CALGARY, April 30, 2020 /CNW/ - Bonterra Energy Corp.
(www.bonterraenergy.com) (TSX: BNE) ("Bonterra" or the "Company")
today confirms its syndicate of lenders has extended the annual
borrowing base redetermination date on its credit facility, and
announces two new Director nominees to stand for election at the
Company's upcoming 2020 Annual General & Special Meeting
("AGSM") of shareholders.
EXTENSION OF BANK LINE REDETERMINATION DATE
Bonterra's syndicate of lenders has confirmed an extension to
the Company's annual bank facility review and redetermination date
to May 29th from April 28th 2020. This extension
affords both the Company and its syndicate additional time to
assess the ongoing impacts of COVID–19 and the recent actions from
OPEC+ on commodity pricing.
CORPORATE UPDATE
As a result of the significant ongoing uncertainty in market
conditions, Bonterra is withdrawing its 2020 corporate guidance
previously provided in the Company's press release on February 12, 2020 and in its management's
discussion and analysis for the year ended December 31, 2019 dated March 10, 2020. The Company has no immediate
plans to start up drilling and completion activity until there is
better clarity on future commodity prices.
The Company has responded to this unprecedented volatility by
continuing to preserve shareholder value in the following
manner:
- The Company is taking steps to reduce production levels to
protect against selling oil at negative margins and to preserve
long term value;
- The Company has implemented significant cost saving initiatives
to reduce monthly operating and general and administrative
costs;
- The Company has applied for the Federal Government's
Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy
(CEWS), whereby the Company would be eligible for a subsidy of 75
percent of employee's wages (up to a maximum of $847 per employee per week) for up to 12 weeks,
for the period March 15, 2020 to
June 6, 2020;
- The Company expects to pursue additional opportunities to
access credit support being offered by the Government of
Canada, through Export Development
Canada (EDC) and the Business Development Bank (BDC) as announced
by the Federal government on April 17,
2020; and
- The Company expects to work with oilfield service contractors
to access the Site Rehabilitation Program as announced by the
Alberta Government on April 24, 2020.
The funds from the program will be paid directly to the oilfield
service companies, but will require a valid contract with an
Alberta oil and gas licensee.
Bonterra is continuing to actively monitor the evolving COVID-19
situation and as needed, will take further action to optimize its
business operations over the short and longer term, with utmost
priority remaining on the health and safety of its employees,
partners and other stakeholders.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS NOMINEES
Bonterra is pleased to confirm that two new nominees to its
Board of Directors, Ms. Jacqueline
Ricci and Mr. Jay Campbell,
will be standing for election at the Company's upcoming AGSM.
Ms. Ricci has been a Vice President and Director at J. Zechner
Associates in Toronto since 1997,
where she is responsible for stock selection and portfolio mix in
the firm's Canadian Small/Mid Capitalization Portfolios. Ms. Ricci
has substantial experience evaluating business plans and management
performance in both small and mid-capitalization companies within
the Canadian market. Prior to joining J. Zechner Associates, Ms.
Ricci was Co-Portfolio Manager at Gluskin Sheff and Associates Inc.
from 1994 to 1997 and a Senior Analyst at Ontario Teacher's Pension
Plan Board from 1993 to 1994.
Mr. Campbell is the President of Odyssey Trust Company, a
leading Calgary-based transfer
agent, corporate trustee and equity plan administration services
firm since 2017. Prior to co-founding Odyssey Trust, he was the
General Manager of Lundgren and Young Trust Company, a personal and
commercial lines insurance brokerage. He was also the General
Manager of Valiant Trust Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of
Canadian Western Bank (TSX: CWB), until its sale to Computershare
in 2015, where he worked in commercial banking and fostered the
growth of successful companies while also serving on several key
internal committees. Mr. Campbell brings diverse financial services
knowledge, a proven track record in new business development,
mergers, acquisitions, and corporate turnarounds, and has served on
the board of the Securities Transfer Association of Canada ("STAC") along with several TSXV-listed
capital pool companies.
Bonterra looks forward to welcoming Ms. Ricci and Mr. Campbell
upon their election and believes their extensive combined
experience and knowledge will provide invaluable contributions to
the Board of Directors. With the addition of these two new
nominees, Mr. Aidan Walsh has
advised the Company of his desire to lessen his ongoing
professional commitments, and therefore, does not plan to stand for
re-election to the Board of Directors at the upcoming AGSM.
Bonterra would like to thank Mr. Walsh for his valued service to
the Company and wish him well with his future endeavors.
The Board nominees for the 2020 AGSM, along with Ms. Ricci and
Mr. Campbell, consist of George
Fink, Randy Jarock and
Rodger Tourigny. Further details on
these Board nominees, along with additional matters to be voted on
at the AGSM have been mailed to shareholders, filed on SEDAR and
posted to Bonterra's website. In the interests of public
safety, the Company requests that shareholders vote and submit
their proxies ahead of time, to adhere to current social distancing
measures in place to combat COVID-19.
Bonterra Energy Corp. is a conventional oil and gas corporation
with operations in Alberta,
Saskatchewan and British Columbia, focused on its strategy of
long-term, sustainable growth and value creation for shareholders.
The Company's shares are listed on The Toronto Stock Exchange under
the symbol "BNE".
Cautionary Statements
This summarized news release should not be considered a suitable
source of information for readers who are unfamiliar with Bonterra
Energy Corp. and should not be considered in any way as a
substitute for reading the full report. For the full report,
please go to www.bonterraenergy.com
Unaudited Financial Information
Certain financial and operating information included in this
press release are based on estimated unaudited financial results
and are subject to the same limitations as discussed under Forward
Looking Information set out below. These estimated amounts may
change upon the completion of audited financial and changes could
be material.
Forward Looking Information
Certain statements contained in this release include statements
which contain words such as "anticipate", "could", "should",
"expect", "seek", "may", "intend", "likely", "will", "believe" and
similar expressions, relating to matters that are not historical
facts, and such statements of our beliefs, intentions and
expectations about development, results and events which will or
may occur in the future, constitute "forward-looking information"
within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation
and are based on certain assumptions and analysis made by us
derived from our experience and perceptions. Forward-looking
information in this release includes, but is not limited to: future
ARO; future capital expenditures, including the amount and nature
thereof; oil and natural gas prices and demand; expansion and other
development trends of the oil and gas industry; business strategy
and outlook; expansion and growth of our business and operations;
and maintenance of existing customer, supplier and partner
relationships; supply channels; accounting policies; credit risks;
expectations regarding the potential impact of COVID-19; and other
such matters.
All such forward-looking information is based on certain
assumptions and analyses made by us in light of our experience and
perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected
future developments, as well as other factors we believe are
appropriate in the circumstances. The risks, uncertainties, and
assumptions are difficult to predict and may affect operations, and
may include, without limitation: foreign exchange fluctuations;
equipment and labour shortages and inflationary costs; general
economic conditions; industry conditions; changes in applicable
environmental, taxation and other laws and regulations as well as
how such laws and regulations are interpreted and enforced; the
ability of oil and natural gas companies to raise capital; the
effect of weather conditions on operations and facilities; the
existence of operating risks; volatility of oil and natural gas
prices; oil and gas product supply and demand; risks inherent in
the ability to generate sufficient cash flow from operations to
meet current and future obligations; increased competition; stock
market volatility; opportunities available to or pursued by us; and
other factors, many of which are beyond our control.
Actual results, performance or achievements could differ
materially from those expressed in, or implied by, this
forward-looking information and, accordingly, no assurance can be
given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking
information will transpire or occur, or if any of them do, what
benefits will be derived there from. Except as required by law,
Bonterra disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise
any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise.
The forward-looking information contained herein is expressly
qualified by this cautionary statement.
Numerical Amounts
The reporting and the functional currency of the Company is
the Canadian dollar.
The TSX does not accept responsibility for the
accuracy of this release.
SOURCE Bonterra Energy Corp.
