UNITED
STATES
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON,
D.C. 20549
FORM
8-K
CURRENT
REPORT
Pursuant
to Section 13 or 15(d) of
The
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date
of Report (Date of earliest event reported):
February 8, 2006
Unit
Corporation
(Exact
name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware
|
1-9260
|
73-1283193
|
|
(State
or other jurisdiction of incorporation)
|
(Commission
File Number)
|
(I.R.S.
Employer Identification No.)
|
7130
South Lewis, Suite 1000, Tulsa, Oklahoma
|
74136
|
(Address
of principal executive offices)
|
(Zip
Code)
|
Registrant’s
telephone number, including area code: (918)
493-7700
Not
Applicable
(Former
name or former address, if changed since last report)
Check
the
appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously
satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following
provisions:
___
Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR
230.425)
___
Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR
240.14a-12)
___
Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange
Act
(17
CFR
240.14d-2(b))
___
Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange
Act
(17
CFR
240.13e-4(c))
Section
8 - Other
Events.
Item
8.01 Other Events.
Unit
Corporation today issued a press release announcing that its wholly owned
subsidiary, Unit Petroleum Company, reached a record 412.1 billion cubic feet
equivalent increasing its proved oil and natural gas reserves 19% in 2005 and
replaced 261% of its 2005 oil and natural gas production. During 2005, Unit
produced a record 1,084,000 barrels of oil and 34.1 Bcf of natural gas, or
an
equivalent Bcf of 40.6. This is an increase of 21% from the equivalent
production for 2004 when Unit produced 1,048,000 barrels of oil and 27.1 Bcf
of
natural gas for an equivalent Bcf of 33.4.
Unit
Drilling Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Unit Corporation, announced
average rig utilization for the fourth quarter of 2005 was 106.2 rigs and its
average rig utilization for 2005 was 102.1 rigs, an increase of 12% and 16%,
respectively, over the same periods in 2004. Unit Drilling Company’s dayrates
for the fourth quarter averaged $14,626 per day, which is $1,509 per day or
12%
higher than the company’s third quarter 2005 dayrate average. Current dayrates
average $17,129 per day, or $2,503 per day higher than the fourth quarter
average and $1,486 per day higher than the December average.
A
copy of
the press release is being filed as an exhibit to this report on Form
8-K.
Section
9 - Financial Statements and Exhibits.
Item
9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.
(a)
Financial
Statements of Businesses Acquired.
Not
Applicable.
(b)
Pro
Forma Financial Information.
Not
Applicable.
(c)
Exhibits.
99.1
|
Press
release announcing Unit Corporation's reserve growth for 2005 and
contract
drilling
|
|
operations
update.
|
SIGNATURES
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant
has
duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto
duly authorized.
Unit
Corporation
|
|||
Date:
February 8, 2006
|
By:
|
/s/
Mark E. Schell
|
|
Mark
E. Schell
Senior
Vice President
and
General Counsel
|
1
EXHIBIT
INDEX
Exhibit
No. Description.
99.1
|
Press
release announcing Unit Corporation's reserve growth for 2005 and
contract
drilling
|
|
operations
update.
|
news
|
UNIT
CORPORATION
|
|
7130
South Lewis Avenue, Suite 1000, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74136
|
|
Telephone
918 493-7700, Fax 918 493-7714
|
Contact:
|
David
T. Merrill
|
|
Chief
Financial Officer and
Treasurer
|
|
(918)
493-7700
|
For Immediate Release…
February
8, 2006
UNIT
CORPORATION’S OIL & NATURAL GAS SUBSIDIARY’S
RESERVES
REACH RECORD 412.1 BCFE
COMPANY
ANNOUNCES CONTRACT DRILLING OPERATIONS UPDATE
AND
2006
CAPITAL EXPENDITURE BUDGET
Tulsa,
Oklahoma….Unit Corporation (NYSE - UNT) today announced the following
information regarding the results of the operations of its wholly owned
subsidiaries.
Unit
Petroleum Company
Unit
Petroleum Company replaced 261% of its 2005 oil and natural gas production
and
increased its proved oil and natural gas reserves 19% to 412.1 Bcfe. At December
31, 2005, Unit’s net proved oil and natural gas reserves, as reviewed by its
Independent Petroleum Engineers, Ryder Scott, are 412.1 Bcfe of natural gas,
which includes 9.9 million barrels of oil and natural gas liquids and 352.8
Bcf
of natural gas. This increase resulted from certain acquisitions during the
year
and our participation in the drilling of 192 gross wells (with a success rate
of
92%) during 2005. Seventy-eight percent of these reserves are proved developed
and 86% of the total proved reserves are natural gas. 2005 marks the
22nd
consecutive year that Unit has met its goal of replacing more than 150% of
its
annual production with new oil and natural gas reserves. The net present value,
discounted at 10%, of these reserves as of December 31, 2005 is approximately
$1.3 billion. Future net revenue from these properties, before income taxes,
is
estimated to be $2.3 billion. This value is based on unescalated prices of
$61.04 per barrel of oil and $8.07 per Mcf of natural gas for the life of the
properties per SEC regulations.
During
2005, Unit produced a record 1,084,000 barrels of oil and 34.1 Bcf of natural
gas, or an equivalent Bcf of 40.6. This is an increase of 21% from the
equivalent production for 2004 when Unit produced 1,048,000 barrels of oil
and
27.1 Bcf of natural gas for an equivalent Bcf of 33.4.
Unit
Petroleum has budgeted capital expenditures of $240 million, excluding
acquisitions, for 2006, of which $215 million is planned for exploration and
development drilling. This budget represents a 42% increase over the company’s
estimated 2005 capital expenditures, excluding acquisitions. Unit Petroleum
currently plans to participate in the drilling of 235 wells during 2006, an
increase of 22% over 2005.
Unit
Drilling Company
Unit
Drilling Company’s dayrates for the fourth quarter averaged $14,626 per day,
which is $1,509 per day or 12% higher than the company’s third quarter 2005
dayrate average. Current dayrates average $17,129 per day, or $2,503 per day
higher than the fourth quarter average and $1,486 per day higher than the
December average.
"This
increase in the company’s dayrates from the third quarter to the fourth quarter
is the result of the strong demand for drilling rigs,” said Larry Pinkston,
President and Chief Executive Officer. "Strong demand for drilling rigs is still
evident by the continued increase in dayrates into 2006.”
Fourth
quarter rig utilization averaged 106.2 rigs and rig utilization for 2005
averaged 102.1, an increase of 12% and 16%, respectively, over the comparable
periods in 2004. Currently, Unit has 111 rigs, 110 of which are operating under
contract. As previously announced, in January 2006, Unit lost a drilling rig
in
a blow-out fire. In January 2006, the company acquired a 1,000 horsepower
electric rig that requires some modifications, but this rig is expected to
be
operational in March.
Unit
is
currently constructing two additional 1,500 horsepower SCR rigs. The first
of
these rigs should be completed and operational in April, and the second in
June.
Unit has also ordered two new 1,500 horsepower SCR rigs. The first of these
rigs
should be operational by mid-March, and the second rig is expected to be placed
into operation in April. The addition of these four drilling rigs should bring
Unit’s total rig fleet to 116 by the end of the second quarter of
2006.
Unit
Drilling has budgeted capital expenditures of $185 million for 2006, which
represents an increase of 107% over estimated 2005 capital expenditures,
excluding acquisitions. The company plans to add at least 10 rigs during 2006,
including the five rigs discussed above. The additional rigs will be added
through a combination of new rigs purchased and internal
construction.
Unit
will
release its fourth quarter and year-end 2005 earnings and host a conference
call
on Wednesday, February 22, 2006. The webcast will be broadcast live over the
Internet at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time at www.unitcorp.com.
___________________________________________________
Unit
Corporation is a Tulsa-based, publicly held energy company engaged through
its
subsidiaries in oil and gas exploration, production, contract drilling and
natural gas gathering and processing. Unit’s Common Stock is listed on the New
York Stock Exchange under the symbol UNT. For more information about Unit
Corporation, visit our website at http://www.unitcorp.com.
This
news
release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Securities
Litigation Reform Act that involve risks and uncertainties, including the amount
of the company’s oil and natural gas reserves, the value of the company’s oil
and natural gas reserves, the number of future wells the company plans to drill,
productive capabilities of the wells, future demand for oil and natural gas,
oil
and natural gas reserve information, anticipated production rates from company
wells, the prospective capabilities of offset acreage, timing of acquisition
or
construction of new drilling rigs, anticipated oil and natural gas prices,
anticipated operational dates for newly constructed or acquired drilling rigs,
future rates to be paid for the company’s drilling rigs as well as other
development, operational, implementation and opportunity risks, and other
factors described from time to time in the company’s publicly available SEC
reports, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those
expected.