Tourmaline Oil dishing out another special dividend as cash booms

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.