Halcón Resources sells non-operated Williston Basin assets for $110M
Upon closing of an agreement to sell remaining non-operated assets in the Williston Basin, Halcón Resources Corp. will have completed its transition into a pure play Delaware Basin-focused company. Halcón holds over 41,500 net acres in the core of the Delaware Basin. In its most recent deal with an undisclosed private company, Halcón will shed the Williston Basin assets for approximately $104 million in cash, subject to customary closing conditions and adjustments. The effective date of the transaction is April 1, 2017 and is expected to close within 60 days. The properties currently produce approximately 1,891 Bbl/d of oil, 1,931 Mcf/d of gas and 65 Bbl/d of natural gas liquids. In a separate transaction that closed in August, the company divested additional non-operated Williston Basin assets to a different buyer for approximately $6 million in cash. In less than nine months, the company has sold approximately 2,000 wellbores across its legacy assets for aggregate cash proceeds in excess of $2 billion. The borrowing base on Halcón's senior secured revolving credit facility will be reduced to $100 million upon closing of the non-operated asset sale. As of June 30, 2017, Halcón's liquidity was approximately $773 million pro forma for these asset sales and other previously announced transactions.
Cenovus to sell Pelican Lake assets for $975M
Cenovus Energy Inc. has agreed to sell its Pelican Lake heavy oil operations, as well as other miscellaneous assets in northern Alberta with production of approximately 19,600 boe/d, to Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. for gross cash proceeds of $975 million. Proceeds from the sale will be applied against the $3.6 billion asset-sale bridge facility put in place to help fund Cenovus's acquisition of assets from ConocoPhillips earlier this year. With the close of this asset sale, the company intends to retire the first tranche of the bridge facility. The remaining two tranches mature in November 2018 and May 2019. CIBC Capital Markets and Barclays Capital Canada Inc. acted as financial advisors to Cenovus for the Pelican Lake transaction.
IOG Capital to participate in Eagle Ford, Merge, Arkoma-Woodford drilling programs
IOG Capital LP announced today three new development drilling programs located in the Eagle Ford, the Merge portion of the STACK play, and the Arkoma-Woodford, respectively. These three new projects are anticipated to require up to $130 million of gross capital. These projects will be conducted through IOG's newly formed affiliate, IOG Resources LLC (IOGR). IOGR's first joint development agreement was established in July 2017 with Woodlands, Texas based Earthstone Energy Inc. IOGR and ESTE will initially partner on the development of 11 Eagle Ford wells located in Gonzales County, Texas in 2017. IOGR has the potential to participate in up to 15 additional wells in the project. IOGR's second joint development program closed in August 2017 with an Oklahoma City based private family operator. This new development program in the Merge calls for up to 18 wells to be funded in Canadian County, OK. The third development program closed at the end of August 2017 with Oklahoma City based Red Mountain Energy (RME). IOGR and RME will jointly fund up to 20 wells targeting the Woodford in the Arkoma Basin.
Carrizo to sell Utica Shale assets for $62M
Carrizo Oil & Gas Inc. has agreed to sell its assets in the Utica Shale to an undisclosed buyer. On August 31, 2017, Carrizo entered into an agreement to sell substantially all of its assets in the Utica Shale, located primarily in Guernsey County, OH, for $62 million in cash, subject to customary closing conditions. Additionally, Carrizo could receive contingent payments of up to $15 million in aggregate based on average annual WTI prices exceeding certain thresholds over the next three years. According to its website, Carrizo's nearly 26,000 net Utica acres hold over 130 net undrilled locations. Carrizo Oil & Gas, Inc. is a Houston-based energy company actively engaged in the exploration, development, and production of oil and gas from resource plays located in the United States. Its current operations are principally focused in oil and gas plays primarily in the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas, the Delaware Basin in West Texas, the DJ Basin in Colorado, and the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania. The transaction is currently expected to close by October 31, 2017.
Northern Oil and Gas settles lawsuit with former CEO
Northern Oil and Gas Inc. has entered into an agreement to settle the lawsuit brought against the company by its former CEO and founder, Michael Reger. In addition to receiving three million shares of Northern Oil and Gas stock, Reger will be named chairman emeritus. The Minnesota-based company terminated Reger as Northern's CEO in August 2016 and removed him from the board of directors after Reger received a "Wells Notice" from the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in connection with a then-ongoing investigation of 2012 trading patterns in the securities of Dakota Plains Holdings Inc. in which Reger was an initial investor in 2008. Upon Reger's termination, Northern Oil and Gas determined he was not entitled to a severance package and Reger sued the company days later. Weeks later, Reger and the SEC settled and Reger agreed to pay nearly $8 million, neither admitting nor denying the SEC's findings.
WildHorse Resource Development to launch $150M offering of senior notes
Subject to market conditions, WildHorse Resource Development Corp. intends to offer $150 million in aggregate principal amount of its 6.875% senior notes due 2025. The notes are expected to rank equally with, and be treated under the Indenture as a single class of debt securities with, the $350 million aggregate principal amount of the currently outstanding 6.875% senior notes due 2025 previously issued by WRD on February 1, 2017. WRD intends to use the net proceeds from the proposed offering to repay the borrowings outstanding under its revolving credit facility and for general corporate purposes.
GlobeLTR closes well servicing division sale
GlobeLTR Energy Inc., a portfolio company of affiliates of Clearlake Capital Group LP, has closed the sale of its well servicing division to Brigade Energy Services LLC, a portfolio company of Turnbridge Capital Partners LLC and affiliates. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Parks Paton Hoepfl & Brown, LLC acted as financial advisor to Clearlake and GlobeLTR.
Nabors acquires Robotic Drilling Systems
Nabors Industries Ltd. has acquired Stavanger-based Robotic Drilling Systems AS (RDS), a provider of automated tubular and tool handling equipment for the onshore and offshore drilling markets. The RDS modular systems are applicable both in onshore and offshore markets, on new builds as well as retrofits. Nabors Industries owns and operates a large land-based oil and gas drilling rig fleet and is also a provider of offshore platform rigs in the United States and numerous international markets. Nabors also provides directional drilling services, performance tools, and technologies.
RimRock completes Williston Basin assets Buy
RimRock Oil & Gas, a start-up oil and gas exploration and production company, has completed the acquisition of upstream assets located in the Williston Basin from Whiting Petroleum Corp. for $500 million. The acquired assets are located on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation of Dunn and McLean Counties in North Dakota and include approximately 30,000 net acres and current net production of approximately 8,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. Whiting Petroleum used the proceeds from the sale to pay $500 million down on its revolver. RimRock was formed in 2016 through a $500 million line-of-equity investment from Warburg Pincus, a global private equity firm focused on growth investing. In July 2017, the company relocated its headquarters from Calgary, Alberta to the Denver, Colorado area to further focus on oil and gas exploration in the US Rocky Mountain basins.
Forum Energy Technologies signs on for remaining interests in Global Tubing
Forum Energy Technologies Inc. has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the membership interests in Global Tubing from its joint venture partner Quantum Energy Partners. As part of the transaction, Forum will also acquire management's interest in the joint venture and repay Global Tubing's net debt. The aggregate transaction value is approximately $237 million, including the issuance of 10 million shares of Forum common stock to Quantum, cash from Forum's existing bank credit facility and cash on hand. Located in Dayton, Texas, Global Tubing provides coiled tubing, coiled line pipe and related services to customers worldwide. Forum Energy Technologies is a global oilfield products company, serving the drilling, subsea, completions, production and infrastructure sectors of the oil and natural gas industry.
Quorum acquires WellEz
Quorum has acquired privately-held WellEz, a cloud-based well lifecycle analytics company for the upstream oil and gas industry. From land management to accounting, field operations, energy marketing, and now the addition of well lifecycle analytics, Quorum offers a complete suite of cloud-based digital oilfield solutions. Quorum, a portfolio company of Silver Lake Partners and Silver Lake Kraftwerk, did not disclose deal terms or any financial details.
Key Energy Services sells well intervention business in Russia
Key Energy Services Inc. has closed on the sale of its well intervention business in Russia to an undisclosed buyer for an undisclosed amount. Key's president and CEO, Robert Drummond, stated, "The sale of Key's Russian Business marks the culmination of the strategic initiative set forth in early 2015 to fully-exit markets outside of the US." Key Energy Services is the largest onshore, rig-based well servicing contractor based on the number of rigs owned. Key provides a complete range of well intervention services and has operations in all major onshore oil and gas producing regions of the continental United States.
Pacific Drilling Moves to OTC Market
Pacific Drilling SA received notice from NYSE Regulation Inc. that trading of the company's common stock on the New York Stock Exchange was suspended after market close today, September 12, 2017. The company was not in compliance with the NYSE's continued listing standard, which currently requires a company with listed common stock to maintain an average global market capitalization of not less than $15.0 million over a consecutive 30 trading-day period. The company's common shares began trading in the over-the-counter market on the Pink Quotes (formerly the Pink Sheets) on September 13, 2017. The company is also taking steps to apply for registration and quotation of its common stock on the OTC Bulletin Board (OTCBB). The company's NYSE ticker symbol PACD has been discontinued and its OTC ticker symbol will be PACDF.
Capital One leads $70M credit facility for Permian Basin Materials
Capital One NA Sponsor Finance led a $70 million senior secured credit facility for Permian Basin Materials LLC (PB Materials), majority owned by funds managed by WL Ross & Co. LLC. Capital One acted as administrative agent and sole lead arranger for the transaction. PB Materials is a regional producer of ready-mix concrete and sand and gravel and limestone aggregates in the Permian Basin region of West Texas and New Mexico.
Calfrac sees credit facilities extension, amendment
Calfrac Well Services Ltd. has entered into an agreement with its lenders which amends and extends its credit facilities. The principal amendments to the credit facilities include, among others, the following items:
- an extension of the maturity date from September 27, 2018 to June 1, 2020;
- a voluntary reduction in the credit facilities from $300 million to $275 million;
- the continued inclusion of the equity cure provision which permits the previously funded equity cure to be utilized at any time prior to the extended maturity date, subject to the same conditions which were included in the December 2015 amendments;
- a reduction in the maximum funded debt-to-EBITDA ratio to 3.0x;
- the continued inclusion of a borrowing base which limits advances under the credit facilities based on North American accounts receivable, cash on hand and fixed asset values;
- the removal of the pricing levels which were added in the December 2015 amendments, although provision was made for increased pricing of up to 100 basis points during periods where the net total debt-to-EBITDA ratio exceeds 5.0x; and
- a prohibition on utilizing advances under the credit facilities to redeem or repay subordinated debt while net total debt-to-EBITDA exceeds 5.0x.
Pin Oak Energy Partners sees bank credit facility increase to $150M
Pin Oak Energy Partners LLC's borrowing base has been reaffirmed and its credit facility has been extended and increased to $150 million by CrossFirst Bank. Pin Oak Energy Partners LLC is an Appalachian Basin energy company engaged in the exploration and production of conventional and unconventional oil and natural gas wells and the operation of associated assets. The company currently operates 363 wells producing nearly 5.7 MMcfe/d (32% liquids) across more than 32,000 acres and is also involved in midstream, field services and operations through its affiliate companies.
Tally Energy Services launches in Houston
Tally Energy Services, a private equity backed firm with a buy and build strategy in specialized North American shale products and services, recently launched its operations in Houston, Texas. With sponsorship from RedBird Capital Partners and Sallyport Investments, Tally Energy Services raised over $130 million of capital commitments with additional equity available for larger acquisitions. Tally is principally focused on directional drilling, completion equipment, and artificial lift. Led by CEO Chris Dorros, the firm recently completed two Texas-based acquisitions: Terra Directional Services, a full-service directional drilling company specializing in horizontal wells for shale projects throughout the United States, and Tech-Flo Consulting, a worldwide supplier of hydraulic lift systems. Douglas L. Foshee joins Tally Energy Services as chairman of the board. As founder and owner of Sallyport Investments LLC, Foshee has more than thirty years in the energy industry. He is the former chairman, president, and CEO of El Paso Corp. Founded in 2013, RedBird Capital Partners is a principal investment firm focused on transformational growth equity investments in partnership with entrepreneurs and family owned businesses. Founded in 2012, Sallyport Investments provides capital and leadership to companies in the upstream, midstream, and service sectors of the energy industry.
SCS Technologies sees equity commitment from Black Bay Energy Capital
Black Bay Energy Capital, a private equity firm focused on the North American oilfield service sector, has completed a recapitalization of, and growth equity investment in, SCS Technologies LLC alongside the SCS management team. Black Bay's investment will be used by SCS to expand its product offerings, customer base, and management team, and will enable the company to pursue opportunistic acquisitions. Gene Gradick Sr., the former CEO of J-W Measurement and the broader J-W Energy enterprise, joins the SCS team as a director. Fishman Haygood served as Black Bay's counsel on the transaction. Romanchuk & Co. served as the financial advisor to SCS and Atkins, Hollmann, Jones, Peacock, Lewis & Lyon served as SCS's legal counsel. Based in Big Spring, Texas, SCS provides turnkey measurement and control system solutions for oil and gas production and midstream operators throughout the Permian Basin. The company custom designs, fabricates and installs advanced liquid measurement systems and provides related services including Programming Logic & Control (PLC) Systems, mobile meter proving services, electrical infrastructure installation and service, and other site services.
Altus, Qinterra Merge
Qinterra Group's North Sea well intervention specialist Altus Intervention and its international technology arm, Qinterra Technologies have united to form one global force in well services. With headquarters in Stavanger, Norway, the combined group will be known as 'Altus Intervention,' bringing together over 1,000 staff across four global regions: UK and West Africa, Norway and Denmark, the Americas and Middle East, and Asia Pacific. Following EQT's acquisition in 2014, the two companies Altus Intervention and Qinterra Technologies were created. Group chief executive, Åge Landro, who joined in February 2016, will continue to lead the company.
Antero completes $1B delevering program
Antero Resources Corp. has monetized over $1 billion of non-exploration and production assets including the previously announced sale of 10 million common units representing limited partner interests in Antero Midstream Partners LP and the restructuring of a portion of its commodity hedge portfolio.
Highlights:
- Sold $311 million of Antero Midstream common units
- Monetized approximately $750 million of its natural gas hedge portfolio
- Second half 2017 natural gas hedge prices and volumes remain unchanged at 1,860 BBtu/d at $3.64/MMBtu
- Restructured the hedge swap prices with no change to hedge volumes
- Antero's restructured portfolio has 80% of targeted gas production hedged through 2020 at $3.43/MMBtu
- Swap prices have been reset at $3.50/MMBtu for 2018 and 2019, $3.25/MMBtu for 2020 and $3.00/MMBtu in 2021 and 2022
- The pro forma value of the hedge portfolio after restructuring is $1.3 billion as of June 30, 2017 strip pricing
- Intends to utilize a portion of net operating losses carried forward to eliminate cash taxes on the realized gains
- Reduced pro forma standalone E&P net debt to last twelve months adjusted EBITDAX from 3.2x to 2.4x as of June 30, 2017
District 5 Investments makes commitment to Pathfinder Resources
District 5 Investments LP (D5), a private equity firm focused on investing in middle-market oil and gas and oilfield services companies, has made a growth equity investment into newly formed Pathfinder Resources LLC. Based in Dallas, Texas, Pathfinder was formed to acquire North American mineral and royalty interests, with an initial focus on the Marcellus and Utica Shale plays in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia. This is D5's third Fund I platform investment. The firm is actively seeking opportunities across the energy sector. Investment sizes range from $5 million to $35 million. Irving, TX-based District 5 Investments LP was formed in 2016.
Keyera closes $400M private placement debt financing
Keyera Corp. has closed its previously announced CAD$400 million private placement of 10-year senior unsecured notes with a group of institutional investors in Canada and the United States. The notes will bear interest at 3.68% and mature on September 20, 2027. Proceeds from the notes will be used to repay short-term debt incurred to execute Keyera's capital program and for general corporate purposes. Keyera Corp. operates one of the largest midstream energy companies in Canada, providing services to oil and gas producers in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. Its predominantly fee-for-service based business consists of natural gas gathering and processing, natural gas liquids processing, transportation, storage, marketing, iso-octane production and sales, and a condensate system in the Edmonton/Fort Saskatchewan area of Alberta.
Anadarko authorizes $2.5B share-repurchase program
Anadarko Petroleum Corp. has authorized a $2.5 billion share-repurchase program. The authorization extends through the end of 2018, and repurchases will be made in accordance with applicable securities laws from time to time in open market or private transactions, depending on market conditions, and may be discontinued at any time. In a written statement, Al Walker, Anadarko chairman, president, and CEO, said: "At the current share price, this represents approximately 10 percent of the company's outstanding common shares, and we will initially target $1 billion of share repurchases prior to year-end 2017.
"Separately, we want to highlight and reaffirm the guidance we have previously provided for the deepwater Gulf of Mexico (GOM), DJ and Delaware basin assets," added Walker. "In the deepwater GOM, we continue to expect average production rates approaching 130,000 barrels of oil per day (BOPD) for the full-year 2017. In the Delaware and DJ basins, we are on track to deliver our combined projected exit rate of approximately 150,000 BOPD in 2017. Our ability to continue to meet previous targets is indicative of the quality of the company's assets and the efforts of our organization to deliver strong performance, despite challenges from recent storms.
"Going forward, we will continue to demonstrate financial discipline with a focus on returns. Our 2018 upstream investment plan is anticipated to produce substantial free cash flow, assuming an average oil price of $50 per barrel, while total capital spending, including midstream investments, should be approximately break-even to discretionary cash flow from operations," said Walker.
Freedom To see up to $20M from Ramas Capital
Freedom Oil and Gas Ltd. has closed on $10 million of financing with Ramas Capital Management LLC, with the ability to expand to $20 million within five months if certain well performance is met. The funds will be used to finance the ongoing development of Freedom's Eagle Ford acreage, including drilling, completion, land acquisition, and associated activities. Commenting on the Ramas Capital transaction, executive chairman and CEO, J. Michael Yeager, said, "This financing positions Freedom to continue developing our acreage without delay and provides a flexible financial bridge to meet the requirements to activate the much larger and lower cost reserves based lending facility we established with Wells Fargo. The Wells Fargo facility is intended to provide capital for ongoing drilling once adequate production levels are reached. With this support from Ramas Capital, we plan to drill and complete two to four additional horizontal wells to more fully test our Dimmit County, TX acreage in the Eagle Ford Shale formation and grow our production to meet the Wells Fargo criteria." Freedom Oil and Gas Ltd. is a development stage company. It continues to acquire undeveloped acreage in the liquids rich area of the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas.
