California Resources Corp.(CRC) on Thursday increased its full-year capital expenditures (capex) to a range of $650-700 million, including $100 million for joint venture (JV) funding, and raised its third quarter production forecast to 134,000-138,000 boe/d.

CRC CEO Todd Stevens is focused on growth in the second half of the year, touting the company’s flagship Elk Hills interests, which are now totally under CRC’s control.

Stevens reiterated that Elk Hills is one of the largest oil and natural gas fields in the United States, with an estimated 11 billion boe in place.

“With the acquisition of 100% of the working interest, minerals and surface, we are now ready to optimize this 47,000-acre legacy field,” he said, adding that management thinks the company ultimately has “the human capital and project inventory to invest up to $1.5 billion annually.”
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CRC produced 134,000 boe/d in 2Q2018, up from 129,000 boe/d in the year-ago period. The second quarter increase was about 4% driven by the Elk Hills acquisition, Stevens said.

While he expects continued production growth in the coming months, Stevens expects “more meaningful growth” to come next year.

During a call with financial analysts to discuss second quarter results, Stevens said the company has room for another large joint venture partnership. The current JVsl with Benefit Street Partners LLC (BSP) and another with Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA), plus smaller partnerships, add up to about $300 million of capex, he added.

“The JVs give us maximum flexibility and help us conserve and manage our cash flow,” Stevens said. “In terms of more huge JVs, such as the BSP and Macquarie agreements, we could do one more like that, but most likely they will be smaller, like the five or six exploration JVs we have now.”

CRC reported a second quarter loss of $82 million (negative $1.70/share), compared with a net loss of $48 million (negative $1.13) for the same period last year.