Legacy Oil + Gas buys Molopo's Spearfish assets for $185MM

Era Group and Bristow Group completed their all-stock merger, creating a larger and more diversified helicopter company. The Houston-based combined company’s common stock began trading on the NYSE on June 12 with the VTOL ticker symbol. When announced in January, the combined company was looking at $1.5 billion in pro forma revenue, 75% from oil and gas customers. The merger strengthens Bristow’s global leadership position, with significant operations throughout the Americas, Nigeria,...

Eagle Ford producer Freedom Oil & Gas, the Houston-based operating arm of Australia-listed Freedom Oil & Gas Ltd., joined the ranks of E&P firms selling assets via Section 363 processes after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Plummeting revenue prevented the company from servicing its $10 million debt, which led to the May 11 filing. The company plans to sell all its assets, located in the Eagle Ford, to Australian environmental services company Sendero Resources, the...

Laredo Petroleum is working to make its wells in the Cline shale competitive with its traditional Wolfcamp program. Naturally, wells in the deeper formation are more expensive, but increases in initial productivity, in addition to decreasing well costs, have made the Cline wells more economic. During Q1, Laredo completed its first two wells targeting the formation in two years. Well costs of $7.4 million were 8% below expectations, and the company believes that declines in service costs...

Laredo Petroleum is working to make its wells in the Cline formation competitive with its traditional Wolfcamp program. Naturally, wells in the deeper formation are more expensive, but increases in initial productivity, in addition to decreasing well costs, have made the Cline wells more economic. During Q1, Laredo completed its first two wells targeting the formation in two years. Well costs of $7.4 million were 8% below expectations, and the company believes that declines in service...

Diversified Gas & Oil grew output to new highs in 2019, thanks to acquisitions and its Smarter Well Management program. Average annual volumes more than doubled YOY to 508.8 MMcfe/d, and the YE19 exit rate was up 35% YOY at 568.8 MMcfe/d. For the sixth consecutive quarter, output from legacy assets remained flat at 420 MMcfe/d in Q4. The SWM program returned 750 non-producing wells to production during 2019. The program employs multiple actions to offset natural declines, including...

Chesapeake Energy revised its 2020 capex guidance to $500-700 million, down from $1.3-1.6 billion originally. Spending will be focused on its natural gas assets. Since Jan. 1, Chesapeake dropped 38% of its rigs, going from 13 to eight as of May 8, according to Enverus Rig Analytics. Powder River activity has fallen from four rigs to one, the rig count on the company’s legacy Eagle Ford acreage is down 50% to two and its Brazos Valley operations have dropped from two rigs to one. Haynesville...

Diversified Gas & Oil grew output to new highs in 2019, thanks to its acquisition activity and Smarter Well Management program. Average annual volumes more than doubled YOY to 508.8 MMcfe/d, and the YE19 exit rate was up 35% YOY at 568.8 MMcfe/d. For the sixth consecutive quarter, output from legacy assets remained flat at 420 MMcfe/d in Q4. The Smarter Well Management program returned 750 non-producing wells to production during 2019, including 190 in Q4. The program employs...

Block Energy is acquiring two of the three production sharing contracts held by Schlumberger in the former Soviet bloc country of Georgia: producing Block XI(B) and exploration Block IX. The two companies also agreed that the oilfield services giant will apply to relinquish Block X. The terms of the no-cash transaction will be satisfied by the issuance of share options. Block, which will add 2P reserves of 64 MMboe and initial production of 245 bo/d through the deal, described the...

Block Energy is acquiring two of the three production sharing contracts held by Schlumberger in the former Soviet bloc country of Georgia: producing Block XI(B) and exploration Block IX. The companies also agreed that the oilfield services giant will apply to relinquish Block X. The terms of the non-cash transaction will be satisfied by the issuance of share options. Block Energy, which will add 2P reserves of 64 MMboe and initial production of 245 bo/d through the deal, described the...

Continental Resources (CLR; $17.46-Feb. 27; Buy; PT-$30) CLR’s 2020 plan came out flat given low forecasted growth w/moderate FCF at current levels after a solid 4Q19/2019. We believe given the operational acumen, solid assets & numerous monetization opportunities, CLR’s initial 2020 guidance could be considered conservative as with initial 2019 guidance. Further, a 2020 transition should set up for a notable 2021. We see near-term catalysts including upside from Springboard 2 &...

The remaining assets of Houston Oil & Gas, which ceased operations and entered receivership with bankruptcy trustee Hardie & Kelly in October, are being marketed by Sayer Energy Advisors. Located in southern and central Alberta, the assets had gross production of 23.9 MMcfe/d (95% gas) as of July 31. According to court documents in late October, some of the wells have already been transferred to the Orphan Well Association to be decommissioned. Bids are due by Feb. 27 (Enverus Deal ID:...

The industry-funded Orphan Well Association, which pays to clean up orphan wells for which there are no owners to perform reclamation, said Alberta’s rules for ensuring companies reclaim wells before selling them off are inadequate. The criticism comes as the Alberta Energy Regulator is considering a Shell application to transfer 284 sour gas wells, 66 facilities and 82 pipelines in the southern Alberta Foothills to Pieridae Energy. The companies closed a deal in October for Pieridae to...

Natural gas prices have started the year in the toilet, falling below $2/MMbtu. It didn’t come as a surprise as the outlook was not good for gas, and temperatures across the nation have spent most of the winter above average. With an emphasis on fiscal responsibility, operators’ 2020 plans are a sign of the times. Range Resources is spending 29% less on capex in 2020 compared to 2019 and focusing on paying down debt. The result will be no production growth (PG.1). Repsol’s 2020 spending...

There is no rest for the weary in oil and gas, as companies are already making significant investments in the opening days of 2020. Woodside Petroleum took a financial investment decision on the Sangomar Phase 1 development (PG.1), and it is projecting capital investments 3x 2019 levels at $4.1-4.4 billion (PG.19). UK-based Premier Oil is expanding its North Sea portfolio in deals with BP and Dana Petroleum worth $816 million (PG.1). That deal manifested a theme the market saw...

Peregrine Energy Partners is acquiring producing and non-producing oil and gas royalties in Orange and Los Angeles counties, California. Production comes from 170 wells in the Brea-Olinda oil field, a legacy field that has been in production since the early 1900s and is operated by California’s Bridge Energy. Peregrine managing director Josh Prier said the properties fit within the company’s strategy to acquire assets with shallow declines and legacy reserves. The company expects Brea-Olinda to...