Vintage Petroleum Inc., Tulsa, will buy Cometra Energy (Canada) Ltd., Calgary, from Electrafina, part of Groupe Brussels Lambert SA. Vintage will pay $46.3 million (US) in cash.
The US company intends to spend $6.5 million in 2001 on exploration and development projects arising from the acquisition, mostly in Canada. Vintage will also drill three wells in southern Trinidad.
Cometra, an exploration company, has operations in Western Canada and Trinidad. Vintage has operations in the US, Argentina, Bolivia, and Ecuador.
Cometra owns 13 producing fields in the provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan; processing and pipeline facilities; and 146,000 undeveloped acres.
Vintage will operate half of the wells, which are producing 2,670 boe/d net to Vintage.
"With our new Canadian team and attendant exploration prospects in place, we have taken an important step toward expanding our North American exploration effort as well as created a springboard for additional acquisitions," said S. Craig George, Vintage CEO.
Vintage expects the acquisition to close before Dec. 8, with the effective date being Sept. 1, 2000.
