Independent research firm IHS Herold Inc. has provided OGFJ with updated production data for our periodic ranking of US-based private E&P companies. The rankings provided by IHS are based on operated production only within the US.
There were minor changes at the top of the list of producers from our last installment in October. In the top five spots,
Samson Lone Star dipped from No. 2 to No. 3, Yates Petroleum fell two spots to No. 5 from No. 3, Merit Energy gained two spots to No. 2 from No. 4, and Hilcorp Energy moved up one spot from No. 5 to No. 4.
Inching into the top ten in this installment is Citation Oil & Gas. The company switched the No. 11 for the No. 10 spot with Mewbourne Oil.
As for the rest of the private sector, activity continued; the focus of which: monetizing shale assets.
Mergers & acquisitions
In October, No. 61 Enduring Resources LLC sold its Eagle Ford acreage to a joint venture formed by Canada's Talisman and Norway's Statoil. The deal, comprising about 97,000 acres in a $1.325 billion transaction, equates to roughly US$10,900 per acre after allocating $8,100 per flowing mcfe to existing production of 5,500 boe/d. The acreage is located in McMullen, Karnes, Bee, and Live Oak counties with the majority of it in the condensate window.
In another Eagle Ford shale deal announced in October, Plains Exploration & Production Co. (NYSE: PXP) agreed to acquire interest in approximately 60,000 acres, primarily in oil-rich Karnes County, from No. 60 Dan A. Hughes Co. and Houston American Energy Corp., for roughly $578 million in cash. About a third of the acreage is part of a joint operating area with EOG Resources.
In another divestiture, privately held Anschutz Exploration announced its plan to sell its Appalachian properties to a then-unnamed buyer for an undisclosed price. Chesapeake Energy's (NYSE: CHK) third quarter 2010 financial and operational results report dated November 3 later identified the company as the buyer.
The Oklahoma City-based natural gas producer is looking to purchase the Denver-based company's 500,000 net Appalachian acres, along with some production in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and NY for roughly $850 million. Public data shows Anschutz with just one drilling permit in McKean County, PA, in the neighborhood of SM Energy.
Approximately 25% of the assets acquired are expected to be resold after closing, not yet reported as of press time, while the remainder of the assets will be combined with Chesapeake leasehold in a play in which the company expects to execute a new industry joint venture in the first half of 2011. A November 4 research report from Jefferies & Co. noted the targeting of the Utica shale as a motive for the acquisition.
As the demand for shale assets remains high, some privately held companies–with operations limited by their size–are looking to sell to larger companies.
Such may be the case for privately held Talon Oil & Gas and Chief Oil & Gas, according to a Jefferies & Co. Inc. report dated October 6.
Talon Oil &Gas, a Dallas-based company backed by private-equity firm EnCap Investments LP, holds Barnett, East Texas, and Panhandle reserves, and according to the Wall Street Journal, could command a price of $1 billion to $1.5 billion.
Chief Oil & Gas, active in the Appalachian Basin, northern Texas, and Central Utah, could also be looking to capitalize on its shale assets. The company holding 600,000 acres in the Pennsylvania Marcellus, "looks to be in the most prolific areas in the Northeast and established areas in the Southwest," noted Jefferies in the October 6 report.
The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, noted Chief Oil & Gas could fetch up to $3 billion.
Click here to download the pdf of the "2010 Year-to-date production ranked by BOE"
Click here to download the pdf of the "2010 Year-to-date production - alphabetical listing"
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