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9-Nov-2009
Quarterly Report
Cautionary Statement
This report contains forward looking statements (that is, statements
anticipating future events or conditions and not statements of historical fact).
Words such as "anticipate," "expect," "believe," "intend," "plan" or "project,"
and "should," "would," "could," "potentially," "possibly" or "may," and other
words that convey uncertainty of future events or outcomes are intended to
identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this report
are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties beyond the control of the
Trustee. These risks and uncertainties include such matters as future changes in
oil prices, oil production levels, economic activity, domestic and international
political events and developments, legislation and regulation, and certain
changes in expenses of the Trust.
The actual results, performance and prospects of the Trust could differ
materially from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements.
Descriptions of some of the risks that could affect the future performance of
the Trust appear in Item 1A, "Risk Factors," of the Trust's Annual Report on
Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2008 (the "2008 Annual
Report"). There may be additional risks of which the Trustee is unaware or which
are currently deemed immaterial.
In the light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, you should not rely
unduly on any forward-looking statements. Forward-looking events and outcomes
discussed in the 2008 Annual Report and in this report may not occur or may
transpire differently. The Trustee undertakes no obligation to update
forward-looking statements after the date of this report, except as required by
law, and all such forward-looking statements in this report are qualified in
their entirety by the preceding cautionary statements.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
The Trust is a passive entity. The Trustee's activities are limited to
collecting and distributing the revenues from the Royalty Interest and paying
liabilities and expenses of the Trust. Generally, the Trust has no source of
liquidity and no capital resources other than the revenue attributable to the
Royalty Interest that it receives from time to time. (See the discussion under
"THE ROYALTY INTEREST" in Part I, Item 1 of the 2008 Annual Report for a
description of the calculation of the Per Barrel Royalty, and the discussion
under "THE PRUDHOE BAY UNIT AND FIELD - Reserve Estimates" and "INDEPENDENT OIL
AND GAS CONSULTANTS' REPORT" in Part I, Item 1 of the 2008 Annual Report for
information concerning the estimated future net revenues of the Trust.) However,
the Trustee has a limited power to borrow, establish a cash reserve, or dispose
of all or part of the Trust Estate, under limited circumstances pursuant to the
terms of the Trust Agreement. See the discussion under "THE TRUST" in Part I,
Item 1 of the 2008 Annual Report.
Since 1999, the Trustee has maintained a $1,000,000 cash reserve to provide
liquidity to the Trust during any future periods in which the Trust does not
receive a distribution. The Trustee will draw funds from the cash reserve
account during any quarter in which the quarterly distribution received by the
Trust does not exceed the liabilities and expenses of the Trust, and
will replenish the reserve from future quarterly distributions, if any. The
Trustee anticipates that it will keep this cash reserve program in place until
termination of the Trust.
Amounts set aside for the cash reserve are invested by the Trustee in U.S.
government or agency securities secured by the full faith and credit of the
United States. Interest income received by the Trust from the investment of the
reserve fund is added to the distributions received from BP Alaska and paid to
the holders of Units with each quarterly distribution.
As discussed under "CERTAIN TAX CONSIDERATIONS" in Part I, Item 1 of the 2008
Annual Report, amounts received by the Trust as quarterly distributions are
income to the holders of the Units, (as are any earnings on investment of the
cash reserve) and must be reported by the holders of the Units, even if such
amounts are used by the Trustee to repay borrowings or replenish the cash
reserve and are not received by the holders of the Units.
Results of Operations
Relatively modest changes in oil prices significantly affect the Trust's
revenues and results of operations. Crude oil prices are subject to significant
changes in response to fluctuations in the domestic and world supply and demand
and other market conditions as well as the world political situation as it
affects the members of OPEC and other producing countries. The effect of
changing economic and political conditions on the demand for and supply of
energy throughout the world and future prices of oil cannot be accurately
projected.
Under the terms of the Conveyance of the Royalty Interest to the Trust, the Per
Barrel Royalty for any day is the WTI Price for the day less the sum of
(i) Chargeable Costs multiplied by the Cost Adjustment Factor and
(ii) Production Taxes. The narrative under the captions "THE TRUST - Trust
Property" and "THE ROYALTY INTEREST" in the 2008 Annual Report explains the
meanings of the terms "Conveyance," "Royalty Interest," "Per Barrel Royalty,"
"WTI Price, "Chargeable Costs" and "Cost Adjustment Factor" and should be read
in conjunction with this report.
Royalty revenues are generally received on the fifteenth day of the month
following the end of the calendar quarter in which the related Royalty
Production occurred (the "Quarterly Record Date"). The Trustee, to the extent
possible, pays all accrued expenses of the Trust on each Quarterly Record Date
from the royalty payment received. Revenues and Trust expenses presented in the
statement of cash earnings and distributions are recorded on a modified cash
basis and, as a result, royalty revenues and distributions shown in such
statements for the three and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2009 and
2008, respectively, are attributable to BP Alaska's operations during the three
and nine-month periods ended June 30, 2009 and 2008, respectively.
The following table summarizes the factors which determined the Per Barrel
Royalties used to calculate the payments received by the Trust in January, April
and July 2009 and 2008 (see Note 1 of Notes to Financial Statements (Unaudited)
in Part I, Item 1). The information in the table has been furnished by BP
Alaska.
Data for Quarter
Is Based on
Data for Cost Adjusted Average Average
Royalty Quarter Average Chargeable Adjustment Chargeable Production Per Barrel
Payment in Ended WTI Price Costs Factor Costs Taxes Royalty
Jul. 2009 06/30/2009 $ 59.74 $ 13.25 1.647 $ 21.82 $ 11.03 $ 26.89
Apr. 2009 03/31/2009 $ 43.20 $ 13.25 1.634 $ 21.65 $ 5.43 $ 16.13
Jan. 2009 12/31/2008 $ 58.03 $ 13.00 1.636 $ 21.26 $ 11.42 $ 25.35
Jul. 2008 06/30/2008 $ 124.34 $ 13.00 1.668 $ 21.68 $ 52.37 $ 50.29
Apr. 2008 03/31/2008 $ 97.78 $ 13.00 1.630 $ 21.19 $ 33.58 $ 43.01
Jan. 2008 12/31/2007 $ 90.93 $ 12.75 1.618 $ 20.63 $ 22.29 $ 48.01
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"Royalty Production" for each day in a calendar quarter is 16.4246% of the first
90,000 barrels of the actual average daily net production of oil and condensate
for the quarter from the BP Working Interests. So long as BP Alaska's average
daily net production from the BP Working Interests exceeds 90,000 barrels, the
principal factors affecting the Trust's revenues and distributions to Unit
holders are changes in WTI Prices, scheduled annual increases in Chargeable
Costs, changes in the Consumer Price Index and changes in Production Taxes.
Average daily net production of oil and condensate from the BP Working Interests
has been below 90,000 barrels per day during certain quarterly periods since
2006, due to a BP Alaska program of field wide infrastructure renewal, pipeline
replacement and well mechanical improvements.
BP Alaska estimates Royalty Production from the BP Working Interests for
purposes of calculating quarterly royalty payments to the Trust because complete
actual field production data for the preceding calendar quarter generally is not
available by the Quarterly Record Date. To the extent that average net
production from the BP Working Interests is below 90,000 barrels per day in any
quarter, recalculation by BP Alaska of actual Royalty Production data may result
in revisions of prior Royalty Production estimates. Revisions by BP Alaska of
its Royalty Production calculations cause BP Alaska to adjust its quarterly
royalty payments to the Trust to compensate for overpayments or underpayments of
royalties with respect to prior quarters. Such adjustments, if material, may
adversely affect certain Unit holders who buy or sell Units between the
Quarterly Record Dates for the Quarterly Distributions affected.
The Quarterly Distributions received by the Trust from BP Alaska in January 2009
and 2008, were adjusted by BP Alaska to compensate for underpayment of royalties
due to the Trust with respect to the quarters ended December 31, 2008 and 2007,
respectively. See Note 7 of Notes to Financial Statements (Unaudited) in Item 1.
Because the statements of cash earnings and distributions of the Trust are
prepared on a modified cash basis, royalty revenues for the three-month periods
ended March 31, 2009 and 2008 reflect the amounts of the adjustments with
respect to the earlier fiscal periods.
The Trustee anticipates that the Trust will receive a lump sum payment during
the fourth quarter of 2009, consisting of $29,469,081 plus accrued interest from
an escrow account established in connection with a settlement agreement between
BP Alaska and the Trustee, if an order and final judgment entered on October 21,
2009 by the Delaware Chancery Court approving the settlement
agreement has not been appealed within 30 days from the entry of the order. For
additional information, see Note 6 of Notes to Financial Statements (Unaudited)
in Item 1, the Trust's Current Report on Form 8-K dated May 8, 2009 and the
Settlement Agreement dated May 8, 2009, which is filed as Exhibit 10.1 to this
report. If the escrowed settlement funds are received by the Trust on or before
the date on which the Trustee receives the quarterly royalty distribution
scheduled to be made by BP Alaska in January 2010, the Trustee intends to add
such funds to the distribution received from BP Alaska and distribute the total
amount to holders of Units on the Quarterly Record Date for such distribution.
Three Months Ended September 30, 2009 Compared to
Three Months Ended September 30, 2008
As explained above, Trust royalty revenues received during the third quarter of
the fiscal year are based on Royalty Production during the second quarter of the
fiscal year. Royalty revenues received by the Trust in the quarter ended
September 30, 2009 decreased approximately 45% from the corresponding quarter of
2008, reflecting a 52% period-to-period decrease in the Average WTI Price from
$124.34 per barrel during the quarter ended June 30, 2008 to $59.74 per barrel
during the quarter ended June 30, 2009. The average Per Barrel Royalty, however,
decreased by only 47%, principally due to a 79% period-to-period decrease in
average Production Taxes which fell from $52.37 per barrel in the quarter ended
June 30, 2008 to $11.03 per barrel in the quarter ended June 30, 2009 as a
consequence of lower tax rates on production resulting from the progressivity
feature of the Alaska oil and gas production tax statutes.
Nine Months Ended September 30, 2009 Compared to
Nine Months Ended September 30, 2008
Trust royalty revenues decreased 51% in the nine months ended September 30, 2009
from the corresponding period of 2008, reflecting the cumulative effect of a 49%
decrease in Average WTI Price during the nine-month period ended June 30, 2009
from the nine-month period ended June 30, 2008. The average Per Barrel Royalty
payable with respect to the nine months ended June 30, 2009 reflected a
corresponding decrease of 52% from the nine-month period ended June 30, 2008.
Average Production Taxes chargeable with respect to the nine-month period ended
June 30, 2009 decreased 74% from average Production Taxes chargeable with
respect to the nine months ended June 30, 2008, as a result of the lower WTI
Prices during the latter period and lower tax rates applicable to production
during the period under the progressivity provisions of the Alaska oil and gas
production tax statutes. Trust administrative expenses fell 23% during the nine
months ended September 30, 2009 from the corresponding period in 2008, primarily
due to decreases in on-going legal fees and expenses related to issues arising
from the August 2006 shutdown of the Prudhoe Bay field.
Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk.
The Trust is a passive entity and except for the Trust's ability to borrow money
as necessary to pay liabilities of the Trust that cannot be paid out of cash on
hand, the Trust is prohibited from engaging in borrowing transactions. The Trust
periodically holds short-term investments acquired with funds held by the Trust
pending distribution to Unit holders and funds held in reserve for the payment
of Trust expenses and liabilities. Because of the short-term nature of these
investments and limitations on the types of investments which may be held by the
Trust, the Trust is not subject to any material interest rate risk. The Trust
does not engage in
transactions in foreign currencies which could expose the Trust or Unit holders
to any foreign currency related market risk or invest in derivative financial
instruments. It has no foreign operations and holds no long-term debt
instruments.
Item 4. Controls and Procedures.
Disclosure Controls and Procedures
The Trustee has disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 13a-15(e)
and Rule 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act) that are designed to ensure that
information required to be disclosed by the Trust in the reports that it files
or submits under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange
Act") is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods
specified in the SEC's rules and forms. These controls and procedures include
but are not limited to controls and procedures designed to ensure that
information required to be disclosed by the Trust in the reports that it files
or submits under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to the
responsible trust officers of the Trustee to allow timely decisions regarding
required disclosure.
Under the terms of the Trust Agreement and the Conveyance, BP Alaska has
significant disclosure and reporting obligations to the Trust. BP Alaska is
required to provide the Trust such information concerning the Royalty Interest
as the Trustee may need and to which BP Alaska has access to permit the Trust to
comply with any reporting or disclosure obligations of the Trust pursuant to
applicable law and the requirements of any stock exchange on which the Units are
listed. These reporting obligations include furnishing the Trust a report by
February 28 of each year containing all information of a nature, of a standard
and in a form consistent with the requirements of the SEC respecting the
inclusion of reserve and reserve valuation information in filings under the
Exchange Act and with applicable accounting rules. The report is required to set
forth, among other things, BP Alaska's estimates of future net cash flows from
proved reserves attributable to the Royalty Interest, the discounted present
value of such proved reserves, the assumptions utilized in arriving at the
estimates contained in the report, and the estimate of the quantities of proved
reserves (including reductions of proved reserves as a result of modification of
BP Alaska's estimates of proved reserves from prior years) added during the
preceding year to the total proved reserves allocated to the BP Working
Interests as of December 31, 1987.
In addition, the Conveyance gives the Trust and its independent accountants
certain rights to inspect the books and records of BP Alaska and discuss the
affairs, finances and accounts of BP Alaska relating to the BP Working Interests
with representatives of BP Alaska; it also requires BP Alaska to provide the
Trust with such other information as the Trustee may reasonably request from
time to time and to which BP Alaska has access.
The Trustee's disclosure controls and procedures include ensuring that the Trust
receives the information and reports that BP Alaska is required to furnish to
the Trust on a timely basis, that the appropriate responsible personnel of the
Trustee examine such information and reports, and that information requested
from and provided by BP Alaska is included in the reports that the Trust files
or submits under the Exchange Act.
As of the end of the period covered by this report, the trust officers of the
Trustee responsible for the administration of the Trust conducted an evaluation
of the Trust's disclosure controls and
procedures. Their evaluation considered, among other things, that the Trust
Agreement and the Conveyance impose enforceable legal obligations on BP Alaska,
and that BP Alaska has provided the information required by those agreements and
other information requested by the Trustee from time to time on a timely basis.
The officers concluded that the Trust's disclosure controls and procedures are
effective.
Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
There has not been any change in the Trust's internal control over financial
reporting identified in connection with the evaluation required by paragraph
(d) of Rule 13a-15 or Rule 15d-15 under the Exchange Act that occurred during
the Trust's last fiscal quarter that has materially affected, or is reasonably
likely to materially affect, the Trust's internal control over financial
reporting.
Item 4T. Controls and Procedures.
Not applicable.
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