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Aspen currently has working interests in approximately 76 producing
gas wells (56 operated by Aspen), mostly high BTU natural gas, and has drilled 10 gas
wells out of 12 attempts thus far in 2006. In the past 6 years, Aspen has successfully
completed 38 gas wells out of 45 attempts, which is an 84% success ratio, a record
virtually unheard of in the oil and gas exploration business.
Energy
Oil and Gas Exploration
(ASPN-OTC:BB)
Aspen Exploration Corporation
Mailing Address
PO Box 22530
Bakersfield, CA 93390-2530
1601 New Stine Road-Suite205
Bakersfield, CA. 93309
Phone: 661-831-4669
www.aspenexploration.com
Bob Cohan
President and
Chief Executive Officer
Interview conducted by:
Lynn Fosse, Senior Editor
August 17, 2006
Bob
Cohan
President and Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Cohan obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Geology from the State University
College at Oneonta, NY in 1979. He has approximately 27 years experience in oil and gas
exploration, development, and evaluation including employment with Western Geophysical, H.
K. van Poollen & Assoc., Inc., Universal Oil & Gas, and Tri-Valley Oil & Gas
Co. Mr. Cohan has been employed by Aspen Exploration Corporation for a total of 15 years
and effective May 1, 2003, was appointed President and CEO of Aspen. He is a member of the
Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) and the American Association of Petroleum Geologists
(AAPG).
Company Profile:
ASPEN EXPLORATION CORPORATION (OTCASPN.OB), operating primarily in northern California
is engaged in the business of acquiring and developing interests in domestic oil and gas
properties. The Company has a talented staff that allows Aspen to keep overhead costs low
and yet participate in numerous exploration and development drilling deals as well as
production purchases.
Aspen currently has working interests in approximately 76
producing gas wells (56 operated by Aspen), mostly high BTU natural gas, and has
drilled 10 gas wells out of 12 attempts thusfar in 2006. In the past 6 years, Aspen
has successfully completed 38 gas wells out of 45 attempts, which is an 84% success ratio,
a record virtually unheard of in the oil and gas exploration business. 3-D seismic data
and qualified interpreters are essential for this exploration. All of the selected drill
sites for 2006 have been identified through the use of 3-D seismic techniques, which have
demonstrated great improvement in the percentages of successful oil and gas discoveries.
New and additional drilling locations for gas wells are constantly being sought, based on
solid geology in conjunction with 3-D seismic information. The Sacramento Valley of
California, where current activities are focused, include extensive, nationally important
oil and gas production and refining facilities, thereby allowing quick hook-up and
production of gas when a discovery is made. The Aspen staff and consultants have also
found representatives of the State of California to be very cooperative and it is not
difficult to obtain permits for new exploratory wells or to expand existing production.
CEOCFO: Mr. Cohan, will you give us a little
background on Aspen, please?
Mr. Cohan: "Aspen was founded in February of
1980, about 26½ years ago. In April of 1995, which was approximately eleven years ago, I
opened the California office. We are currently engaged in natural gas exploration in the Sacramento
Valley of northern California; operating 56 gas wells and have other non-operated
interests in 20 additional wells. We are traded under the symbol ASPN.OB and have offices
in Bakersfield, California and Denver, Colorado."
CEOCFO:
What was your vision a year ago and how has that played out?
Mr. Cohan: "The vision for 2005 was to
continually increase Aspens gas production, revenues, and share price, in addition
to drilling quality gas prospects. We have done that quite nicely. If you look at an Aspen
stock price-chart going back to April of 2004, we traded at 62 cents per share and today
we are currently trading at $4.40 per share, a 600% increase in 28 months. In the
most recent 10-Q for the nine months ended March 31, 2006, Aspen reported revenues of
$4,872,000 an increase of 55% compared to $3,135,000 for the nine months ended March 31,
2005. Net income before interest, depletion, depreciation and taxes was $3,846,000, or
$0.52 per diluted share, compared to $2,296,000, or $0.35 per diluted share for the prior
nine month period. Aspen had pre-tax income of $2,731,000, or $0.37 per diluted share,
compared to pre-tax income of $1,823,000, or $0.27 per diluted share, for the nine months
in fiscal 2005. Net income of $1,797,000 represented an increase of 30%, as compared to
$1,386,000 in the year-earlier period. Aspen reported earnings of $0.24 per diluted share
compared with earnings of $0.21 per diluted share for the prior year nine month
period."
CEOCFO: How have you done this and how do you
continue to grow?
Mr. Cohan: "A careful selection of drilling
prospects. For every well that we drill, we probably evaluate twenty to twenty-five
prospects. We use the best geological and geophysical consultants, 3-D seismic data in
addition to well data in identifying our prospects. We drilled nine gas wells last year
out of 10 attempts for a 90% success ratio and I think that demonstrates our careful drill
site selection. For the last six years, we drilled 38 gas wells out of 45 attempts, which
is an 84% success rate. Natural gas prices have helped us considerably; gas prices have
been in the range of $5.00 per MMBTU to $10.50 per MMBTU for the past twelve months.
CEOCFO:
84% is an extremely high success rate!
Mr. Cohan: "It is incredibly high! I would say
the industry average is probably 25% - 30%."
CEOCFO:
What is the secret to your success?
Mr. Cohan: "I do not know if there are any
secrets. We do not drill many super wildcats, so that helps minimize the risk. I think it
just goes back to good basic business. There is no magic formula other than the things I
have previously said such as using quality scientific consultants and looking at many
prospects. The other thing about Aspen is that we will not drill a well just because we
have the money to do so and we can make some money on a prospect fee. Many companies out
there will do that; we will not."
CEOCFO:
What is it about that particular geographic area which makes it a good place to be?
Mr. Cohan: "What we like about the Sacramento Valley
is that it is a large basin which encompasses about ten counties in northern California
There are multiple producing horizons. Our shallowest well is 2,000 feet and our deepest
well is about 11,500 feet. If the well depth is 7,000 feet and shallower, the gas really
images nicely on 3-D seismic so you can see the AVO anomalies or bright spots; things of
that nature. We know all of the service companies and other operators that work in this
region, and Aspen has established a very good reputation. We pretty much have found a home
up there in the last eleven years. There are many places to drill with multiple
horizons."
CEOCFO:
Are there a set number of properties you would like to acquire?
Mr. Cohan: "It all depends on the amount of
prospects that are available to us at any given time. We have quite a few in inventory
right now. Until the last two years, we averaged about five wells a year. For the past two
years (2004 & 2005) we drilled ten wells per year and we drilled 12 wells thus far in
2006. We only have two full-time employees; everything else is accomplished with
consultants and service companies.
CEOCFO:
Will you explain the benefits of working with the outside consultants as opposed to your
own people?
Mr. Cohan: "Working with outside consultants
keeps our overhead costs much lower than if we had a staff of ten or fifteen people. Many
companies with Aspens level of activity have maybe ten or twelve full-time employees
and we have two. The cost of the consultant or service company is typically part of the
well cost, which is shared by Aspen and all the partners in the various wells."
CEOCFO:
It seems that the experience and the steadiness of Aspen is a very important feature for
people looking at the company!
Mr. Cohan: "That is so true! Most companies Aspens
size just have a dream or an idea and no cash flow. Maybe they are not incredibly honest. Aspen
is known to be very solid and very honest. You get a high level of confidence when you
deal with us either in buying our stock or investing in our wells. Another reason we get
to see a lot of drilling prospects is that the geologists and geophysicists that bring us
those prospects know that if Aspen takes those prospects, they will get paid a prospect
fee, the well will be drilled in a timely manner and if it is successful, they will get
their overriding royalty each month. Aspen is a closer. If you look at our balance sheet,
there is essentially no debt, good cash flow, and good management. It is a very good
company to invest in and I think people tend to sense that."
CEOCFO:
What should people look for going forward?
Mr. Cohan: "I think continued growth and
success, strong natural gas prices, which coupled with the increased gas production, will
show increased revenues.
CEOCFO: You mentioned earlier taking advantage of the
latest technologies in terms of deciding what wells you might want; what about on the
production end?
Mr. Cohan: "On the production end, one advantage
Aspen has, even though we operate quite a few wells for a small company, is that I know
what every well is doing every morning. I get an email from the field pumpers, so I can
see a production problem as soon as it arises and rectify that problem. For example, if I
see increased water production in a well, I will look at it that morning and we can choke
back or cut back production on the well, therefore possibly minimizing water production
and prolonging the life of the well. We use the best available technology out there to
operate the wells. It is more about caring about the gas wells and paying attention to the
details.
On the exploration end Aspen has started to successfully utilize underbalanced drilling
techniques."
CEOCFO: What are
the challenges that you see and how are you prepared for potential challenges?
Mr. Cohan: "Our main challenge is to keep a
steady stream of drilling prospects in our inventory. We have been able to do that thus
far and we have more prospects now than at any time in the past. That is the biggest
challenge, to continue to get quality prospects to drill."
CEOCFO: In closing, what would you like readers to
remember about Aspen?
Mr. Cohan: "In closing, I think Aspen is a
wonderful investment opportunity with an honest, solid reputation, good existing gas
properties and cash flow, excellent future drilling prospects, little debt and a very high
gas price environment. Looking forward I see continued growth."
This article contains information that is
forward-looking in that it describes events and conditions which Aspen
Exploration Corporation (Aspen) reasonably expects to occur in the
future. Expectations for the future performance of the business of Aspen are
dependent upon a number of factors, and there can be no assurance that Aspen will achieve
the results as contemplated herein and there can be no assurance that Aspen will be able
to conduct its operations or production from its properties will continue as contemplated
herein. Certain statements contained in this report using the terms may,
expects to, and other terms denoting future possibilities, are forward-looking
statements. The accuracy of these statements cannot be guaranteed as they are
subject to a variety of risks which are beyond the Companys ability to predict or
control and which may cause actual results to differ materially from the projections or
estimates contained herein. These risks include, but are not limited to: the
possibility that the described operations (including any proposed exploration or
development drilling) will not be completed on economic terms, if at all, or the estimates
of reserves may not be accurate. The exploration for, and development and production
of, oil and gas are an enterprises attendant with high risk, including the risk of
fluctuating prices for oil and natural gas, imports of petroleum products from other
countries, the risks of not encountering adequate resources despite expending large sums
of money, and the risk that test results and reserve estimates may not be accurate,
notwithstanding appropriate precautions. Many of these risks are described herein
and in Aspens annual report on Form 10-KSB, and it is important that each person
reviewing this report understand the significant risks attendant to the operations of Aspen.
Aspen disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statement made herein.
disclaimers
Any reproduction or further distribution of this
article without the express written consent of CEOCFOinterviews.com is prohibited.
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