Item 2. Trustees Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and
Results of Operations.
Introduction
BP Prudhoe Bay Royalty Trust (the Trust), a grantor trust, was created as a Delaware business trust pursuant to a Trust
Agreement dated February 28, 1989 (the Trust Agreement), among The Standard Oil Company (Standard Oil), BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. (BP Alaska), The Bank of New York Mellon, as trustee, and
BNY Mellon Trust of Delaware (successor to The Bank of New York (Delaware)), as co-trustee. On December 15, 2010, The Bank of New York Mellon resigned as trustee and was replaced by The Bank of New York Mellon
Trust Company, N.A., a national banking association, as successor trustee (the Trustee). At the time of formation of the Trust, Standard Oil and BP Alaska were indirect, wholly-owned subsidiaries of BP p.l.c.
(BP).
On August 27, 2019, BP announced that it had agreed to sell BP Alaska and its other assets and operations in
Alaska for total consideration of $5.6 billion to Hilcorp Alaska, LLC and its affiliates, which are affiliates of Houston-based Hilcorp Energy Company (collectively Hilcorp). On June 30, 2020, Hilcorp completed its
acquisition of BPs entire upstream business in Alaska, including BPs interest in BP Alaska, which owned all of BPs upstream oil and gas interest in Alaska (including oil and gas leases in the Prudhoe Bay field), and on December 18,
2020, an affiliate of Hilcorp completed its acquisition of BPs midstream business in Alaska. On July 1, 2020, BP Alaska, a Delaware corporation, converted to a Delaware limited liability company and changed its name to Hilcorp North Slope,
LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hilcorp Alaska, LLC. Hilcorp and its affiliates employ approximately 1,400 full-time employees in Alaska. Under the terms of the Trust Agreement, HNS is the successor to BP
Alaska. For purposes of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, HNS means (i) at all times prior to June 30, 2020, BP Alaska, and (ii) at all times after and including June 30, 2020,
Hilcorp North Slope, LLC (formerly known as BP Alaska).
The information in this report relating to the Prudhoe Bay Unit, the calculation
of Royalty Payments and certain other matters has been furnished to the Trustee by HNS, and the Trustee is entitled to rely on the accuracy of such information in accordance with the Trust Agreement.
Termination of the Trust
As a general
matter, the Trust is expected to terminate at such time the net revenues from the Royalty Interest for two successive years are less than $1,000,000 per year. Net revenues to the Trust are calculated daily by HNS using the WTI Price, Production
Taxes, and other variables as prescribed by the Overriding Royalty Conveyance applicable on that specific day. In 2020, the net revenues from the Royalty Interest were less than $1,000,000. As a result, it was possible that the Trust could have
terminated as early as sometime in 2022 under this provision of the Trust Agreement. Based on the 2020 SEC-defined twelve-month average WTI Price of $39.57 per barrel (the unweighted average of first-day-of-the-month WTI Price over the period January through December of the respective
year in accordance with SEC guidelines), WTI Prices, Production Taxes, and the Chargeable Costs adjusted as prescribed by the Overriding Royalty Conveyance, HNS had previously estimated that production of the proved reserves would result in no
Royalty Payments to the Trust in 2021.
Since the beginning of 2021 through the end of the third quarter of 2021, the WTI Price has
fluctuated from a low of $47.62 on January 4, 2021 to a high of $75.45 on September 27, 2021, and exceeded the estimates originally used to evaluate the likelihood of the Trust receiving Royalty Payments in 2021. As a result of the
increase in WTI Prices during the second and third quarters, there was a Royalty Payment to the Trust of $3,203,261 attributable to the quarter ended June 30, 2021, and $6,145,027 attributable to the quarter ended September 30, 2021
received by the Trust in October 2021, after adjusting for a production true-up (an overpayment of the royalties due with respect to quarters ended prior to the date of the payment). The receipt of net
revenues from the Royalty Interest in 2021 in excess of $1,000,000, has resulted in a reset of the earliest termination date of the Trust to sometime in 2023 or 2024, based on current facts and circumstances.
Recent Developments
The average daily
closing WTI price was above the break-even price for the third quarter ended September 30, 2021, resulting in a quarterly payment with respect to the Royalty Interest of $6,145,027 million to the Trust, after deduction of
$4,276 representing an overpayment to the Trust for quarter ended June 30, 2021. Because this revenue was not received by the Trust until October 15, 2021, it will be recorded in the fourth quarter of 2021. In accordance with the Trust
Agreement, the Trustee paid all accrued expenses of the Trust through September 30, 2021, and then distributed the excess of the cash received by the Trust over the Trusts expenses, net of any additions to the cash reserve established for
the payment of estimated liabilities before making a quarterly distribution to unit holders. After paying the Trusts expenses accrued through September 30, 2021 and making an addition to the cash reserve of $4,229,890, $1,485,820 was
available for distribution to unitholders. The amount added to the cash reserve brought the total cash reserve to $6,000,000 during October 2021. This replenishment of the cash reserve takes into account the fact that the Trust did not receive any
payments with respect to the Royalty Interest attributable to 2020 or the first quarter of 2021 and therefore was unable to make any additions to the cash reserve for those five quarters, the increase in Trust administrative expenses and the
expected expenses associated with the future termination of the Trust. The Trustee continues to evaluate the adequacy of the cash reserve and may need to increase the amount of the cash reserve further in the future. See Note 2 to the Financial
Statements (Unaudited) in Item 1.
For the three months ended September 30, 2021, the Per Barrel Royalty was calculated based on the
following information:
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|
|
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Average WTI Price
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$
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70.64
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Average Adjusted Chargeable Costs
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$
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61.61
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Average Production Taxes
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$
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2.49
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Average Per Barrel Royalty
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$
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6.54
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Average Net Production (mb/d)
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62.3
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|
Although the Trust received net revenues attributable to the quarters ended June 30, 2021 and September 30, 2021,
there can be no assurance that WTI Prices will remain at levels sufficient to result in Royalty Payments to the Trust in any future quarter. Given the uncertainty around the continued regular receipt of net revenues from the Royalty Interest
combined with the expenses of operating the Trust and the fees, costs and expenses related to the limited ability to terminate the Trust in accordance with its terms, the Trustee may continue to explore all options to terminate the trust. These
options may include seeking consent of the Unit holders for an early termination of the Trust, among other things. There can be no assurance that the Trust will terminate any earlier than sometime in 2023 or 2024 nor can a time line for termination
be accurately predicted. See Note 2 to the Financial Statements (Unaudited) in Item 1.
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