Osaka purchase of Sabine marks first for Japan

July 29, 2019
Osaka Gas has agreed to acquire all the outstanding shares of Sabine Oil & Gas from Sabine Oil & Gas Holdings. Pending governmental permits and closing, the deal marks the first time a Japanese company has purchased a US-based shale gas developer.

Osaka Gas has agreed to acquire all the outstanding shares of Sabine Oil & Gas Corp., Houston, from Sabine Oil & Gas Holdings. Pending governmental permits and closing, the deal marks the first time a Japanese company has purchased a US-based shale gas developer.

Sabine holds acreage in the Texas counties of Harrison, Panola, Rusk, and Upshur, among others, totaling 175,000 net acres currently producing 210 MMcfd of gas equivalent from 1,200 wells targeting the Haynesville and Cotton Valley formations.

In July 2018, OOG East Texas LLC, an Osaka Gas subsidiary, acquired 35% of Sabine’s working interest in oil and gas properties primarily in the counties of Harrison and Panola for $146 million, where wells have been producing more than the expected volumes, Osaka said. The acquisition of the outstanding shares gives Osaka the entire acreage position, of which the company will become operator.

Osaka Gas intends to continue developing its three US core businesses—the Freeport LNG liquefaction project, the IPP projects, and Sabine’s shale gas project.