Noah Zivitz

Managing Editor, BNN Bloomberg

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For the third time this calendar year, Tourmaline Oil Corp. has announced a special dividend as it shares the riches from its cash gusher.

The Calgary-based natural gas and oil producer announced late Wednesday it will pay a special dividend of $2.00 per share on Aug. 12 to shareholders of record on Aug. 5. That payout follows special dividends of $1.25 per share and $1.50 that were announced in January and May, respectively.

The latest dividend announcement was made possible by free cash flow that hit a record $1.1 billion in the second quarter. Tourmaline said its production rose 23 per cent year-over-year in the second quarter to 502,937 barrels of oil equivalent per day, while prices for the commodities it produces soared.

And Tourmaline made it clear that more special payments are heading shareholders' way. It said it's planning to return at least 60 per cent of free cash flow to investors this year and that it is currently intending to pay special quarterly dividends through the rest of this year and in 2023.

Tourmaline also estimated its exploration and production capital program will be $1.6 billion in 2023, compared to its target of $1.5 billion in 2022, and said it's aiming for average production of 545,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day next year.

As well, Tourmaline announced that it signed a binding agreement to purchase Rising Star for $194.3 million, and said it’s paying for the deal with shares it holds in Topaz Energy Corp. as well as cash. Tourmaline noted Rising Star has no outstanding debt, generated $43 million in cash flow in the first half of this year, and is producing 5,700 barrels of oil equivalent per day at assets that overlap geographically with its footprint in Alberta.