1999 Annual report -- Charting a new course

Oil production in 1999 averaged 91,534 barrels per day; the average for natural gas production was 465 million cubic feet per day. Annual totals were 33,410,000 barrels of oil and 160,677,000 cubic feet of natural gas. Proven and probable reserves are estimated at 475 million barrels of oil and 1.7 billion cubic feet of natural gas. The company has 8,639,000 acres of undeveloped land, down from 11,981,000 acres in 1998, due to rationalization and disposition of non-core assets, and the expiry of special exploratory permits in the southern part of Saskatchewan. A total of 743 wells were drilled in 1999, with a success rate of 84 percent, a significant improvement over the 68 per cent success rate realized on 712 wells in 1998. Finding and on-stream costs declined from $8.67 per proven BOE in 1998 to $7.79 per proven BOE in 1999. Production was replaced 1.6 times with the addition of 81 million BOE to oil and gas reserves. Gross operating revenue was $1.09 billion, net earnings were $69 million, compared a $10 million loss in 1998. Outstanding debt was reduced to $ 1.1 billion from $1.4 billion in 1998. The debt reduction is the result on non-core property disposition in the fourth quarter and substantially improved cash flow in the last half of the year. Details of operations and the financial health of the company are provided in management's discussion and analysis which supplements the audited financial statement and supporting documentation