Forest’s adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization increased 93% during the third quarter of 2007 to $256.3 million compared to $132.5 million in the third quarter of 2006. Forest’s oil and gas sales volumes increased 62% during the third quarter of 2007 to 508MMcfe/d compared to sales volumes of 313MMcfe/d in the third quarter of 2006.
Forest’s per-unit oil and gas production expense decreased 25% during the third quarter of 2007 to $1.28 per Mcfe compared to $1.71 per Mcfe in the third quarter of 2006. The improved results were due to cost reduction measures being ahead of schedule on the Houston Exploration acquired assets, the inclusion of the lower cost Houston Exploration assets, and the divestiture of the Alaska assets.
Craig Clark, president and CEO of Forest Oil, said: The third quarter was the first full quarter of operations of the Houston Exploration assets in the portfolio and reflected the disposition of Forest’s Alaska assets. This completes the transformation of Forest to a cost efficient development company focused primarily on production optimization and cost control in North American onshore plays.
