Clearview Loses $1.1MM to Cyberattack

Clearview Loses $1.1MM to Cyberattack
An internal email address was compromised and used by fraudulent actors to redirect the transfer of certain company funds to a third-party account.
Image by tanawit sabprasan via iStock

Calgary-based Clearview Resources Ltd. has reported a loss of $1.11 million (CAD 1.5 million) due to a cyberattack.

Clearview in December 2023 experienced a cybersecurity incident where an internal email address was compromised and used by fraudulent actors to redirect the transfer of certain company funds to a third-party account, resulting in the loss.

Upon learning of the breach, Clearview said it immediately alerted its technology provider, which temporarily disabled certain information technology functions. Upon confirmation that the cybersecurity risk had been removed from Clearview’s system, the company restored its information technology functions with “no material impact to operations”, it said.

Clearview said it continues to investigate the incident and attempt to recover these funds, including engaging third-party experts and working with law enforcement. However, due to the nature of the cybersecurity incident, the efforts may not result in the return of all or some of the stolen funds, the company stated.

Third Quarter Results

Meanwhile, Clearview said its production for the nine months ended September 30, 2023, was down 21 percent to 1,614 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) compared to 2,036 boepd in the same period in 2022. The decrease was primarily due to the disposition of four noncore properties in the fourth quarter of 2022 and the first quarter of 2023 as well as production downtime in the second quarter of 2023 as a result of wildfires followed by overland flooding, unplanned third-party processing downtime in the third quarter of 2023 and natural declines of approximately 12 percent per year.

Additionally, the company did not implement a recompletion/optimization program in the first nine months of 2023 as the planned natural gas focused projects were postponed due to the decrease in natural gas prices in 2023, Clearview said in its most recent earnings release.

Production for the third quarter of 2023 decreased by 20 percent year over year, primarily due to the previously mentioned dispositions and unscheduled third-party maintenance and downtimes of approximately 100 boepd. The company’s new light oil well drilled in Wilson Creek was brought on-stream late in the third quarter of 2023.

Clearview posted oil and natural gas sales of $4.27 million (CAD 5.77 million), down 40 percent year over year. The company’s adjusted funds flow for the nine month period ended September 30, 2023, totaled $2.59 million (CAD 3.5 million), a decrease of 54 percent compared to the same period in 2022. The decrease was a result of lower production over the period and lower commodity prices, in particular natural gas and natural gas liquids prices, which decreased 51 percent and 30 percent, respectively, from the comparable period in 2022. Oil prices also decreased by 17 percent over the same period, according to the release.

The decrease in revenue was partially offset by lower royalties resulting from the sliding scale nature of Crown royalties, lower operating costs due to lower production, and lower realized loss on financial instruments, Clearview said. Capital expenditures for the nine-month period were $3.56 million (CAD 4.8 million) and decommissioning expenditures funded by Clearview were $0.52 million (CAD 0.7 million), the company reported.

Clearview said its strategy is “to provide liquidity for its shareholders while pursuing strategic growth opportunities, maintaining its producing assets and abandoning its inactive wells and facilities”.

Clearview describes itself as a Canadian energy producer “focused on per share growth through disciplined capital deployment and conservative balance sheet management to generate returns to shareholders”. Its asset base, located in west-central Alberta, provides exposure to both light oil and liquids-rich natural gas development opportunities.

To contact the author, email rocky.teodoro@rigzone.com


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