CNX Announces Proved Reserves of 9.81 Tcfe

PITTSBURGH, Feb. 9, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- CNX Resources Corporation (NYSE: CNX) ("CNX" or "the company") announced today its year-end reserves update as of December 31, 2022.

• Increased proved developed reserves by 5%, or 315 Bcfe, to 6,221 Bcfe
• During 2022, initiated production on 32 wells with estimated ultimate recovery (EURs) averaging 2.65 Bcfe per thousand feet of completed lateral
• Proved developed finding and development costs of $0.36 per Mcfe in 2022
• Increased total proved reserves by 181 Bcfe to 9,807 Bcfe
• Proved undeveloped location EURs estimated to average 2.69 Bcfe per thousand feet of completed lateral
• Future finding and development costs for proved undeveloped reserves of $0.42 per Mcfe
• Total proved, probable and possible reserves (3P reserves) of 11,687 Bcfe from the five-year development plan activity
• 110 Tcfe of recoverable resources beyond the five-year development plan that are economic at strip pricing as of 12/30/2022

Chief Operating Officer Navneet Behl commented, "The 2022 year-end reserve update highlights the company's ability to grow our proved developed reserve base at very high capital efficiency over a long period of time.  Doing so is core to our strategy of consistent free cash flow generation coupled with astute capital allocation to grow per share value.  Additionally, the future development locations reflected in this update provide further insight into the company's ability to continue efficiently executing this strategy for years to come.  Our quality rock, deep inventory, and stacked Marcellus and Utica horizons are a powerful recipe for value creation."

Proved Developed Reserves

• Increased proved developed (PD) reserve base 5%; achieved 1.54x PD replacement ratio with 2022 development activity.
• In 2022 we initiated production on 32 gross wells with an average completed lateral length of approximately 11,320 feet and EURs averaging 2.65 Bcfe per thousand feet of completed lateral.
• PD finding and development (F&D) costs of $0.36 per Mcfe.

PD reserves increased to 6,221 Bcfe as a result of developing and converting 925 Bcfe of reserves and other net revisions of 29 Bcfe during 2022. The net PD reserve additions of 896 Bcfe replace 2022 production of 580 Bcfe and increase net PD reserves by 5% compared to PD reserves at December 31, 2021. 

PD F&D costs, which is the net capital required to develop the wells that initiated production in 2022 divided by the net total EUR in Mcfe, reflects the company's continued capital efficiency from development of its Marcellus and Utica assets. As an integrated natural gas company, CNX invests in midstream and water infrastructure, resulting in lower operating expense as captured in our peer leading operating cost structure. When including the midstream and water infrastructure investment cost the PD F&D costs was $0.39 per Mcfe.

Proved Undeveloped

• Organic proved undeveloped (PUD) reserve replacement ratio of 1.32x (calculated as sum of PUD extensions, discoveries and revisions, divided by annual production).
• Average EUR in Marcellus and Utica shales of 2.55 Bcfe and 3.10 Bcfe per thousand feet of completed lateral, respectively.
• PUD finding and development costs (PUD F&D) of $0.42 per Mcfe and $0.50 per Mcfe when including midstream and water infrastructure costs. PUD F&D excludes plugging and abandonment costs.

The following table shows the summary of proved reserves by category:

Total Reserves: Proved, Probable, and Possible Reserves (3P) and Other Resource Potential

As of December 31, 2022, CNX has total proved, probable, and possible reserves (also known as "3P reserves") of 11.7 Tcfe, which are comprised only of reserves currently expected to be developed in the company's five-year plan. There are an additional 110 Tcfe of recoverable resources that are economic at the commodity futures strip as of December 30, 2022 in the "Other Resource Potential" that the company expects to develop beyond the five-year plan. This large inventory of proved and probable (2P), 3P and Other Resource assets, in addition to our peer leading cost implies meaningful future upside in both the Marcellus and Utica shales in Pennsylvania and West Virginia and will continue to allow the company to add extensions and discoveries over the foreseeable future. The company's 3P reserves have been determined in accordance with the guidelines of the Society of Petroleum Engineers Petroleum Resources Management System.                              

The following table shows the breakdown of reserves and resource, in Bcfe, from the company's current development and exploration plays:

Standardized Measure of Discounted Future Net Cash Flows

The following information was prepared in accordance with the provisions of the Financial Accounting Standards Board's Accounting Standards Update No. 2010-03, "Extractive Activities-Oil and Gas (Topic 932)." This topic requires the standardized measure of discounted future net cash flows to be based on the average, first day-of-the-month price for the year ended December 31, 2022. Because prices used in the calculation are average prices for that year, the standardized measure could vary significantly from year-to-year based on the market conditions that occurred.

The projections should not be viewed as realistic estimates of future cash flows, nor should the "standardized measure" be interpreted as representing current value to CNX. Material revisions to estimates of proved reserves may occur in the future; development and production of the reserves may not occur in the periods assumed; actual prices realized are expected to vary significantly from those used and actual costs may vary. CNX's investment and operating decisions are not based on the information presented, but on a wide range of reserve estimates that include probable as well as proved reserves and on different price and cost assumptions.

The standardized measure is intended to provide a better means for comparing the value of CNX's proved reserves at a given time with those of other gas producing companies than is provided by a comparison of raw proved reserve quantities.

Supplemental Reserves Information

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) pricing as of December 31, 2022:

Summary of Changes in Proved Reserves:

Future Capital Costs for Proved Reserves:

About CNX Resources

CNX Resources Corporation (NYSE: CNX) is unique. We are a premier, low carbon intensive natural gas development, production, midstream, and technology company centered in Appalachia, one of the most energy abundant regions in the world. With the benefit of a 158-year regional legacy, substantial asset base, leading core operational competencies, technology development and innovation, and astute capital allocation methodologies, we responsibly develop our resources and deploy free cash flow to create long-term per share value for our shareholders, employees, and the communities where we operate. As of December 31, 2022, CNX had 9.81 trillion cubic feet equivalent of proved natural gas reserves. The company is a member of the Standard & Poor's Midcap 400 Index. Additional information may be found at www.cnx.com.

Cautionary Statements

We are including the following cautionary statement in this press release to make applicable and take advantage of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 for any forward-looking statements made by, or on behalf of us. With the exception of historical matters, the matters discussed in this press release are forward-looking statements (as defined in 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act")) that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from projected results. Accordingly, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual results. These forward-looking statements may include projections and estimates concerning the timing and success of specific projects and our future production, revenues, income, and capital spending. When we use the words "believe," "intend," "expect," "may," "should," "anticipate," "could," "estimate," "plan," "predict," "project," "will," or their negatives, or other similar expressions, the statements which include those words are usually forward-looking statements. When we describe a strategy that involves risks or uncertainties, we are making forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this press release speak only as of the date of this press release; we disclaim any obligation to update these statements. We have based these forward-looking statements on our current expectations and assumptions about future events. While our management considers these expectations and assumptions to be reasonable, they are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, regulatory and other risks, contingencies, and uncertainties, most of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond our control. These risks, contingencies and uncertainties relate to, among other matters, the following: prices for natural gas and natural gas liquids are volatile and can fluctuate widely based upon a number of factors beyond our control including oversupply relative to the demand for our products, weather and the price and availability of alternative fuels; unsuccessful drilling efforts or continued natural gas price decreases requiring write downs of our proved natural gas properties, or changes in assumptions impacting management's estimates of future financial results as well as other assumptions such as movement in our stock price, weighted-average cost of capital, terminal growth rates and industry multiples, could cause goodwill and other intangible assets we hold to become impaired and result in material non-cash charges to earnings; a loss of our competitive position because of the competitive nature of the natural gas industry, consolidation within the industry or overcapacity in the industry adversely affecting our ability to sell our products and midstream services; deterioration in the economic conditions in any of the industries in which our customers operate, a domestic or worldwide financial downturn, or negative credit market conditions; hedging activities may prevent us from benefiting from price increases and may expose us to other risks; negative public perception regarding our industry could have an adverse effect on our operations; events beyond our control, including a global or domestic health crisis; dependence on gathering, processing and transportation facilities and other midstream facilities owned by others, and disruption of, capacity constraints in, or proximity to pipeline, and any decrease in availability of pipelines or other midstream facilities; uncertainties in estimating our economically recoverable natural gas reserves, and inaccuracies in our estimates; the high-risk nature of drilling, developing and operating natural gas wells; our identified drilling locations are scheduled out over multiple years, making them susceptible to uncertainties that could materially alter the occurrence or timing of their development or drilling; the substantial capital expenditures required for our development and exploration projects, as well as midstream system development; decreases in the availability of, or increases in the price of, required personnel, services, equipment, parts and raw materials in sufficient quantities or at reasonable costs to support our operations; our ability to find adequate water sources for our use in shale gas drilling and production operations, or our ability to dispose of, transport or recycle water used or removed in connection with our gas operations at a reasonable cost and within applicable environmental rules; failure to successfully estimate the rate of decline or existing reserves or to find or acquire economically recoverable natural gas reserves to replace our current natural gas reserves; losses incurred as a result of title defects in the properties in which we invest or the loss of certain leasehold or other rights related to our midstream activities; the impact of climate change legislation, litigation and potential, as well as any adopted, environmental regulations, including those relating to greenhouse gas emissions; environmental regulations can increase costs and introduce uncertainty that could adversely impact the market for natural gas with potential short and long-term liabilities; existing and future government laws, regulations and other legal requirements and judicial decisions that govern our business may increase our costs of doing business and may restrict our operations; significant costs and liabilities may be incurred as a result of pipeline operations and related increase in the regulation of gas gathering pipelines; changes in federal or state income tax laws; the outcomes of various legal proceedings, including those which are more fully described in our reports filed under the Exchange Act; risks associated with our current long-term debt obligations; a decrease in our borrowing base, which could decrease for a variety of reasons including lower natural gas prices, declines in natural gas proved reserves, asset sales and lending requirements or regulations; Risks associated with our convertible senior notes due May 2026 (the "Convertible Notes"), including the potential impact that the Convertible Notes may have on our reported financial results, potential dilution, our ability to raise funds to repurchase the Convertible Notes, and that provisions of the Convertible Notes could delay or prevent a beneficial takeover of the Company; the potential impact of the capped call transaction undertaken in tandem with the Convertible Notes issuance, including counterparty risk; challenges associated with strategic determinations, including the allocation of capital and other resources to strategic opportunities; acquisitions and divestitures, we anticipate may not occur or produce anticipated benefits; there is no guarantee that we will continue to repurchase shares of our common stock under our current or any future share repurchase program at levels undertaken previously or at all; we may operate a portion of our business with one or more joint venture partners or in circumstances where we are not the operator, which may restrict our operational and corporate flexibility and we may not realize the benefits we expect to realize from a joint venture; CONSOL Energy may not be able to satisfy its indemnification obligations in the future and such indemnities may not be sufficient to hold us harmless from the full amount of liabilities for which CONSOL Energy will be allocated responsibility; cyber-incidents could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations; our success depends on key members of our management and our ability to attract and retain experienced technical and other professional personnel; terrorist activities could materially adversely affect our business and results of operations.  Additional factors are described in detail under the captions "Forward Looking Statements" and "Risk Factors" in our latest annual report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as supplemented by our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q.

SOURCE CNX Resources Corporation