Mergers and Acquisitions NEWS

On Day Two of CERAWeek 2023 by S&P Global (CERAWeek), a session entitled, “Oil & Gas: Leading for the decade,” featured a discussion with Hess Corporation CEO John Hess and ConocoPhillips Chairman and CEO Ryan Lance, hosted by S&P Global Vice Chairman Dan Yergin. And both chiefs wasted no time diving into the challenges and opportunities that operators face now and in the future.

A total of 95.28% of the votes cast at the 16 virtual extraordinary general meeting were to approve the S$4.5 billion (US$3.37 billion) deal. The two shipyards have been working on a merger since July last year and the idea for a union of the two Singapore-listed companies has been discussed in industry circles for decades.

Permian Strategic Partnership (PSP) President and CEO Tracee Bentley made a compelling case for the positive impact of oil and natural gas production on local communities during her testimony before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources at The University of Texas Permian Basin Midland Campus on Feb 13.

Baker Hughes will be acquiring technology company 3C. It is part of Baker Hughes's commitment to providing decarbonization solutions for carbon-intensive industries. 3C's rotating bed technology enhances the carbon capture process resulting in up to 75% smaller footprint and lower capital expenditures. With this agreement, 3C will get to upscale and commercialize its technology whereas Baker Hughes will be able to strengthen its strategy, technology, and manufacturing in the area of carbon capture.

Cenovus bought Husky for $2.9 billion. The move was made to defend the former from the Biden Anti-Soil Sands movement which could be a threat to its future business in the US market. By acquiring Husky's refineries in Ohio and Wisconsin, Cenovus can now refine 70% of its crude directly in the US midwest and won't have to sell oil locally at a depressed price hence justifying the merge.

Kosmos Energy has agreed to sell certain exploration assets worth $200 million in Africa and South America to Royal Dutch Shell. Kosmos plans to use up to one-third of the initial sale proceeds of $100 million to test two high-quality infrastructure-led exploration prospects in the Gulf of Mexico. Shell will acquire the company’s participating interest in blocks offshore São Tomé and Príncipe, Suriname, Namibia and South Africa.

Cairn has signed an agreement to sell its entire Senegalese stake to Woodside Energy. Cairn at first was planning to sell its 40% of the Senegalese stake to Lukoil in a deal worth up to $400m, but Woodside had exercised its right to pre-empt the transaction on the same terms and conditions. Woodside Energy will hold a 68.3% stake in the main Sangomar deepwater project and a 75% stake in the remaining areas.

Industries Qatar has bought 25% stake in Qatar Fertiliser Co from Qatar Petroleum’s for $1 billion, making Industries Qatar the 100% owner of the world’s largest single-site urea producer. Industries Qatar shares were up 6.9% to 10.1 riyals in early trade, trimming their till date loss to 2.2%. The deal will help Qatar Petroleum with cash to pursue investments.

Occidental Petroleum (Oxy) has signed a purchase and sale agreement with Orion Mine Finance for $1.33bn, the transaction is expected to be closed in the fourth quarter of this year. Assets under the sale are located in Wyoming, Colorado and Utah. The company will retain its core assets in the Rockies, including Colorado’s DJ Basin and Wyoming’s Powder River Basin.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. sold its Occidental Petroleum Corp. common equity in the second quarter, due to its performance during the pandemic which highly affected the industry. Berkshire had built up the stake in addition to its $10 billion investment in preferred shares last year, which helped fund Occidental’s ill-fated takeover of Anadarko Petroleum Corp. Occidental tumbled 64% this year, making it the worst performer in the S&P 500 Energy Index.

Norway-based private equity company HitecVision-backed NEO Energy has completed the acquisition of UK North Sea assets from Total Oil UK and Total E&P North Sea UK. The acquisition included a portfolio of operated and non-operated assets. The transaction comprises a material and cash generative portfolio of assets in four producing areas of the UK North Sea. It adds production of approximately 23,000 boepd and reserves of 51 MMboe to Neo Energy’s portfolio.

Total has agreed to sell its Lindsey refinery in Lincolnshire, northeast England, to Prax Group. The refinery has an annual production capacity of 5.4 million tons. Since the sale of the British retail network in 2011, the Lindsey refinery hasn’t been part of Total’s downstream system. It is expected to be put to better use within the Prax Group, an independent player with a growing UK network.

U.S. oil major ConocoPhillips said on Wednesday that it agreed to buy land from Kelt Exploration Ltd in Canada’s Montney shale oil play, in a $375 million deal. The deal allows ConocoPhillips to extend its existing position at an attractive cost. It comes three years after Houston-based ConocoPhillips sold much of its Canadian assets to Cenovus Energy, part of a multi-year withdrawal of foreign producers from Canada.

Chevron Corp’s surprise $5 for oil producer Noble Energy should spell this year’s deal drought, setting a benchmark that will trigger more buys. The COVID-19 pandemic destroyed fuel demand and left dozens of energy companies without the prospect of drilling their way out of debt. They may now be more willing to entertain deals with the Chevron offer as a standard. Chevron agreed to pay $5 a barrel for Noble’s proved reserves.

Oil supermajor, bp Plc has informed about concluding the sale of its Prudhoe Bay oil and gas producing assets to Hilcorp Energy, ending a 60-year streak of being the top Alaskan oil producer. The $5.6 billion deal, which also includes bp’s stake in the Trans Alaska Pipeline System, is estimated to wrap up this quarter, both companies said in statements.

Connector Subsea Solutions has completed the acquisition of Isotek Oil and Gas Limited. The acquisition adds Isotek’s remote welding technology to CSS’s existing range of subsea pipeline repair capabilities. The Isotek workforce which numbers 15 people is transferring over to CSS with immediate effect. Remote subsea welding is seen as a key link into future operational scenarios for tie-ins, repair, hot-tapping, and in particular, larger diameter pipeline applications.

ConocoPhillips has completed the sale of its west-Australian business to Santos for $1.39 billion, a major boost to the company’s balance sheet during the economic downturn. The Houston oil major, which announced the sale in October, has received about $765 million in proceeds from the sale during the second quarter. The proceeds are expected to be used for “general corporate purposes,” the company said Wednesday.

Qatar Petroleum has entered into a 'farm-in agreement with Total to acquire a 45% participating interest in blocks CI-705 and CI-706, located in the Ivorian-Tano basin, offshore the Republic of Cote d'Ivoire. The two blocks cover an area of approximately 3,200 square kilometres, and present multi-target hydrocarbon prospects in water depths ranging from 1,000 to 2,000 metres, 35 kilometres from shore and about 100 kilometres from nearby Foxtrot, Espoir and Baobab fields.