OREANDA-NEWS. Encana Corporation (TSX: ECA) (NYSE: ECA)

Encana continued to grow high margin production in each of its core four assets during the third quarter and took further decisive steps to lower its cost structures, manage its balance sheet and focus its portfolio. Highlights include:

-- liquids production up 10 percent from the second quarter and 35 percent year-over-year to 140,400 barrels per day (bbls/d), marking an eighth consecutive quarter of liquids growth
-- production from the company's core four assets, the Permian, Eagle Ford, Duvernay and Montney, increased 12 percent over the second quarter to 249,300 barrels of oil equivalent per day (BOE/d)
-- cash flow increased by $190 million from the second quarter to $371 million
-- disciplined capital allocation with over 90 percent of capital invested in the company's core four assets
-- reduced Permian horizontal drilling and completions costs by $2.0 million per well and Eagle Ford drilling and completion costs by $2.4 million per well since acquiring positions in both plays last year
-- announced agreements in August and October to divest its Haynesville and DJ Basin assets for a total cash consideration of $1.75 billion before closing adjustments; proceeds will be used to further strengthen the balance sheet and provide greater financial flexibility
-- under the agreement to sell its Haynesville natural gas assets (effective date of January 1, 2015), Encana will reduce its gathering and midstream commitments by $480 million on an undiscounted basis

"During the third quarter all aspects of our strategy came together to drive performance and deliver value," said Doug Suttles, President & CEO. "Disciplined capital allocation in our core four assets, combined with fast-paced operational innovation, delivered sustainable performance improvements and grew high-margin, high-return liquids volumes, which helped offset the quarter-over-quarter impact of lower liquids prices."

Total company production in the quarter averaged 398,300 BOE/d with Encana's core four assets, the Permian, Eagle Ford, Duvernay and Montney, contributing 249,300 BOE/d or 63 percent. Third quarter liquids production was 140,400 bbls/d, up 10 percent from the second quarter and 35 percent year-over-year, marking an eighth consecutive quarter of liquids growth. Natural gas volumes averaged 1,547 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d).

"Decisive action across the organization is continuously strengthening our business," said Suttles. "We are capturing the benefits of an increasingly focused portfolio and disciplined capital program, as well as significant reductions in our cost structures, debt and interest expense. Encana is competitively positioned, delivering strong returns in today's price environment with tremendous torque to any uplift in oil prices."

Since launching its strategy two years ago, Encana has driven down corporate costs, such as interest and administrative expenses, by about $300 million per year. Excluding one-time interest payments on the early redemption of debt, interest expense has been reduced by $150 million per year over that time. These proactive cost reductions, combined with $2.8 billion in announced and completed divestitures and a C$1.44 billion bought deal offering in 2015, will strengthen the balance sheet and provide greater financial flexibility. Pending the closing of previously announced divestitures, by year-end 2015 Encana expects to have reduced debt by around $2.8 billion with no long-term debt maturities until 2019.

Encana remains on track to deliver its 2015 cash flow guidance of between $1.4 billion and $1.6 billion. The company generated third quarter cash flow of $371 million or $0.44 per share, up $190 million from the second quarter when Encana made a $165 million one-time outlay associated with the early redemption of long-term debt. This early debt redemption is expected to save Encana$200 million in gross interest expense.

In the third quarter, the company reported an operating loss of $24 million or $0.03 per share; and a net loss of $1.2 billion or $1.47 per share primarily due to a $1.1 billion non-cash, after-tax ceiling test impairment. Year-to-date, Encana has generated $1.0 billion in cash flow or $1.29 per share; an operating loss of $172 million or $0.21 per share; and a net loss of $4.6 billion or $5.59 per share, largely attributable to non-cash, after-tax ceiling test impairments of $3.6 billion.

"Innovation is part of our culture and crucial to value creation," added Suttles. "Our decision to invest in operational innovation, particularly in the Permian, has delivered rapid and sustainable performance improvements and invaluable technical insight. Our continuous testing of well spacing, completions design and simultaneous operations is driving down costs, delivering better wells and helping us quickly discover optimal well designs in each of our core four assets."

To carry operational momentum into 2016, Encana has chosen to accelerate activity in the Permian originally scheduled for 2016 into the fourth quarter of this year, increasing its 2015 investment in the play by $150 million. Encana expects to conclude the year around the upper end of its 2015 capital guidance range of $2.2 billion.

Operating highlights:

Permian: Top tier operator after only 10 months in play

-- continued success in reducing drilling and completion costs, which are down $2.0 million per well in less than a year since entering the play
-- drilled latest pace-setting well in the Wolfcamp with a cycle time of 14 days
-- successful continuation of simultaneous operations with frac plugs drilled out on four wells simultaneously on the same pad
-- ran six 24-hour frac crews simultaneously over 10 days on six multi-well pads
-- drilled 17 net horizontal wells and 27 net vertical wells and brought 28 net horizontal wells and 30 net vertical wells on production
-- third quarter production of 45,700 BOE/d, up 28 and 42 percent from the second and first quarters respectively
-- expect to drill 36 net wells and bring 30 on production in the fourth quarter
-- on track to deliver fourth quarter production of 50,000 BOE/d
-- returns averaging more than 30 percent in 2015 based on October strip pricing

Eagle Ford: A great asset continues to outperform

-- continued success in reducing drilling and completion costs, which are down $2.4 million per well since entering the play in June 2014
-- completed upgrades to Patton Trust North facility, which when combined with the second quarter upgrades at Patton Trust South, increased gross production capacity by 30,000 bbls/d
-- drilled 10 net wells and brought 29 net wells on production
-- third quarter production of 54,000 BOE/d, up 18 and 29 percent from the second and first quarters respectively
-- expect to drill 14 net wells and bring seven on production in the fourth quarter
-- on track to deliver fourth quarter production of 57,000 BOE/d
-- returns averaging more than 30 percent in 2015 based on October strip pricing

Duvernay: Delivering compelling returns

-- repeated industry-leading drilling and completion costs of $10.4 million per well on the 15-22 multi-well pad
-- brought the 15-31 compressor station online, increasing processing capacity by 10,000 bbls/d and 50 MMcf/d
-- drilled two net wells and brought seven net wells on production
-- third quarter production of 9,300 BOE/d, up 59 and 69 percent from the second and first quarters respectively
-- expect to drill five net wells and bring six on production in the fourth quarter
-- on track to deliver fourth quarter production of 17,000 BOE/d
-- returns averaging more than 30 percent in 2015 (excluding joint venture carry) based on October strip pricing

Montney: Capital efficiency and continued liquids growth

-- strong liquids production in the Tower area, with four wells each flowing at more than 500 bbls/d of condensate within the first 30 days
-- brought nine net wells on production
-- third quarter production of 140,400 BOE/d, up three percent from the second quarter and comprising 21,800 bbls/d of liquids and 711 MMcf/d of natural gas; third quarter natural gas production was impacted by ongoing third-party transportation restrictions
-- expect to drill two net wells and bring seven on production in the fourth quarter
-- on track to deliver fourth quarter production of 146,000 BOE/d
-- the company continues to monitor ongoing third-party transportation restrictions to assess potential impact on fourth quarter natural gas production
-- returns averaging more than 60 percent in 2015 (excluding third party capital) based on October strip pricing Encana updates its risk management program in the quarter

At September 30, 2015, Encana has hedged approximately 1,000 MMcf/d of expected October to December 2015 natural gas production using NYMEX fixed price contracts at an average price of $4.29 per thousand cubic feet (Mcf) and approximately 95 MMcf/d of expected 2016 natural gas production using fixed price contracts at an average price of $2.98 per Mcf. In addition, Encana has protection on approximately 300 MMcf/d of expected 2016 natural gas production hedged under three-way costless collars. The NYMEX three-way costless collars are a combination of a sold call, purchased put and a sold put with average prices of $3.43, $3.21 and $2.72 per Mcf, respectively. These contracts allow the company to participate in the upside of commodity prices to the ceiling of the call option and provide the company with partial downside price protection through the combination of the put options.

At September 30, 2015, Encana has hedged approximately 88.9 thousand barrels per day (Mbbls/d) of expected October to December 2015 oil production using WTI fixed price contracts at an average price of $58.09 per bbl and approximately 38.0 Mbbls/d of expected 2016 oil production at an average price of $62.83 per bbl. Encana also has protection on approximately 18.3 Mbbls/d of expected 2016 oil production hedged under three-way costless collars. The WTI three-way costless collars are a combination of a sold call, purchased put and a sold put with average prices of $63.03, $55.00 and $47.24 per bbl, respectively.

Dividend declared

On November 11, 2015, Encana's Board of Directors declared a dividend of $0.07 per share payable on December 31, 2015, to common shareholders of record as of December 15, 2015.

Encana Corporation

Encana is a leading North American energy producer that is focused on developing its strong portfolio of resource plays, held directly and indirectly through its subsidiaries, producing natural gas, oil and natural gas liquids (NGLs). By partnering with employees, community organizations and other businesses, Encana contributes to the strength and sustainability of the communities where it operates. Encana common shares trade on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges under the symbol ECA.