DENVER, July 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Venoco, Inc. today announced that it has withdrawn its Form S-1 filed in February of this year with the Securities & Exchange Commission for a registered public offering of a master limited partnership.
"We've continued to identify and pursue attractive development projects in our mature, long-lived, oil fields. Combined with rising commodity prices and changing capital market conditions there is little incentive to pursue the MLP," said Tim Marquez, Chairman and CEO.
"The Draft EIR related to our South Ellwood field in California was recently released and we are nearing Denbury's first exercise date in our joint venture CO2 flood in our Hastings field in Texas. We don't want a complicated ownership structure to diminish the economics of these significant projects."
"Venoco's production and cash flow have been increasing, and we are targeting our capital spending to be within our cash flow for 2008 before working capital adjustments. If Denbury exercises its option to purchase the Hastings field at the end of this year, we expect to use the proceeds for a combination of debt reduction, unwinding commodity hedges, and possibly acquisitions," Mr. Marquez added.
Venoco is an independent energy company primarily engaged in the acquisition, exploitation and development of oil and natural gas properties in California and Texas. Venoco operates three offshore platforms in the Santa Barbara Channel, has non-operated interests in three other platforms, operates four onshore properties in Southern California, has extensive operations in Northern California's Sacramento Basin and operates eighteen fields in Texas.
Forward Looking Statements
All statements made in this news release other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These statements are based on assumptions and estimates that management believes are reasonable based on currently available information; however, management's assumptions and the company's future performance are both subject to a wide range of business risks and uncertainties and there is no assurance that these goals and projections can or will be met, any number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements, including the risk factors set forth in our filings with the SEC.
