MorningStar Partners, L.P. Interests
Reserve Evaluation – SEC Pricing
August 24, 2022
Page 3
Hydrocarbon Pricing
The base SEC oil and gas prices calculated for December 31, 2021 were $66.56/bbl and $3.60/MMBTU, respectively. As specified by the SEC, a company must use a 12-month average price, calculated as the unweighted arithmetic average of the first-day-of-the-month price for each month within the 12-month period prior to the end of the reporting period. The base oil price is based upon WTI-Cushing spot prices (EIA) during 2021 and the base gas price is based upon Henry Hub spot prices (Platts Gas Daily) during 2021. Furthermore, NGL prices were adjusted on a per-property basis and averaged 29.5% of the net oil price on a composite basis.
The base prices shown above were adjusted for differentials on a per-property basis, which may include local basis differentials, transportation, gas shrinkage, gas heating value (BTU content) and/or crude quality and gravity corrections. After these adjustments, the net realized prices for the SEC price case over the life of the proved properties was estimated to be $64.76 per barrel for oil, $2.31 per MCF for gas and $19.62 per barrel for NGLs. All economic factors were held constant in accordance with SEC guidelines.
Economic Parameters
Ownership was accepted as furnished and has not been independently confirmed. Lease operating expenses (“LOE”) and investments were forecast by field or by property using the latest historical data available. LOE includes fixed and variable components. The fixed LOE costs represent all costs not tied to produced volumes and the variable costs consist of fees for water disposal, gas compression, processing and transportation, and other variable expenses. All expenses can be found as Operating Expense (column 22) in the attached tables. Capital costs for all upside properties were applied as provided and have not been independently verified. However, all commercial parameters appear to be reasonable and appropriate based on our review and were held constant (not escalated) throughout the life of the properties in accordance with SEC guidelines.
SEC Conformance and Regulations
The reserve classifications and the economic considerations used herein conform to the criteria of the SEC as defined in pages 3 and 4 of the Appendix. The reserves and economics are predicated on regulatory agency classifications, rules, policies, laws, taxes and royalties currently in effect except as noted herein. Government policies and market conditions different from those employed in this report may cause (1) the total quantity of oil or gas to be recovered, (2) actual production rates, (3) prices received, or (4) operating and capital costs to vary from those presented in this report. However, we do not anticipate nor are we aware of any legislative changes or restrictive regulatory actions that may impact the recovery of reserves.
CG&A evaluated 35 PDNP and 160 PUD locations, targeting various reservoirs in Texas and New Mexico. Non-producing and undeveloped reserves were assigned based on regional type curves and analogy to recent, modern completions. Furthermore, the development schedule and capital costs for drilling and completion were provided by MorningStar and accepted as provided. However, our review showed the development plan and related capital to be reasonable and appropriate for this evaluation.