TVE Tamarack Valley Energy Ltd

TSX: TVE      

CALGARY, AB, June 29, 2023 /CNW/ - Tamarack Valley Energy Ltd. ("Tamarack" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the release of its fourth annual Sustainability Report, highlighting the Company's ongoing commitment to environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles and sustainable practices during 2022. The Company continues to look for opportunities to ensure the long-term sustainability of the Company and the Canadian energy sector.

• Delivered significant progress towards the Company's clear, measurable goals and targets, including achievement of more than 50% of its ESG goals to date – on time or ahead of schedule;
• Demonstrated commitment to accountability and transparency through the issuance of two tranches of sustainability-linked notes, as well as independent third-party assurance of key ESG metrics;
• Achieved emissions and methane intensity reductions of 19% and 45%, respectively, compared to the 2020 baseline, exceeding the 2025 methane intensity reduction goal of 40% and progressing towards the 2025 emissions intensity reduction goal of 39%;
• Increased investment in abandonment, remediation and reclamation activities through Tamarack funded expenditures equivalent to 8.8% of inactive liabilities or more than 200% of the voluntary regulatory program spend, exceeding our target of 150% of voluntary program spend for 2022, with additional funds equivalent to 3.7% of inactive liability deployed through grants and the site rehabilitation program; and
• Furthered diversity in the workforce, with increased ethnic (13.1%) and Indigenous (7.9%) representation in the Company's contractor and employee base and an increase in gender diversity (28.6%) at the board level which was further increased (37.5%) subsequent to year-end 2022. Tamarack was recognized by the Globe and Mail during the Report on Business 2023 Women Lead Here program for the female representation in 2022 at the highest leadership levels in the organization.

The last two years brought significant changes for our organization, including the evolution of Tamarack's asset base under the Company's growth and portfolio rationalization strategy culminating in $1.7 billion in highly economic asset acquisitions in 2022. Tamarack has a proven track record of applying the same rigorous ESG standards to acquisitions that are applied to our legacy asset base. These newly acquired greenfield assets require significant financial and human resource investments to create a positive environmental and social footprint. With Tamarack's experience and robust capitalization, the Company is in the strongest position to develop these assets in a long-term and sustainable manner. 

In 2022, our emissions intensity increased over the prior year to 30.3 kg CO₂e/boe due to sizable acquisitions and development in the Clearwater area. As part of these acquisitions, Tamarack committed to investing the capital required to improve the emissions intensity of these assets and has multiple ongoing gas conservation projects in the West Marten Hills, Nipisi and South Clearwater areas. Tamarack continues to work towards the ambitious goal of 22.9 kg CO₂e/boe (39% reduction) by 2025.      

Tamarack has established a successful model for emissions reductions in acquisitions, starting with the immediate conversion of vent to combustion followed by short-term optimization in the first 12 months of operations and then long-term, large-scale infrastructure projects spanning one to three years. An example of this can be seen through the 2020 Clearwater acquisitions and the subsequent Nipisi multi-phase gas infrastructure project with capital invested in excess of $20 million through 2021 and 2022. On acquisition, one of the core Nipisi assets had an emissions intensity of approximately 100 kg CO₂e/boe. Through the conversion of vent volumes to flare and optimization of the operations, Tamarack was able to reduce the facility to less than 38 kg CO₂e/boe within the first three months and down to less than 20 kg CO₂e/boe within two  years.

Tamarack's 2023 Sustainability Report covers performance metrics for the 2020 to 2022 calendar years and aligns with guidance set forth by the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD) and the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) with consideration for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDG).

The full Report can be accessed through the Company's website at www.tamarackvalley.ca.

Alberta Wildfires & Third-Party Infrastructure Downtime

Although the Company experienced negligible infrastructure damage, the Alberta wildfire situation had both direct and indirect impacts on Tamarack's operations, including production impacts associated with unplanned third-party infrastructure downtime. These events drove a collective impact of approximately 1,500 boe/d for the second quarter. These issues have been resolved and are not expected to have an impact on the second half of 2023. Despite the production impact, the Company was able to maintain the safety of all workforce members and the integrity of our assets throughout these potentially catastrophic events. The safety of our people and the integrity of our assets is, and will continue to be, the priority in Tamarack's operations. In addition, Tamarack provided financial support to Indigenous and local communities in the areas where we operate, for assistance with displacement and emergency response. We will continue to monitor for opportunities to assist in the rebuilding stages.

Charlie Lake – Wembley Gas Plant

Commissioning of the new Wembley gas plant was completed in June, ahead of schedule, with gas processing and sales commencing in mid-June. This 15 mmcf/d sweet gas facility now provides consistent and reliable processing capacity within Tamarack's operational control and secures egress for Tamarack's ongoing regional development. In addition to the facility's current capacity, this plant is expandable and could support long-term growth in the Charlie Lake program.

We will provide a more fulsome operations update in conjunction with our second quarter results, which will be released before market on July 27, 2023.

Tamarack is an oil and gas exploration and production company committed to balancing operational and financial excellence with environmental and social responsibility. By operating at the intersection of profitability and corporate responsibility, Tamarack creates long-term value for its shareholders through sustainable free funds flow generation, financial stability and the return of capital, while simultaneously ensuring we deliver on our environmental, social and governance (ESG) commitments and goals. The Company has an extensive inventory of low-risk, oil development drilling locations focused primarily on Charlie Lake, Clearwater and EOR plays in Alberta. For more information, please visit the Company's website at  www.tamarackvalley.ca.

This press release contains certain forward-looking information (collectively referred to herein as "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "guidance", "outlook", "anticipate", "target", "plan", "continue", "intend", "consider", "estimate", "expect", "may", "will", "should", "could" or similar words suggesting future outcomes. More particularly, this press release contains statements concerning: Tamarack's business strategy, objectives, strength and focus; the potential damage to the Company's facilities and other impacts on operations and production from the Alberta wildfires; continued integration of recently acquired assets; Tamarack's commitment to ESG principles and sustainability; and the Company's ability to meet its ESG targets and the timing thereof. The forward-looking statements contained in this document are based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by Tamarack, including those relating to: the business plan of Tamarack; the continued integration of recently acquired assets into Tamarack's operations; and Tamarack's ability to execute its plans and strategies. Although management considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently available, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements because Tamarack can give no assurances that they may prove to be correct. By their very nature, forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties (both general and specific) that could cause actual events or outcomes to differ materially from those anticipated or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: risks relating to the Alberta wildfires, including in respect of safety, asset integrity, shutting in production, impact on production, maintaining 2023 guidance and resumption of operations; risks with respect to unplanned third-party pipeline outages; unforeseen difficulties in integrating of recently acquired assets into Tamarack's operations; and  risks associated with the oil and gas industry in general (e.g. operational risks in development, exploration and production. Due to the nature of the oil and natural gas industry, drilling plans and operational activities may be delayed or modified to respond to market conditions, results of past operations, regulatory approvals or availability of services causing results to be delayed. Please refer to the Company's annual information form for the period ended December 31, 2022 and the management discussion and analysis for the period ended March 31, 2023 for additional risk factors relating to Tamarack, which can be accessed either on Tamarack's website at www.tamarackvalley.ca or under the Company's profile on www.sedar.com.The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date hereof and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or to revise any of the included forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable law. The forward-looking statements contained herein are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.

SOURCE Tamarack Valley Energy Ltd.