Riley Exploration Permian Inc. provided its first update following completing its merger last month with Tengasco in an all-stock transaction.

The update included the announcement that its board of directors declared at a meeting held March 4 a quarterly cash dividend equal to $0.28 per share.

“While this is the first quarterly dividend we are paying as a public company following the merger, this represents the ninth straight quarter in which Riley Permian has paid a cash dividend,” CEO Bobby Riley said in a statement on March 4.

The record date for the company dividend is April 16 and is expected to be paid on or about May 7.

According to Riley, Riley Permian distributed a total of $32.6 million to its shareholders since commencing its first quarterly dividend in June 2019.

“We continue to believe that with our solid asset base, strong balance sheet and manageable production profile that we will be able to maintain a dividend for the foreseeable future,” he added.

Based in Oklahoma City, Riley Exploration Permian focuses on developing conventional oil and natural gas properties in the Northwest Shelf of the Permian Basin. Its acreage is primarily located on large contiguous blocks in Texas’ Yoakum County and New Mexico’s Lea, Roosevelt and Chaves counties. 

The company’s predecessor, private equity-backed Riley Permian, was formed with the goal of building a premier Permian Basin pure-play. Riley Permian’s equity sponsors included Yorktown Partners, Bluescape Energy Partners and Boomer Petroleum LLC, according to a filing in 2018.

Following the merger, which closed on Feb. 26, Tengasco changed its name to Riley Exploration Permian Inc. and began trading on the NYSE American under “REPX.” Upon closing, the current members of Riley Permian were expected to own 95% of Tengasco and the current Tengasco stockholders will own the remaining 5%.

For the year ahead, Riley Exploration Permian on March 4 said it plans to bring online 5 gross (2.7 net). The company also plans on drilling 2 gross (2 net) operated wells, which are being completed in the fiscal second quarter of 2021.

Riley Exploration Permian said production averaged 7,588 net boe/d during fiscal first-quarter 2021, up 7% over the fourth quarter. The company had an adjusted EBITDAX of $19.7 million for the quarter.

Additionally, the company said it had reduced debt by $3.5 million during fiscal first-quarter 2021. The company has $97.5 million outstanding against its senior credit facility as of Dec. 31 with a net debt-to-EBITDA ratio of 1.4x.

Onshore