING ACTIVITIES | 122,034 | 167,521 | |
| | | |
INVESTING ACTIVITIES | | | |
Capital expenditures | (78,316) | (80,211) | |
Proceeds from disposition of property, plant and | | | |
Equipment | 10,793 | 27,210 | |
| | | |
NET CASH USED IN INVESTING ACTIVITIES | (67,523) | (53,001) | |
| | | |
| | | |
FINANCING ACTIVITIES | | | |
Increase in notes receivable from Questar Corp. | (18,300) | (29,000) | |
Decrease in notes payable to Questar Corp. | (99,200) | (42,100) | |
Decrease in short-term loans | | (12,500) | |
Checks outstanding in excess of cash balance | | 2,399 | |
(Increase) decrease in cash balance in escrow account | (5,213) | 5,387 | |
Long-term debt issued | 200,000 | 185,000 | |
Long-term debt repaid | (124,454) | (221,446) | |
Other | 308 | 2,446 | |
Payment of dividends | (8,650) | (8,650) | |
| | | |
NET CASH USED IN FINANCING ACTIVITIES | (55,509) | (118,464) | |
| | | |
Foreign currency translation adjustment | 83 | (36) | |
| | | |
Change in cash and cash equivalents | (915) | (3,980) | |
Beginning cash and cash equivalents | 2,270 | 3,980 | |
| | | |
| | | |
Ending cash and cash equivalents | $ 1,355 | $ - | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
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See notes to the consolidated financial statements |
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QUESTAR MARKET RESOURCES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES |
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS |
June 30, 2002 |
(Unaudited) |
|
Note 1 - Basis of Presentation |
|
The interim financial statements reflect all adjustments which are, in the opinion of management, necessary for a fair presentation of the results of operations for the interim period presented. All such adjustments are of a normal recurring nature. The results of operations for the three- and six-month periods ended June 30, 2002 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ending December 31, 2002. For further information refer to the consolidated financial statements and footnotes thereto included in the Company's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2001. |
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Note 2 - New Accounting Standards |
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Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets |
Statement of Financial Accounting Standards 142 "Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets" (SFAS 142) was issued in June 2001. SFAS 142 addresses, among other things, the financial accounting and reporting for goodwill subsequent to an acquisition. According to the new standard, amortization of goodwill was replaced by a requirement to test goodwill for impairment at least yearly or sooner if a specific triggering event occurs. QMR acquired $66.8 million of goodwill on July 31, 2001, which was exempt from amortization under the new guidelines in SFAS 142. The company adopted the remaining provisions of SFAS 142 as of January 1, 2002 and completed an initial impairment test with no indication of impairment. |
|
Impairment or Disposal of Long-Lived Assets |
The Company adopted SFAS 144 "Accounting for the Impairment or Disposal of Long-Lived Assets" as of January 1, 2002, without an impact in the balance sheet, income statement or statement of cash flows. |
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Note 3 - Investment in Unconsolidated Affiliates |
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QMR, indirectly through subsidiaries, has interests in businesses accounted for on the equity basis. These entities are engaged primarily in gathering and processing of natural gas. As of June 30, 2002, these affiliates did not have debt obligations with third-party lenders. The principal businesses, form of organization and percentage ownership were Canyon Creek Compression Co., a general partnership, (15%), Blacks Fork Gas Processing Co., a general partnership, (50%) and Rendezvous Gas Services LLC, a limited liability corporation, (50%). The Company has 50% or less voting interest in each business. |
|
Summarized operating results of the investments are listed below. |
| | | | |
| 6 Months Ended | |
| June 30, | | |
| 2002 | 2001 | | |
| | |
| (In Thousands) | |
| | | | |
Revenues | $ 10,550 | $ 14,793 | | |
Operating income | 2,763 | 466 | | |
Income before income taxes | 2,800 | 666 | | |
|
Note 4 - Operations By Line of Business |
|
| 3 Months Ended | 6 Months Ended |
| June 30, | June 30, |
| 2002 | 2001 | 2002 | 2001 |
| |
| (In Thousands) |
REVENUES FROM UNAFFILIATED CUSTOMERS | | | |
Exploration and production | $ 72,198 | $ 64,733 | $ 139,467 | $ 143,053 |
Cost of service | 955 | 2,976 | 3,537 | 8,042 |
Gathering, processing and marketing | 50,392 | 84,348 | 105,699 | 231,827 |
| | | | |
| $ 123,545 | $ 152,057 | $ 248,703 | $ 382,922 |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
REVENUES FROM AFFILIATED COMPANIES | | | |
Exploration and production | $ 415 | $ | $ 1,170 | $ 4 |
Cost of service | 26,172 | 22,691 | 50,101 | 46,066 |
Gathering, processing and marketing | 2,352 | 1,994 | 5,639 | 6,596 |
| | | | |
| $ 28,939 | $ 24,685 | $ 56,910 | $ 52,666 |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
DEPRECIATION, DEPLETION AND AMORTIZATION EXPENSE | | | |
Exploration and production | $ 21,381 | $ 16,395 | $ 43,940 | $ 32,095 |
Cost of service | 5,364 | 3,646 | 10,543 | 7,414 |
Gathering, processing and marketing | 1,609 | 1,435 | 3,155 | 2,806 |
| | | | |
| $ 28,354 | $ 21,476 | $ 57,638 | $ 42,315 |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
OPERATING INCOME | | | | |
Exploration and production | $ 22,924 | $ 22,959 | $ 36,420 | $ 60,763 |
Cost of service | 13,338 | 10,289 | 26,222 | 20,778 |
Gathering, processing and marketing | 1,736 | 1,520 | 4,019 | 6,302 |
| | | | |
| $ 37,998 | $ 34,768 | $ 66,661 | $ 87,843 |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
NET INCOME | | | | |
Exploration and production | $ 13,922 | $ 13,243 | $ 22,668 | $ 41,341 |
Cost of service | 7,858 | 6,487 | 15,481 | 13,071 |
Gathering, processing and marketing | 1,037 | 905 | 2,270 | 4,567 |
| | | | |
| $ 22,817 | $ 20,635 | $ 40,419 | $ 58,979 |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
FIXED ASSETS - NET, at period end | | | | |
Exploration and production | $ 972,054 | $ 494,455 | | |
Cost of service | 197,026 | 167,680 | | |
Gathering, processing and marketing | 95,740 | 92,361 | | |
| | | | |
| $ 1,264,820 | $ 754,496 | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION REVENUES | | | | |
United States | $ 144,575 | $ 165,423 | $ 291,433 | $ 410,923 |
Canada | 7,909 | 11,319 | 14,180 | 24,665 |
| | | | |
| $ 152,484 | $ 176,742 | $ 305,613 | $ 435,588 |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
FIXED ASSETS - NET, at period end | | | | |
United States | $ 1,187,101 | $ 670,022 | | |
Canada | 77,719 | 84,474 | | |
| | | | |
| $ 1,264,820 | $ 754,496 | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
Note 5 - Comprehensive Income |
|
Comprehensive income is the sum of net income as reported in the Consolidated Statements of Income and other comprehensive income transactions reported in Shareholder's Equity. Other comprehensive income transactions result from changes in the fair value of energy price hedging contracts and interest rate hedging contracts, and changes in the carrying value of foreign investments caused by foreign currency translation adjustments. These transactions are not the culmination of the earnings process, but result from periodically adjusting historical balances to fair value. Income or loss is realized when the gas or oil underlying the hedging contracts is sold. Interest expense is adjusted quarterly for the difference between the variable rate on the debt instruments and the fixed rate interest swaps. |
| | | | |
| 3 Months Ended | 6 Months Ended |
| June 30, | June 30, |
| 2002 | 2001 | 2002 | 2001 |
| | | |
| (In Thousands) |
| | | | |
Net income | $ 22,817 | $ 20,635 | $ 40,419 | $ 58,979 |
Other comprehensive income (loss) | | | | |
Unrealized income (loss) on hedging transactions | 3,914 | 55,128 | (45,859) | 3,028 |
Foreign currency translation adjustments | 2,342 | 1,831 | 2,239 | (438) |
| | | | |
Other comprehensive income (loss) before income | | | | |
Taxes | 6,256 | 56,959 | (43,620) | 2,590 |
Income taxes | 2,721 | 21,642 | (16,036) | 877 |
| | | | |
Net other comprehensive income (loss) | 3,535 | 35,317 | (27,584) | 1,713 |
| | | | |
Total comprehensive income | $ 26,352 | $ 55,952 | $ 12,835 | $ 60,692 |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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Note 6 - Financing |
|
As part of a program to refinance its short-term debt following the 2001 acquisition of Shenandoah Energy Inc. (SEI), QMR issued $200 million of notes in a private placement on January 16, 2002. The notes mature in five years and have a coupon rate of 7%. Subsequently, the private placement notes were registered with the SEC and exchange notes with the same terms were issued in April 2002. |
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Note 7 - Reclassifications |
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Certain reclassifications were made to the 2001 financial statements to conform with the 2002 presentation. |
Item 2. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations |
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QUESTAR MARKET RESOURCES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES |
June 30, 2002 |
(Unaudited) |
|
Operating Results |
|
Questar Market Resources (QMR or the Company) through its subsidiaries conducts gas and oil exploration, development and production, gas gathering and processing, and energy marketing operations. Wexpro, a subsidiary of QMR, conducts cost of service development of gas reserves on behalf of Questar Gas, an affiliated company. Following is a summary of QMR's financial results and operating information. |
|
| 3 Months Ended | 6 Months Ended |
| June 30, | June 30, |
| 2002 | 2001 | 2002 | 2001 |
| | | | |
FINANCIAL RESULTS - (In thousands) | | | | |
Revenues | | | | |
From unaffiliated customers | $ 23,545 | $ 152,057 | $ 248,703 | $ 382,922 |
From affiliates | 28,939 | 24,685 | 56,910 | 52,666 |
| | | | |
Total revenues | $ 152,484 | $ 176,742 | $ 305,613 | $ 435,588 |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
Operating income | $ 37,998 | $ 34,768 | $ 66,661 | $ 87,843 |
Net income | 22,817 | 20,635 | 40,419 | 58,979 |
| | | | |
OPERATING STATISTICS | | | | |
Nonregulated production volumes | | | | |
Natural gas (in million cubic feet) | 19,856 | 15,844 | 39,863 | 31,631 |
Oil and natural gas liquids (in thousands of barrels) | 736 | 522 | 1,483 | 1,017 |
| | | | |
Average daily production (in million cubic feet | | | | |
equivalent) | 267 | 209 | 269 | 208 |
| | | |
Nonregulated production revenue (average selling price) | | | |
Natural gas (per thousand cubic feet) | $ 2.55 | $ 3.31 | $ 2.49 | $ 3.74 |
Oil and natural gas liquids (per barrel) | $ 20.60 | $ 20.36 | $ 19.72 | $ 20.91 |
| | | | |
Wexpro investment base at June 30, net of deferred | | | | |
income taxes (in millions) | $ 161.4 | $ 127.2 | | |
| | | | |
Marketing volumes | | | | |
(in thousands of energy equivalent decatherms) | 20,111 | 23,524 | 42,576 | 47,552 |
| | |
Natural gas gathering volumes (in thousands of | | | | |
decatherms) | | | | |
For unaffiliated customers | 22,134 | 24,526 | 46,038 | 46,611 |
For Questar Gas | 9,782 | 8,695 | 22,005 | 18,906 |
For other affiliated customers | 9,265 | 6,601 | 16,652 | 13,400 |
| | | | |
Total gathering | 41,181 | 39,822 | 84,695 | 78,917 |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
Gathering revenue (per decatherm) | $ 0.15 | $ 0.13 | $ 0.14 | $ 0.13 |
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Revenues |
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The effect of increased production quantities was more than offset by lower energy prices resulting in decreased revenues reported in the 2002 periods presented when compared with the 2001 periods. Nonregulated natural gas, oil and other liquids production increased 28% to 24.3 billion cubic feet equivalent (Bcfe) in the second quarter and 29% to 48.8 Bcfe in the first half of 2002. QMR purchased producing properties in eastern Utah in July 2001, which accounted for a significant portion of the production growth. Also, QMR continued successful development-drilling programs on the Pinedale Anticline near Pinedale, Wyoming and on the Uinta Basin properties in eastern Utah. QMR shut-in approximately 1.5 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of Rockies production during the second quarter due to poor regional pricing. |
|
The average realized selling price for natural gas declined 23% from $3.31 to $2.55 per thousand cubic feet (Mcf), net to the well, in the second quarter comparison. QMR generally sells its equity gas production at first-of-the-month price indexes. The "Inside FERC" first-of-the-month Rockies index dropped 44% between April and June. Rockies spot prices fell below $1 per MMBtu in the second quarter of 2002. In the summer there is a substantial decrease in demand for gas in the Rockies and this year gas supplies have generally exceeded the pipeline capacity to move gas to markets out of the area. The Company's realized prices are lower than index prices by $.15 to $.55 per Mcf, due to gathering and processing costs. |
|
QMR hedged or pre-sold approximately 11.1 Bcf of natural gas production during the second quarter of 2002 at an average price of $3.08 per Mcf, net to the well. In the first half of 2002, hedging benefited QMR by incrementally adding $19.5 million to gas revenues but decreased oil revenues by $1.6 million. A summary of QMR's energy-price hedging positions for equity gas and oil production, excluding Wexpro, follows. QMR does not hedge sales of natural gas liquids. |
| | | | | |
| Net revenue interest production under price-hedging contracts | Average price net to the well | |
| (bbl = barrel) | |
| | |
| Gas (Bcf) | Oil (bbl) | Gas per Mcf | Oil per bbl | |
| | | | | |
3rd quarter of 2002 | 10.3 | 506,000 | $3.02 | $22.82 | |
4th quarter of 2002 | 9.7 | 506,000 | $3.45 | $22.82 | |
12 months of 2003 | 27.6 | 1,095,000 | $3.30 | $21.80 | |
12 months of 2004 | 14.5 | none | $3.23 | | |
| | | | | |
Marketing revenues also suffered from the decline in energy prices in 2002. However, the margin in 2002 improved when contract obligations were fulfilled by substituting gas purchased on the spot market for shut-in production. The margin, representing revenues less the costs to purchase gas and oil and transportation of gas, increased by $2.3 million when comparing the second quarter of 2002 with the corresponding period in 2001. |
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Expenses |
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Operating and maintenance expenses, which include general overhead charges, increased in the 2002 periods when compared with the 2001 periods because of the addition of producing properties, including the SEI acquisition that was completed July 31, 2001. In the first half of 2002, lease operating expenses (LOE) increased $6.1 million, gas-processing and gathering charges increased $4.9 million and general overhead costs were up $5.2 million over the first half of 2001. The average lifting cost (LOE plus production taxes) dropped to $.69 per energy equivalent Mcf (Mcfe) in 2002 from $.88 Mcfe primarily because of increased production volumes. Exploration expenses increased as a result of drilling dry exploratory wells. Abandonments declined in 2002 because of reduced leasehold impairments. |
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Depreciation, depletion and amortization (DD&A) expense increased 36% in the comparison of the first half of 2002 with the prior year period. Equity production volumes increased 29% and the average DD&A rate increased from $.84 per Mcfe in 2001 to $.87 in 2002. Production and other taxes decreased following the decline of gas and oil prices. |
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Debt expense rose 91% in the first half of 2002 because of increased borrowing to finance the acquisition of SEI. Short-term interest rates were lower in 2002 when compared with 2001, partially offsetting the effect of higher debt balances. |
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The effective income tax rate for the first half of the year was 34.7% in 2002 and 35.9% in 2001. The Company recognized $2.2 million of non-conventional fuel tax credits in the 2002 period and $2.4 million in the 2001 period. |
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Other income |
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QMR sold gas and oil properties in the San Juan Basin and Wyoming resulting in pretax gains of $4.8 million in the first half of 2002. Sales of properties in Oklahoma and Texas generated a pretax gain of $10.6 million in the 2001 period. A $4.5 million settlement of a lawsuit resulted in an after-tax gain of $2.8 million in the second quarter of 2002. Rendezvous LLC began processing and gathering operations in the fourth quarter of 2001 and accounted for a $.6 million increase in earnings from unconsolidated affiliates. |
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Wexpro's earnings |
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Wexpro's net income was $ 2.4 million higher in 2002. Wexpro's investment base, net of deferred income taxes, in gas-development projects grew $34.2 million from the level reported at June 30, 2001. Wexpro conducts cost of service development of gas reserves on behalf of Questar Gas. Cost of service refers to Wexpro's legal entitlement to reimbursement of its costs and approved return on investment for operating the gas-development properties. |
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Liquidity and Capital Resources |
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Operating Activities |
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Net cash provided from operating activities in the first half of 2002 was $45.5 million less than the net cash flow generated in the first half of 2001. The 2001 period benefited from higher net income, the release of cash deposited as collateral for qualifying hedging contracts, and the collection of receivables. |
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Investing Activities |
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Capital expenditures amounted to $78.3 million in the first half of 2002. Capital expenditures for calendar year 2002 are forecast to reach $190 million. |
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Financing Activities |
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Net cash flow from operating activities was more than sufficient to finance first half 2002 capital expenditures. The excess cash flow plus the proceeds from issuing $200 million of five-year, 7% notes in January 2002 were used to repay $223.7 million of debt. The issuance of long-term debt was part of a financing plan that QMR has undertaken since acquiring SEI. QMR expects to finance remaining 2002 capital expenditures and reduce its debt using net cash flow provided from operating activities and the proceeds from selling assets. |
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Moody's Reviews Possible Downgrade of Debt Ratings |
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Moody's review of Questar Market Resources and some of its affiliated companies is still pending. On May 2, 2002, Moody's Investors Service placed QMR under review for a possible rating downgrade of the Company's Baa2 senior unsecured debt. Moody's also placed QMR's parent company, Questar Corporation and affiliated companies, Questar Gas and Questar Pipeline under review. The review was prompted by Moody's concern over an increase of Questar's financial leverage following an acquisition in 2001, and the shift in business mix towards nonregulated businesses. Moody's review will assess Questar's plan to reduce its leverage and to manage increased business risk and commodity price exposure. Lower debt ratings would increase the Company's cost of debt. Unless ratings fall below investment grade, a downgrade would not materially affect the Company's growth strategy. |
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On July 1, 2002, Questar Corporation filed a shelf registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission to issue common equity or mandatory convertible securities if necessary to achieve debt-reduction goals. Also, QMR has embarked on a plan to sell assets and use the proceeds to repay debt. |
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Business with Energy Merchants |
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The Company has significant gas sales to energy merchants, some of which have recently had their debt ratings downgraded. All companies with such concerns were current on their accounts as of the date of this report. The Company requests credit support from all such companies it does business with in order to assess credit risks. |
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Quantiative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk |
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QMR's primary market-risk exposures arise from commodity-price changes for natural gas, oil and other hydrocarbons and changes in interest rates. QMR also has an investment in a foreign operation that subjects it to exchange-rate risk. A QMR subsidiary has long-term contracts for pipeline capacity for the next several years and is obligated for transportation services with no guarantee that it will be able to recover the full cost of these transportation commitments. |
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Hedging Policy |
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The Company has established policies and procedures for managing commodity price risks through the use of derivatives. The primary objectives of these energy price hedging transactions are to support the Company's earnings targets and to protect earnings from downward movements in commodity prices. The Company targets between 50% and 75% of the current year's proved-developed producing production to be hedged at or above budget levels by the first of March in the current year. The Company will add incrementally to these hedges, to reach forward beyond the current year when price levels are attractive. The volume of production hedged and the mix of derivative instruments employed are regularly evaluated and adjusted by management in response to changing market conditions and reviewed periodically by the Company's Board of Directors. Additionally, under the terms of QMR's revolving credit facility, not more than 75% of the Market Resources' production quantities can be committed to hedging arrangements. The Company does not enter into derivative arrangements for speculative purposes. |
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Natural gas prices in the Rocky Mountain region have been depressed in 2002. The basis differential, the difference between Rockies prices and the benchmark Henry Hub (Louisiana) price, at times exceeded $2.00 per MMbtu in the second quarter of 2002, the widest differential in nearly a decade. This widening basis differential results from a combination of increased regional production, weak seasonal demand, and inadequate capacity in pipelines that transport Rockies gas out of the region. Rockies prices may remain depressed until regional demand increases and/or major new export pipelines are built. With the acquisition of SEI in 2001, and with increased investment in development of the Company's Pinedale Anticline acreage, a growing percentage of the Company's production is in the Rockies region. |
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Management attention is focused on improving Rockies netbacks by hedging when market price fluctuations provide the opportunity to do so. In addition, the Company may curtail production when prices are below levels necessary for profitability. |
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The Company may elect to designate a derivative instrument as a hedge of exposure to changes in fair value, cash flows or foreign currencies. If the hedged exposure is a fair-value exposure, the gain or loss on the derivative instrument is recognized in earnings in the period of the change together with the offsetting loss or gain from the change in fair value of the hedged item. If the hedged exposure is a cash flow exposure, the effective portion of the gain or loss on the derivative instrument is reported initially as a component of other comprehensive income in the shareholder's equity section of the balance sheet and subsequently reclassified into earnings when the forecasted transaction affects earnings. Any amount excluded from the assessment of hedge effectiveness, as well as the ineffective portion of the gain or loss, is reported in earnings immediately. |
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|
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A derivative instrument qualifies as a hedge if all of the following tests are met: |
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- The item to be hedged exposes the Company to price risk. |
- The derivative reduces the risk exposure and is designated as a hedge at the time the Company enters into the contract. |
- At the inception of the hedge and throughout the hedge period there is a high correlation between changes in the market value of the derivative instrument and the fair value of the underlying item being hedged. |
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When the designated item associated with a derivative instrument matures, is sold, extinguished or terminated, derivative gains or losses are deferred and included in income in the same period that the underlying production or other contractual commitment is delivered. When a derivative instrument is associated with an anticipated transaction that is no longer expected to occur or if correlation no longer exists, the gain or loss on the derivative is reclassified from other comprehensive income and recognized currently in the results of operations. |
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Energy-Price Risk Management |
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Natural gas and oil prices fluctuate in response to many factors including changes in supply and demand. QMR bears a majority of the risk associated with commodity price changes and uses energy-price hedging arrangements in the normal course of business to limit the risk of adverse price movements. However, these same arrangements usually limit future gains from favorable price movements. The hedging contracts exist for a significant share of QMR-owned gas and oil production and for a portion of energy-marketing transactions. |
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QMR held energy-price hedging contracts covering the price exposure for about 89.6 million dth of gas and 2.1 million barrels of oil as June 30, 2002. A year earlier QMR hedging contracts covered 61.6 million dth of natural gas and 459,000 barrels of oil. QMR does not hedge the price of natural gas liquids. |
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A summary of the activity for the fair value of energy-price hedging contracts for the first half ended June 30, 2002, is below. The calculation is comprised of the valuation of financial and physical contracts. |
| | | | | |
| | | In Thousands | | |
| | | | | |
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Net fair value of energy hedging contracts outstanding at December 31, 2001 | $ 50,897 | | |
Contracts realized or otherwise settled | | | (27,532) | | |
Decline in energy prices on futures markets | | | (20,254) | | |
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Net fair value of energy hedging contracts outstanding at June 30, 2002 | $ 3,111 | | |
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A vintaging of energy-price hedging financial and physical contracts as of June 30, 2002, is shown below. About 58% of those contracts will settle and be reclassified from other comprehensive amounts in the next 12 months. |
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| | | In Thousands | | |
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Maturity of contracts by June 30, 2003 | | $ 9,573 | | |
Maturity of contracts between July 1, 2003 and June 30, 2004 | | (3,923) | | |
Maturity of contracts between July 1, 2004 and June 30, 2005 | | (2,524) | | |
Maturity of contracts between July 1, 2005 and June 30, 2008 | (15) | | |
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Fair value of energy hedging contracts outstanding at June 30, 2002 | $ 3,111 | | |
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QMR's undiscounted mark-to-market valuation of financial gas and oil price-hedging contracts plus a sensitivity analysis follows: |
| As of June 30, | |
| 2002 | 2001 | |
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| (In Millions) | |
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Mark-to-market valuation - asset (liability) | ($5.8) | ($4.3) | |
Value if market prices of gas and oil decline by 10% | 22.1 | 3.6 | |
Value if market prices of gas and oil increase by 10% | (33.7) | (12.1) | |
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The calculations reflect energy prices posted on the NYMEX, various "into the pipe" postings, and fixed prices on the indicated dates. These sensitivity calculations do not consider changes in the fair value of the corresponding scheduled physical transactions (i.e., the correlation between the index price and the price to be realized for the physical delivery of gas or oil production), which should largely offset the change in value of the hedge contracts. Also, the sensitivity measures exclude mark-to-market calculations on physical hedge contracts, where settlement is achieved through delivery of the gas or oil as opposed to cash settlements with counterparties. |
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Interest-Rate Risk Management |
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As of June 30, 2002, QMR had $109.5 million of floating-rate long-term debt and $350 million of fixed-rate long-term debt. The book value of variable-rate long-term debt approximates fair value. Effective October 2001, the Company hedged $100 million of variable-rate debt by entering a fixed-rate interest swap for one year. The fair value of the interest rate hedge was a $253,000 liability at June 30, 2002. |
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Foreign Currency Risk Management |
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The Company does not hedge the foreign currency exposure of its foreign operation's net assets and long-term debt. Long-term debt held by the foreign operation, amounting to $61.1 million (U.S.), is expected to be repaid from future operations of the foreign company. |
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Forward-Looking Statements |
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This report includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27(A) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21(E) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements other than statements of historical facts included or incorporated by reference in this report, including, without limitation, statements regarding the Company's future financial position, business strategy, budgets, projected costs and plans and objectives of management for future operations, are forward-looking statements. In addition, forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "may", "will", "could", "expect", "intend", "project", "estimate", "anticipate", "believe", "forecast", or "continue" or the negative thereof or variations thereon or similar terminology. Although these statements are made in good faith and are reasonable representations of the Company's expected performance at the time, actual results may var y from management's stated expectations and projections due to a variety of factors. |
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Important assumptions and other significant factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from Those expressed or implied in forward-looking statements include: |
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Changes in general economic conditions; |
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Changes in gas and oil prices and supplies, competition, land-access and environmental issues; |
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Changes in rate-regulatory policies; |
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The regulation of the Wexpro settlement agreement; |
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The availability of gas and oil properties for sale or for exploration; |
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The creditworthiness of counterparties to hedging contracts; |
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The rate of inflation, interest rates and debt ratings; |
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The assumptions used in business combinations; |
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The weather and other natural phenomena; |
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The effect of accounting policies issued periodically by accounting standard-setting bodies; |
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The possible adverse repercussions from terrorist attacks or acts of war; |
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Adverse changes in the business or financial condition of the Company; and |
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As Questar Corp. diversifies into more unregulated business activities, the Company's credit ratings may be affected. |