Every three months, I tabulate the performance of about 15 Energy Trusts from their quarterly reports. The averaged values per boe (barrel of oil equivalent), their range of variation and percentages with respect to Gross Income for the third quarter of 2007 (July 01 - Sep 30, 2007) are reproduced in Table 1 below. Explanatory footnotes are provided directly below the table.

An examination of the table indicates that for every $100.00 of gross income, these 15 energy trusts contributed $18.20 to provincial coffers via royalties, $22.30 as operating costs to Alberta employees (who pay federal and provincial tax) and Alberta companies (who pay federal-provincial-municipal taxes and pay Alberta employees), plus other sundry expenses including $5.70 to banks and debenture holders. Of the $53.60 of remaining cash flow, 80% or $42.88 was distributed to unit holders and $10.72 was retained for further exploration.

Of the $42.88 in distributions, an Alberta unit holder in the 25% federal tax bracket (plus 10% Alberta tax) would contribute $10.72 to federal coffers, a further $4.29 to provincial coffers (totaling $15.01) and retain $32.16 for his/her own use.

On the other hand, according to a recent analysis by Louis Mix, "The large oil companies pay corporate income tax at the rate of about 4.4% of their sales." Thus, for every $100.00 of gross income, the large oil companies would only pay $4.40 in corporate income tax. This compares to $15.01 paid by the Alberta unit holder -- a factor of 3.4 greater. One can only conclude that Energy Trusts generate substantially more tax revenue than the large oil companies.

Table 1: Averaged data from 15 Energy Trusts for 2007 Q3

Item	Mean	Range	%
Capitalization1 (millions)	$3,948	($395 - $7,441)
Production2 (boe/d)	52,056	(14,096 - 125,345)
Capitalization per boe/d	$55,684	($27,993 - $77,625)
Distributions per boe	$20.92	($11.03 - $24.49)
Payout3 from cash flow	80%	(64% - 109%)
Yield4	14.21%	(10.75% - 19.39%)
Debt5 per annual cash flow	2.10	(0.70 - 3.34)
Income/boe ...
Gross income per boe	$48.58	($38.98 - $64.80)	100%
Cash flow6 per boe	$26.05	($13.24 - $36.35)	53.6%
Expenses/boe ...
Royalties per boe	$8.84	($5.57 - $11.77)	18.2%
Operating expenses per boe	$10.82	($8.51 - $13.13)	22.3%
Transportation costs per boe	$0.95	($0.34 - $2.16)	2.0%
G&A7 per boe	$1.64	($0.71 - $2.27)	3.4%
Management8 costs per boe	$0.17	($0.00 - $1.29)	0.4%
Non-cash9 costs per boe	$0.51	($0.00 - $1.65)	1.0%
Interest10 costs per boe	$2.78	($1.29 - $4.00)	5.7%
DDA11 per boe	$21.37	($12.19 - $29.99)	44.0%
Results/boe ...
Netback12 before hedging per boe	$26.40	($15.76 - $42.27)	54.3%
Hedging13 transactions per boe	$0.78	(-$1.17 - $2.73)	1.6%
Netback after hedging per boe	$27.18	($13.91 - $41.10)	55.9%
...	...	...	...

¹ Capitalization = units outstanding * stock price
² Production reported as boe/d (barrels of oil equivalent per day) consists of both natural gas and oil. The boe terminology derives from the conversion 6000 ft³ of natural gas is equivalent to 1 barrel of oil. Oil is further categorized as light oil, heavy oil and natural gas liquids (NGLs). As of 21Dec2007, Canadian prices in Alberta are $6.33*6 = $37.98 for natural gas, $89.49 for light oil and $49.16 for heavy oil (and presumably NGLs).
³ Normally Energy Trusts pay out about 70% of their cash flow in monthly distributions and retain the remainder for exploration and acquisitions. This payout varies according to oil/gas price fluctuations and specific needs of the trust.
⁴ Yield = monthly distribution * 12 / stock price
⁵ Debt normally consists of bank drafts, as well as issued debentures.
⁶ Normally, Cash flow = Gross income - Royalties - Operating expenses - Transportation costs. However, there seem to be many deviations from this definition.
⁷ G&A = General and Administration.
⁸ In recent years, external management costs have been internalized by most Energy Trusts, such that they become zero.
⁹ Non-cash costs are normally associated with options to purchase trust units at designated prices as incentive bonuses to employees.
¹⁰ Interest on bank debt and debentures.
¹¹ DDA = Depletion, depreciation and amortization. (Some trusts incorporate accretion.) Frankly, I do not understand the method of calculation nor the significance of this quantity.
¹² There seems to be no standardized method to calculate netback. However, it seldom varies very much from cash flow.
¹³ In order to try to stabilize their income during wildly fluctuating markets, most trusts sell a significant portion of their production on the futures market via puts, calls and collars.