PACIFIC COAST OIL TRUST (OTC–ROYTL) (the “Trust”), a royalty
trust formed by Pacific Coast Energy Company LP (“PCEC”), announced
today that there will be no cash distribution to the holders of its
units of beneficial interest of record on April 30, 2024 based on
the Trust’s calculation of net profits generated during February
2024 (the “Current Month”) as provided in the conveyance of net
profits interests and overriding royalty interest (the
“Conveyance”). As further described below under “Update on
Estimated Asset Retirement Obligations,” based on information from
PCEC, any monthly payments that PCEC may make to the Trust may not
be sufficient to cover the Trust’s administrative expenses and
outstanding debt to PCEC, and therefore the likelihood of
distributions to the unitholders in the foreseeable future is
extremely remote. As further described below under “Status of the
Dissolution of the Trust,” because the annual cash proceeds
received by the Trust from its net profits interests (the “Net
Profits Interests”) and 7.5% overriding royalty interest (the
“Royalty Interest”) totaled less than $2.0 million for each of 2020
and 2021, the amended and restated trust agreement governing the
Trust (the “Trust Agreement”) provides that the Trust is to be
dissolved and wound‑up. All financial and operational information
in this press release has been provided to the Trustee by PCEC.
The Current Month’s distribution calculation for the Developed
Properties reflected operating income of approximately $1.0
million, as revenues from the Developed Properties were
approximately $3.0 million, lease operating expenses including
property taxes were approximately $1.9 million, and development
costs (including adjustments from prior periods) were approximately
$24,000. The average realized price for the Developed Properties
was $75.01 per Boe for the Current Month, as compared to $71.85 per
Boe in January 2024. Net profits were approximately $0.8 million.
As a result, the cumulative net profits deficit amount for the
Developed Properties decreased to approximately $17.4 million, as
further discussed below under “Update on Estimated Asset Retirement
Obligations”.
The Current Month’s calculation included approximately $58,000
generated from the 7.5% overriding royalty interest on the
Remaining Properties from Orcutt Diatomite and Orcutt Field.
Average realized prices for the Remaining Properties were $72.72
per Boe in the Current Month, as compared to $71.40 per Boe in
January 2024. The cumulative net profits deficit for the Remaining
Properties declined slightly, to approximately $0.7 million, as
further discussed below under “Update on Estimated Asset Retirement
Obligations”.
The monthly operating and services fee of approximately $108,000
payable to PCEC, together with Trust general and administrative
expenses of approximately $50,000, exceeded the payment of
approximately $58,000 received from PCEC from the 7.5% overriding
royalty interest on the Remaining Properties, creating a shortfall
of approximately $100,000.
Sales Volumes and Prices
The following table displays PCEC’s underlying sales volumes and
average prices for the Current Month:
Underlying Properties
Sales Volumes
Average Price
(Boe)
(Boe/day)
(per Boe)
Developed Properties (a)
39,753
1,371
$75.01
Remaining Properties (b)
11,145
384
$72.72
(a) Crude oil sales represented 98% of
sales volumes
(b) Crude oil sales represented 100% of
sales volumes
Update on Amounts Owed to PCEC by the Trust
PCEC has provided the Trust with a $1 million letter of credit
to be used by the Trust if its cash on hand (including available
cash reserves) is not sufficient to pay ordinary course
administrative expenses as they become due. As of March 31, 2021,
the letter of credit has been fully drawn down. Further, the Trust
Agreement provides that if the Trust requires more than the $1
million under the letter of credit to pay administrative expenses,
PCEC will, upon written request of the Trustee, loan funds to the
Trust in such amount as necessary to pay such expenses. Under the
Trust Agreement, the Trust may only use funds provided under the
letter of credit or loaned by PCEC or another source to pay the
Trust’s current accounts or other obligations to trade creditors in
connection with obtaining goods or services or for the payment of
other accrued current liabilities arising in the ordinary course of
the Trust’s business. As the Trust has fully drawn down the letter
of credit, PCEC has loaned funds to the Trust pursuant to a
promissory note to pay shortfalls related to previous months and
will be loaning funds to the Trust to pay the expected shortfall of
approximately $100,000 related to the Current Month.
As of the end of the Current Month, the Trust owed PCEC
approximately $6.2 million (which includes the amount drawn from
the letter of credit, amounts borrowed under the promissory note,
and in each case, accrued interest).
Loans made to the Trust and amounts drawn from the letter of
credit, together with interest thereon, will be repaid from
proceeds, if any, payable to the Trust pursuant to the Net Profits
Interests and the Royalty Interest, and from any proceeds from a
sale of the Trust’s assets in connection with the dissolution of
the Trust. Consequently, no further distributions may be made until
the Trust’s indebtedness created by such amounts drawn or borrowed,
including interest thereon, has been paid in full. Given the
outstanding amount borrowed by the Trust to date, there may not be
any net proceeds from a sale of the Trust’s assets to be
distributed to the Trust unitholders.
Update on Estimated Asset Retirement Obligations
As previously disclosed, in November 2019, PCEC informed the
Trustee that, as permitted by the Conveyance, PCEC intended to
begin deducting its estimated asset retirement obligations (“ARO”)
associated with the West Pico, Orcutt Hill, Orcutt Hill Diatomite,
East Coyote and Sawtelle fields, thereby reducing the amounts
payable to the Trust under its Net Profits Interests. ARO is the
recognition related to net present value of future plugging and
abandonment costs that all oil and gas operators face. PCEC engaged
an accounting firm, Moss Adams LLP (“Moss Adams”), acting as
third-party consultants, to assist PCEC in determining its
estimated ARO, and on February 27, 2020, PCEC informed the Trustee
that based on the analysis performed by Moss Adams, PCEC’s
estimated ARO, as of December 31, 2019, was $45,695,643, which is
approximately $10.0 million less than the undiscounted amount that
was originally estimated before Moss Adams completed its analysis,
as previously disclosed in the Trust’s Current Report on Form 8‑K
filed on November 13, 2019. According to PCEC and its third-party
consultants, its estimated ARO, which reflected PCEC’s assessment
of current market conditions as of December 31, 2019 and changes in
California law, was determined to be approximately $33.2 million
for the Developed Properties and approximately $12.5 million for
the Remaining Properties, or approximately $26.5 million and
approximately $3.1 million net to the Trust, respectively, and PCEC
has reflected these amounts beginning with the calculation of the
net profits generated during January 2020.
PCEC has informed the Trustee that in accordance with generally
accepted accounting principles, PCEC will evaluate the ARO on a
quarterly basis. As a result of that re-evaluation, the actual ARO
incurred in the future may be greater or less than the estimated
amounts provided by PCEC. As previously disclosed, PCEC has
informed the Trustee that at year-end 2020, and following the end
of each of the first, second and third quarters of 2021, in light
of the accounting guidance under Accounting Standards Codification
(“ASC”) 410-20-35-3, which requires the recognition of changes in
the asset retirement obligation due to the passage of time and
revision of the timing or amount of the originally estimated
undiscounted cash flows, PCEC re-evaluated the estimated ARO, which
resulted in an aggregate increase to the ARO accrual for the
Developed Properties by approximately $5.1 million, net to the
Trust’s interest, and an aggregate increase to the ARO accrual for
the Remaining Properties by approximately $288,000, net to the
Trust’s interest. PCEC previously informed the Trustee that PCEC
has recognized additional asset retirement obligations for the year
ended December 31, 2021, in the amount of approximately $1.2
million, of which approximately $0.4 million relates to the
Developed Properties, while approximately $0.8 million relates to
the Remaining Properties. Net to the Trust’s interests, this
represents an upward ARO revision of approximately $0.3 million and
approximately $0.2 million for the Developed Properties and the
Remaining Properties, respectively.
In June 2023, PCEC engaged Cornerstone Engineering, Inc.
(“Cornerstone”) to perform an ARO evaluation for the West Pico and
Orcutt Hill fields. Based on Cornerstone’s report, Moss Adams has
provided PCEC with an updated ARO valuation that reflects an upward
adjustment in the ARO values as of December 31, 2022, of
approximately $13.7 million discounted to December 31, 2022, with a
cumulative increase in the accretion for the first three quarters
of 2023 of approximately $1.0 million net to the Trust’s interests.
The adjustment in the ARO values as of December 31, 2022, and
accretion was recorded as a single adjustment during September for
the calculated difference between the previously recorded ARO
values and the new value including accretion through September
2023. These adjustments were reflected in the net profits interest
calculations for September 2023.
After reflecting the deduction of PCEC’s legal fees for the
Current Month as discussed below in “Status of the Dissolution of
the Trust—PCEC Arbitration,” the net profits deficit for the
Developed Properties decreased from approximately $18.1 million for
the prior month to approximately $17.4 million, while the net
profits deficit for the Remaining Properties declined slightly,
from approximately $0.8 million to approximately $0.7 million. The
net profits deficit must be recouped from proceeds otherwise
payable to the Trust from the Net Profits Interests. The Trust is
not responsible for the payment of the deficit, which will continue
to be repaid out of the proceeds from the Net Profits Interests
following the sale thereof in connection with the dissolution of
the Trust. Proceeds from such sale would be used to repay amounts
drawn from the letter of credit and borrowed from PCEC and to pay
the expenses of the Trust, including any estimated future remaining
expenses, with any remaining net proceeds to be distributed to the
Trust unitholders; sale proceeds will not be reflected in any
monthly net profits interest calculation and therefore would not be
applied to repayment of any net profits deficit in existence at the
time of such sale.
Based on PCEC’s estimate of its ARO attributable to the Net
Profits Interests, deductions relating to estimated ARO are likely
to eliminate the likelihood of any distributions to Trust
unitholders for the foreseeable future, as previously disclosed in
the Trust’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on November 13,
2019.
As previously disclosed, the Trust engaged Martindale
Consultants, Inc. (“Martindale”), a provider of analysis and
compliance review services to the oil and gas industry, to perform
an independent review of the estimated ARO in the Moss Adams report
that PCEC provided to the Trustee. The Trustee also has engaged an
accounting expert to advise the Trustee regarding the accruals that
PCEC has booked relating to its estimated ARO. As disclosed in the
Trust’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on December 29, 2020,
Martindale has completed its review of the estimated ARO and on
December 21, 2020, provided its analysis and recommendations to the
Trustee. Based on Martindale’s recommendations provided in its
report to the Trust, as disclosed in the Trust’s Current Report on
Form 8-K filed on December 29, 2020, the Trustee requested that
PCEC promptly make several adjustments to its calculations and
methods of deducting ARO from the proceeds to which the Trust is
otherwise entitled pursuant to its Net Profits Interests. PCEC has
responded to the Trustee, indicating PCEC’s view that the
adjustments would violate applicable contracts and accounting
standards, and has therefore declined to make any adjustments to
the estimated ARO calculation based on those requests and the
recommendations of the Martindale report. The Trustee has concluded
that it has taken all actions reasonably available to it under the
Trust’s governing documents in connection with PCEC’s ARO
calculation and therefore has determined not to take further action
at this time.
Status of the Dissolution of the Trust
As described in more detail in the Trust’s filings with the SEC,
the Trust Agreement provides that the Trust will terminate if the
annual cash proceeds received by the Trust from the Net Profits
Interests and the Royalty Interest total less than $2.0 million for
each of any two consecutive calendar years. Because of the
cumulative net profits deficit—which PCEC contends is the result of
the substantial reduction in commodity prices during 2020 due to
the COVID-19 pandemic and PCEC’s deduction of estimated ARO
beginning in the first quarter of 2020—the only cash proceeds the
Trust has received from March 2020 has been attributable to the
Royalty Interest, other than the period from August 2022 through
February 2023, when the net profits deficit with respect to the
Remaining Properties had been eliminated. As a result, the total
proceeds received by the Trust in each of 2020 and 2021 were less
than $2.0 million. Therefore, the Trust had been expected to
terminate by its terms at the end of 2021.
Evergreen Arbitration
As previously disclosed in the Trust’s Current Report on Form
8-K filed on December 23, 2021, on December 8, 2021, Evergreen
Capital Management LLC (“Evergreen”) filed an Amended Class Action
and Shareholder Derivative Complaint alleging a derivative action
on behalf of the Trust and against PCEC in the Superior Court of
the State of California for the County of Los Angeles (the
“Court”).
On December 10, 2021, Evergreen filed a motion for temporary
restraining order and for preliminary injunction, seeking to (1)
enjoin the Trustee from dissolving the Trust, (2) enjoin PCEC from
dissolving the Trust, (3) direct PCEC to account for all monies
withheld from the Trust on the basis of ARO costs since September
2019, and (4) direct PCEC to place such monies in escrow. On
December 16, 2021, the Court granted Evergreen’s application for a
temporary restraining order only to the extent of enjoining the
dissolution of the Trust. Accordingly, the Trust did not dissolve
at the end of 2021 and commence the process of selling its assets
and winding up its affairs.
On January 11, 2022, PCEC and Evergreen filed an agreed
stipulation to stay the prosecution of Evergreen’s derivative
claims pending an arbitration of such claims. On January 13, 2022,
the Court signed an Order dissolving the December 16, 2021,
temporary restraining order and entering a new temporary
restraining order to preserve the status quo until a tribunal of
three arbitrators appointed pursuant to the Trust Agreement could
rule on any request by Evergreen for injunctive relief. On April
11, 2022, PCEC notified the Court, at the arbitrators’ request,
that the arbitration panel had issued an order on April 7, 2022,
denying Evergreen’s request for injunctive relief. On April 13,
2022, Evergreen notified the Court that Evergreen had filed a
motion for reconsideration with the arbitration panel that same
day, which was denied on May 26, 2022. On August 30, 2022, the
arbitration Panel issued a Partial Final Award dismissing with
prejudice Evergreen’s derivative claims against PCEC, including
Evergreen’s application for an injunction. On December 5, 2023, the
California Superior Court confirmed that Partial Final Award.
On June 20, 2022, Evergreen filed an amended pleading in the
arbitration, adding the Trustee as a party to that proceeding. In
early September 2022, Evergreen informed the Trustee that it was
going to seek a preliminary injunction while its claims against the
Trustee were pending. At the request of the arbitration panel, the
Trustee agreed to take no steps toward the sale of the Trust corpus
until the Panel decided Evergreen’s application for a preliminary
injunction. On September 12, 2022, the Trustee filed a motion to
dismiss Evergreen’s claims against the Trustee. On September 22,
2022, Evergreen filed an opposition to the Trustee’s motion to
dismiss. On September 15, 2022, Evergreen filed a motion to enjoin
the Trustee from selling the Trust assets or dissolving the Trust
during the pendency of the arbitration. The Trustee and PCEC filed
a response in opposition to Evergreen’s motion on September 22,
2022. Both motions were heard by the Panel on October 24, 2022. On
October 31, 2022, the Panel granted the Trustee’s motion and
dismissed Evergreen’s claims against the Trustee with prejudice,
which mooted Evergreen’s request for injunctive relief.
As a result, the Trustee plans to move forward with the winding
up of the Trust in accordance with the provisions of the Trust
Agreement, which will include selling all of the Trust’s assets and
distributing the net proceeds of the sale to the Trust unitholders
after payment, or reasonable provision for payment, of all Trust
liabilities, including the establishment of cash reserves in such
amounts as the Trustee in its discretion deems appropriate for the
purpose of making reasonable provision for all claims and
obligations of the Trust, including any contingent, conditional or
unmatured claims and obligations, in accordance with the Delaware
Statutory Trust Act.
PCEC Arbitration
On March 31, 2023, PCEC submitted a demand for arbitration
against the Trustee, as trustee of the Trust, seeking, among other
things, (1) an order compelling the Trustee to commence the process
of dissolving the Trust pursuant to the provisions of the Trust
Agreement, (2) a declaration that the Conveyance permits the legal
fees and costs that PCEC, as operator, incurred in defending the
Evergreen litigation and arbitration proceedings described above to
be deducted from the proceeds from the Net Profits Interests, and
(3) a declaration that the Trust must repay, with interest, the
legal fees and costs that PCEC paid on behalf of the Trust to
defend claims against the Trustee in the Evergreen proceedings or,
alternatively, that PCEC may deduct such legal fees and costs from
the proceeds from the Net Profits Interests.
The hearing before the arbitration panel was concluded on August
2, 2023, and on September 28, 2023, as previously disclosed, the
arbitration panel issued its Partial Final Award, in which the
panel found as follows:
- The Trustee is not required to immediately commence the
marketing and sale of the Trust’s assets;
- PCEC is entitled to deduct from the net profits its own legal
fees and the Trustee’s legal fees paid by PCEC in connection with
the Evergreen proceedings; and
- PCEC is not entitled to reimbursement of such legal fees from
the proceeds of the sale of the Trust’s assets.
In light of the arbitration panel’s finding that the Trustee is
not required to immediately commence the marketing of the Trust’s
assets, the Trustee has continued to work with PCEC and the Trust’s
independent auditor to complete the audits of the Trust’s financial
statements for the years ended December 31, 2019 through 2023 and
to prepare a comprehensive annual report on Form 10-K as part of
the Trust’s efforts to become current in its filing obligations
under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The Trust
expects to file the comprehensive annual report with the Securities
and Exchange Commission as soon as possible after completion of the
audits, at which point the Trustee expects to commence the
marketing and sale process; however, it is possible that additional
delays in the completion and filing of the comprehensive annual
report could occur. In the meantime, the Trustee will continue to
communicate material information to unitholders via press releases
and Forms 8-K.
Meanwhile, because the Partial Final Award confirmed PCEC’s
right to deduct from the net profits its own legal fees and the
Trustee’s legal fees paid by PCEC in connection with the Evergreen
proceedings, PCEC deducted approximately $4.0 million (including
approximately $0.4 million in interest) under the net profits
interest calculation for September 2023. This amount reflected all
such legal fees paid through September 30, 2023, and resulted in an
increase of approximately $3.5 million to the net profits deficit
for the Developed Properties and approximately $0.5 million to the
net profits deficit for the Remaining Properties, as reflected in
the cumulative net profits deficit amount reported above in “Update
on Estimated Asset Retirement Obligations.” PCEC has deducted
approximately $162,000 and approximately $14,000 from the Current
Month’s net profits interest calculations for the Developed
Properties and the Remaining Properties, respectively. PCEC has
indicated to the Trustee that PCEC continues to incur fees and
expenses related to Evergreen’s appeal of its loss in the
litigation and arbitration and will continue to deduct those
amounts under the monthly net profits interest calculation as
provided in the Conveyance, which could result in further increases
to the net profits deficit. Meanwhile, the Trust expects to borrow
funds from PCEC sufficient to pay the legal fees of the Trustee
incurred in connection with the PCEC arbitration.
Replacement of the Trustee
As previously disclosed, at a special meeting of the unitholders
of the Trust held on July 12, 2023 (the “Special Meeting”), a
majority of the unitholders voted to remove The Bank of New York
Mellon Trust Company, N.A. as trustee of the Trust. A successor
trustee was not nominated for approval at the Special Meeting.
Under Section 6.05 of the Trust Agreement, if a new trustee has not
been approved within 60 days after a vote of unitholders removing a
trustee, a successor trustee may be appointed by any State or
Federal District Court having jurisdiction in New Castle County,
Delaware, upon the application of PCEC, any Trust unitholder, or
the Trustee.
On September 11, 2023, PCEC filed a petition with the Court of
Chancery of the State of Delaware (the “Court”) seeking to appoint
Province, LLC as successor trustee.
On September 12, 2023, unitholders Evergreen Capital Management
LLC, Shipyard Capital LP, Shipyard Capital Management LLC, Cedar
Creek Partners LP, Eriksen Capital Management LLC and Walter Keenan
(collectively, the “Unitholder Petitioners”) jointly filed a
petition with the Court seeking to appoint Barclay Leib as
temporary trustee and as successor trustee as of January 1, 2024.
As Section 6.05 of the Trust Agreement requires that any successor
trustee must be a bank or trust company having combined capital,
surplus and undivided profits of at least $100,000,000, the
Unitholder Petitioners requested that the Court modify the Trust
Agreement to remove that requirement. Subsequently, the Unitholder
Petitioners elected not to proceed and filed a stipulated dismissal
of their petition on October 17, 2023, which was signed by the
Court that day.
On October 31, 2023, PCEC filed a motion for summary judgment
with regard to the appointment of a successor or temporary trustee,
and the Trustee filed a response in opposition to that motion on
November 14, 2023. The Court denied PCEC’s motion at a hearing held
on November 28, 2023. PCEC elected not to proceed at this time and
filed a stipulated dismissal of its petition, without prejudice, on
February 27, 2024, which was signed by the Court that day.
The Trustee is unable to predict when a successor trustee will
be appointed. Until that time, the Trustee will remain as trustee
of the Trust and will continue to have the rights and obligations
as trustee pursuant to the Trust Agreement.
The Trust expects to borrow funds from PCEC sufficient to pay
the legal fees of the Trustee incurred in connection with the
proceedings initiated by the Unitholder Petitioners.
Production Update
PCEC has informed the Trustee that PCEC continues to
strategically deploy capital to maintain production within export
and transportation constraints resulting from the previously
disclosed termination of the Phillips 66 pipeline Connection
Agreement described in greater detail below. These constraints have
led to a curtailment of production at Orcutt, resulting in a
decrease of 12,160 Bbls or (22%) for Orcutt in February 2024, as
compared to December 2022, the last full month of production prior
to the termination of the Connection Agreement.
Cancellation of Connection Agreement with Phillips 66
As previously disclosed, PCEC has informed the Trustee that on
September 22, 2022, PCEC received notice from Phillips 66 of the
cancellation of the Connection Agreement between PCEC and Phillips
66 with respect to the three leases located south of Orcutt in
Santa Barbara, California, effective upon completion of PCEC’s
deliveries in December 2022. As a result of the cancellation, and
the subsequent shutdown of the Santa Maria Refinery on January 4,
2023, PCEC no longer has a pipeline interconnection between the
Orcutt properties and the Santa Maria Refinery. This pipeline was
the sole means by which PCEC transported its crude oil from the
Orcutt properties, which relates to approximately 86% and 91% of
the production attributable to the Trust’s interests in 2021 and
2022, respectively.
The shutdown of the refinery and the pipeline will adversely
affect PCEC’s financial performance, and the revenues that may be
payable to the Trust. PCEC previously informed the Trustee that it
was able to secure a short-term contract to transport oil from the
Orcutt properties commencing on January 4, 2023, albeit at reduced
volumes and with a higher differential compared to the terms
previously achievable through the Phillips 66 Connection Agreement.
PCEC has confirmed to the Trustee that the short-term contract,
which had been scheduled to expire at the end of 2023, has been
extended to April 30, 2024 and on a month-to-month basis
thereafter. Termination of this contract could adversely affect
PCEC’s ability to transport oil from the Orcutt properties, as well
as the revenues that may be payable to the Trust. PCEC continues to
explore alternative options for long-term transportation of oil
from the Orcutt properties by other means.
Overview of Trust Structure
Pacific Coast Oil Trust is a Delaware statutory trust formed by
PCEC to own interests in certain oil and gas properties in the
Santa Maria Basin and the Los Angeles Basin in California (the
“Underlying Properties”). The Underlying Properties and the Trust’s
net profits and royalty interests are described in the Trust’s
filings with the SEC. As described in the Trust’s filings with the
SEC, the amount of any periodic distributions is expected to
fluctuate, depending on the proceeds received by the Trust as a
result of actual production volumes, oil and gas prices,
development expenses, and the amount and timing of the Trust’s
administrative expenses, among other factors. For additional
information on the Trust, please visit
https://royt.q4web.com/home/default.aspx.
Cautionary Statement Regarding
Forward-Looking Information
This press release contains statements that are "forward-looking
statements" within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements contained in this
press release, other than statements of historical facts, are
"forward-looking statements" for the purposes of these provisions.
These forward-looking statements include estimates of future asset
retirement obligations, expectations regarding the impact of
deductions for such obligations on future distributions to
unitholders, estimates of future total distributions to
unitholders, the outcome of the proceedings relating to the
appointment of a successor trustee, statements regarding the impact
of returning shut-in wells to production, uncertainties regarding
transportation of oil from the Orcutt properties and the impact of
an inability to transport such oil on future payments to the Trust,
expectations regarding PCEC’s ability to loan funds to the Trust,
expectations regarding future borrowing by the Trust and the impact
such borrowing may have on any net proceeds available for
distribution following a sale of the Trust’s assets, future legal
fees that may be deducted under the monthly net profits interest
calculation, expectations regarding the filing of the Trust’s
comprehensive annual report on Form 10-K, statements regarding the
expected winding down of the Trust, and the amount and date of any
anticipated distribution to unitholders. In any case, PCEC’s
deductions of its estimated asset retirement obligations will have
a material adverse effect on distributions to the unitholders and
on the trading price of the Trust units and may result in the
termination of the Trust. Any anticipated distribution is based, in
part, on the amount of cash received or expected to be received by
the Trust from PCEC with respect to the relevant period. Any
differences in actual cash receipts by the Trust could affect this
distributable amount. The amount of such cash received or expected
to be received by the Trust (and its ability to pay distributions)
has been and will be significantly and negatively affected by low
commodity prices, which declined significantly during 2020, could
decline again and could remain low for an extended period of time
as a result of a variety of factors that are beyond the control of
the Trust and PCEC. Other important factors that could cause actual
results to differ materially include expenses related to the
operation of the Underlying Properties, including lease operating
expenses, expenses of the Trust, and reserves for anticipated
future expenses. Statements made in this press release are
qualified by the cautionary statements made in this press release.
Neither PCEC nor the Trustee intends, and neither assumes any
obligation, to update any of the statements included in this press
release. An investment in units issued by Pacific Coast Oil Trust
is subject to the risks described in the Trust's Annual Report on
Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018, filed with the SEC
on March 8, 2019, and if applicable, the Trust’s subsequent
Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. The Trust's Annual Reports on Form
10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q are available over the
Internet at the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240430454885/en/
Pacific Coast Oil Trust The Bank of New York Mellon Trust
Company, N.A., as Trustee Sarah Newell 1 (512) 236-6555