Frontera Energy

Pacific Exploration and Production was known as Petro Rubiales from 1982, when the company began operating in the Rubiales oil fields in Colombia, until 2015 when its name was changed. It had origins in Agincourt Explorations in 1987, a TSX Venture Exchange listed company. In 1995 Agincourt Explorations, Agincourt Explorations became AGX Resources Corp.; a mineral exploration company focused on Brazil and Canada. After AGX acquired Rubiales Holdings in 2007 from Petro Rubiales it became known as Petro Rubiales Energy Corp. up until 2008 when it merged with Vancouver-based Pacific Stratus Energy Ltd. in a $2.5 billion causing a name change to Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp. Less than two weeks after the merger the company delisted from the TSX Venture Exchange.[6][7] Later in 2008 it acquired Kappa Energy, a Colombian exploration company with licenses to 747,000 acres (3,020 km²) of land which included parts of the lower, middle, and upper Magdalena, Catatumbo, and Llanos basins. The transaction was valued at $168 million and increased Pacific Rubiales' possible reserves by 24.2 million boe. By 2008, Kappa was part of division Kappa Energy Holdings.[8] On October 19, 2011 it became engaged in oil drilling activity in northern Guatemala. In January 2010, Petro Rubiales signed a $190 million deal with Ocensa pipeline to use their pipeline and oil transport infrastructure to transport up to 160 million barrels of oil for a period of ten years.[9] In September 2010, Petro Rubiales followed through with its promise to focus more on developing assets already mature or low risk and less on exploration in high risk areas by divesting itself of fields within the Buganviles oil and gas block of Colombia. It sold a 29.5% interest in Visure and 25% in Tuqueque to a subsidiary of Peruvian company Petrodorado. Though the deal gives Petrodorado a near joint interest in the Buganviles block (45-49.5%) Pacific Rubiales remains the controlling operator.[10] On February 1, 2012 Pacific Rubiales Energy became the first Canadian company to receive approval from BM&F Bovespa to issue Brazilian Depository Receipts for trading on the Brazilian stock exchange. In early 2015 as oil prices were declining, Alejandro Betancourt López of Derwick Associates led an investment group to purchase a 20% share of the company for $290 million. On April 27, 2016 the Pacific Exploration & Production Corporation and its subsidiaries filed for bankruptcy protection,[11] and began the process of restructuring.[12] In 2017, it renamed itself Frontera Energy, and was relisted on the Toronto Stock Exchange.[5]

As of December 2011, 80% of the company's 407 mboe 2P reserves are in oil with most of the other 20% in natural gas, 317 mboe are proved reserves.[3] On March 28, 2011 gross reserves were at 357.39 million boe 87% of which is net reserves.[13] By June 2011 net proved reserves were 350 million boe up 15% or 40 million barrels in six months.[14] In September 2011 net reserves stood at 341.73 million boe, slightly lower than the previous quarter due to a decline in heavy oil reserves. For the 2011 fiscal year, 75.7% of total field production of 165,446 bbls/d came from the Rubiales/Piriri field (up 34% on the year). Quifa was second at 36,496 bbls/d (up 657%). Share after royalties averaged over 2011; 63% came from Rubiales/Piriri (54,802 bbls/d up 29%), 22% from Quifa (19,181 b/d up 629%), 12% from La Creciente (10,584 b/d up 7% after being up 34% in 2010).[15][16] As of September 30, 2011 net reserves are 341.73 mboe, up from 269 mboe in December 2010.[17] In 2011, fields that Pacific Rubiales has a joint or majority interest in accounted for just under 20% of Colombia's oil output.[18] Since October 2010, Pacific Rubiales also had a working interest in 2 other blocks in the Petén Basin of Guatemala (shared with Flamingo Energy Investment (BVI) Ltd., Chx Guatemala Limitada, and Compañía Petrolera del Atlántico).[19] By 2010, Pacific Rubiales shared joint ownership in many oil fields and exploration projects in Colombia with Ecopetrol and in Peru with Petrodorado.[20] By 2001, Pacific Rubiales' most valuable assets were the Rubiales (largest in Colombia) and Piriri oil fields in central Colombia which it operates through Meta Petroleum, a division of subsidiary Rubiales Holdings Limited (RHL). RHL has been 100% owned by pacific Rubiales since 2007 when it purchased the remaining 25% of outstanding shares.[21] In 2010, Pacific Rubiales planned to enter the coal and asphalite production market through acquisitions (Pacific Coal S.A.).[22]

In 2012, during the third quarter of the year the company sold 89,045 b/d of oil and 10,775 b/d of natural gas for a total of 99,820 b/d (down from 101,533) at an average sales price of $95.13 (up from $88.66). The company purchases some of the oil that it sells.[31] In 2011, over the first nine months of the year, the company transported 120,172 bpd of oil through various pipeline systems, two thirds of which went through the ocensa pipeline and another 14,204 bpd via trucks. For the third quarter total field production was 219,136 bpd up 52%. Its share net of internal consumption after royalties was 87,159 bpd up 54.5%, 30,577 bpd of which came from new production Rubiales and Quifa (up from 19,241 bpd from 1,754 bpd). At an average sales price of $94.67/bbl (up 39%) that gave it revenue of $2.369 billion (up 107%).[17] For the 2010 year, total net production was 56,974 boe/d, 67% higher than in 2009; Most of the increase came from growth at the Rubiales heavy oil field.[26][32][33] Although revenue was 173% higher in the first half of 2010 than in the first half of 2009 net income continued to be weighed down by depreciation, amortization and foreign exchange losses (though the company rebounded from a $65.9 million net loss in the first half of 2009).[27]

Pacific Rubiales has been the focus of various controversies over the years, ranging from allegations of collusion with paramilitary death-squads, suppression of labor rights, manipulation of stock prices, and production figures, besides harassment of journalists through ad revenue pressure upon media companies to drop negative coverage.[34] In September 2011, workers at Pacific Rubiales went on a violent strike over wages in Rubiales.[35] Pacific Rubiales, who owned a 50% stake, suspended explorations for oil in Putumayo.[36][37]

It was alleged that paramilitary forces took some of that land by illegal means before transferring ownership over to Kappa Energy, a company that Pacific Rubiales had acquired in 2008. (The total reserves associated with Kappa Energy represented only a fraction of Pacific Rubiales total).[37] The complaints go back to 2001; the prosecution claimed that the real owners of the land were forcefully displaced. The defence called the land transfer agreements valid and disputed the validity of their claims (only one of them actually lived on the land). Working conditions were also criticized with as many as twenty people living in one tent, according to journalist Alfred Molano in a September 25, 2011 article in the El Espectador.[34][38]

In 2012 the company came under criticism for beginning oil exploration activities on land inhabited by the Matsés indigenous people of Peru.[39] It was argued that the deforestation of hundreds of seismic testing lines and the drilling of test wells would threaten water sources depended upon by the tribe, and that the activity would also risk exposing uncontacted tribes in the surrounding areas to disease.[40]

In November 2012, Colombian journalist Guillermo Quiroz Delgado was covering local protests against Pacific Rubiales, which was accused of exploiting the area's residents. He died due to police mistreatment,[41][42][43][44][45] which brought attention to the complaints against the company.[46]