BHP has entered into agreements for the sale of its entire interests in the Eagle Ford, Haynesville, Permian and Fayetteville onshore U.S. oil and gas assets for a combined base consideration of $10.8 billion.
BP American Production Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of BP plc, has agreed to acquire 100 percent of the issued share capital of Petrohawk Energy Corporation, the BHP subsidiary which holds the Eagle Ford, Haynesville and Permian assets, for a consideration of $10.5 billion.
MMGJ Hugoton III, LLC, a company owned by Merit Energy Company, has agreed to acquire 100 percent of the issued share capital of BHP Billiton Petroleum (Arkansas) Inc and 100 percent of the membership interests in BHP Billiton Petroleum (Fayetteville) LLC, which hold the Fayetteville assets, for a total consideration of $0.3 billion.
Both sales are subject to the satisfaction of customary regulatory approvals and conditions precedent, BHP said in a company statement. Completion of the sales is expected to occur by the end of October.
“Our priority with this transaction is to maximize value and returns to shareholders. In August 2017, we confirmed that we would seek to exit our U.S. shale assets for value. Following a robust and competitive process, we have delivered on that commitment,” BHP Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Mackenzie, said in a company statement.
“The sale of our onshore U.S. assets is consistent with our long-term plan to continue to simplify and strengthen our portfolio to generate shareholder value and returns for decades to come,” he added.
Bob Dudley, BP group chief executive, said it was a “transformational acquisition” for the company’s Lower 48 business.
“Given our confidence in BP’s future, further bolstered by additional earnings and cash flow from this deal, we are increasing the dividend, reflecting our long-standing commitment to growing distributions to shareholders,” Dudley said in a company statement.
Maxim Petrov, senior analyst at Wood Mackenzie, said BP’s deal “transforms” BP’s U.S. business.
“BP was previously underweight to U.S. tight oil compared to its peers. This deal transforms BP’s U.S. business. It will immediately raise its U.S. production by almost a fifth while providing competitive returns and volumes growth,” Petrov said in a statement sent to Rigzone.
“We see BP’s combined U.S. production hitting 1 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (MMboepd) in 2020, with the potential to reach close to 1.4 MMboepd by 2025,” Petrov added.
