San Juan Basin Royalty Trust offers limited trading utility as Henry Hub prices remain disconnected from global LNG markets due to capacity constraints in the US. Operator investments and costs have to be taken into account before SJT receives royalties, so a CAPEX cycle by the operator now is preventing royalty income. Given imminent maturities, there is an issue in that it will take some years for the underlying net proceeds to cover the big possible CAPEX burden at the operating level.
San Juan Basin Royalty Trust benefits from cold weather. Hilcorp's significant capital budget for drilling and reworking wells makes the timing of resumed distributions speculative. Excess production costs of $22.1 million net to the Trust delay cash distributions until liabilities are paid and reserves reach $2 million.