HOUSTON, Jan. 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Vanguard Natural Resources, LLC (NYSEArca: VNR) ("Vanguard" or "the Company") today announced that its board of directors has declared a cash distribution attributable to the fourth quarter of 2008 of $0.50 per unit, payable on February 14, 2009 to unitholders of record on January 30, 2009. Based on Vanguard's current unit price and an annualized distribution of $2.00 per unit, investors can earn an attractive yield of approximately 22%.
Mr. Scott W. Smith, President and CEO, commented, "We are pleased to maintain our quarterly distribution at the $0.50 per unit level. We are benefitting from our attractive commodity hedges that have protected our cash flow and liquidity from the current challenging market conditions. In addition, we are focusing on lowering unit operating costs where possible and allocating capital expenditures to those projects that will generate suitable returns in a sub $5.00 gas and $50.00 oil environment."
Mr. Richard Robert, Executive Vice President and CFO, stated, "As outlined in detail in our press release on October 28, 2008, our hedging program consists of derivative contracts at commodity prices significantly higher than the current market. The majority of our expected crude oil production is hedged through 2012 at a weighted average price of $84.79 per barrel, and a significant portion of our expected natural gas production is hedged through 2011 under swaps and collars ranging between $9.23 and $11.44 per mcf. We will continue to monitor our production and cash flows and will adjust our capital expenditures accordingly in order to maintain financial flexibility and liquidity."
Vanguard's primary business objective is to generate stable cash flows to be distributed to our unitholders on a quarterly basis. In an effort to achieve this objective, from time to time, the Company enters into derivative contracts with counterparties that are major, creditworthy financial institutions and are required to be lenders under our reserve-based credit facility. Vanguard uses derivative contracts to mitigate cash flow volatility associated with fluctuating natural gas and oil prices on a portion of our natural gas and oil production and fluctuating interest rates on a portion of our outstanding debt. Currently, Vanguard uses a combination of fixed-price swaps and NYMEX collars and put options to reduce our exposure to the volatility in natural gas and oil prices.
About Vanguard Natural Resources, LLC
Vanguard Natural Resources, LLC is a publicly traded limited liability company focused on the acquisition, production and development of natural gas and oil properties. The Company's assets consist primarily of producing and non-producing natural gas and oil reserves located in the southern portion of the Appalachian Basin, the Permian Basin, and South Texas. More information on the Company can be found at http://www.vnrllc.com/.
Forward-Looking Statements
We make statements in this news release that are considered forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These forward-looking statements are largely based on our expectations, which reflect estimates and assumptions made by our management. These estimates and assumptions reflect our best judgment based on currently known market conditions and other factors. Although we believe such estimates and assumptions to be reasonable, they are inherently uncertain and involve a number of risks and uncertainties that are beyond our control. In addition, management's assumptions about future events may prove to be inaccurate. Management cautions all readers that the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are not guarantees of future performance, and we cannot assure you that such statements will be realized or the forward-looking events and circumstances will occur. Actual results may differ materially from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements due to factors listed in the "Risk Factors" section in our SEC filings and elsewhere in those filings. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this news release. We do not intend to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
CONTACT: Vanguard Natural Resources, LLC
Investor Relations
Richard Robert, EVP and CFO, 832-327-2258
