2022 was a terrific year for Five States and, from a financial perspective, for the investors in Five States funds. As you will read in this issue of The Producer, distributions from our oil and gas production funds were in the double-digits, ranging from 25.5% to 54.0%. In a year that was dismal for just about every asset class in most investment portfolios, Five States funds stood out as a bright spot. 2022 also marked a year in which we closed two new funds, one being the largest production fund in Five States’ history, and the other being our first fund in the renewable energy space. To be sure, as the Five States story continues to be written in the future, when we reflect back on 2022 it will bring a smile to our faces!
We must now turn the page and start writing about the year to come.
Five States’ next chapter, while yet to reveal itself, is giving us a peek into what is in store and some noteworthy things are already appearing on the horizon. Some are more interesting than others; nevertheless, they are already starting to shape the 2023 narrative. These things include:
- Investor Relations – Many of you will be corresponding with Five States’ newest addition… Theo Kourpas, Associate - Investor Relations. We’re expecting another investor relations change in the coming months (for reasons that are good) but we’ll discuss that in a future issue.
- Five States Energy Income 2023 – As discussed in the third quarter Producer, our newest fund is right around the corner. Like our last two funds, FSEI 2023 will employ Five States’ core strategy of buying producing properties that have some upside potential in the form of proved non-producing reserves and proved undeveloped drilling prospects. It’s a strategy that seems to keep working for us and our investors.
- Speaking of Drilling – Five States initiated a new drilling venture last year, Project Reggie. In 2023, we will drill our first wells in what could become a very large project. We have assembled a top-notch technical team and are really eager to get going on this exciting venture.
- Five States Renewable Energy Fund – Some small initial acquisitions have been made, and the prospect pipeline has grown by leaps and bounds. Investors in this fund can get more information about the acquisition activity from the FSRE quarterly newsletter or more directly from the new portal that will be opened for investor updates in the coming days.
- CRM Upgrades – While this may (hopefully) go unnoticed by Five States investors, upgrading our CRM software and all of its parts is a big project that started over a year ago. The final migration will occur this spring after which we’ll focus on improving our efficiency and functionality.
- Those Pesky Commodity Markets – What never reveals itself early are the oil and gas prices we will receive, but we’ve been successfully navigating them for decades, so in 2023… just like 2022, we’ll go to work trying to figure out how to make money for our investors whichever way they move.
Perhaps just as compelling will be the things that occur in 2023 that have yet to reveal themselves. Every year brings some Discovery, or as we prefer to call it… “Enlightenment by Accident”. Regardless of whether that enlightenment reveals exciting news or unexpected challenges, we will be very happy and thankful to address them with you.
Thank you for being a part of our next chapter!