08:32 AM EDT, 09/19/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Whitecap Resources ( SPGYF ) on Thursday said it expects 2024 production will be at the high end of its guidance.

The company also said it received an investment-grade credit rating from DBRS after adding a $2 billion debt facility.

The Western Canadian oil and gas producer said it expects its output to be near 172,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, the upper end of its 2024 guidance, as it expands its operations with new wells in the Montney and Duvernay fields in Alberta and British Columbia.

The company received an investment-grade BBB (Low) rating from DBRS. The debt facility replaces Whitecap's existing secured credit and term loan facilities.

Though unsecured, the covenants on the credit facility call for Whitecap to meet a number of financial ratios, including keeping debt at less than four times its EBITDA. The company said it currently has a debt to EBITDA ratio of 0.6 times.

"The New Facility along with our investment grade credit rating allows us to access the investment grade bond market to diversify our debt structure into a deeper market that provides for longer tenors and a lower cost of funding for Whitecap. We view the investment grade bond market as an important part of our capital structure going forward," the company said

Whitecap shares closed up $0.01 to $10.33 Wednesday on the Toronto Stock Exchange.