Laredo Petroleum Announces $1B 2014 Capital Budget

Laredo Petroleum Holdings

today announced that its Board of Directors has approved a $1 billion capital budget for 2014, excluding acquisitions. Approximately 84% of the capital budget is focused on drilling and completion activities, approximately 13% for facilities and 3% for land, seismic and other capital. This development-focused capital program is expected to drive an approximate 30% annual growth in production volumes from the Company's Permian Basin properties. "We are now moving into full-scale development of our Permian-Garden City asset," explained Randy A. Foutch, Laredo's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "Laredo's expected activities for 2014 represent the culmination of the process we put forward in 2012 to confirm a significant portion of our acreage for horizontal development from multiple zones and the optimal spacing, both vertically and horizontally, of the laterals.  With the success of these programs, we are now beginning to implement our multi-zone development plan by building out several production corridors to support more efficient, multi-well pad development. Expected cost savings associated with this plan will serve us well as we begin the ramp-up of development drilling activities to accelerate the value