By Oil & Gas Financial Journal staff
In a deal with Alaskan Chevron subsidiary Unocal, private operator Hilcorp Energy Co. has acquired Alaska Cook Inlet oil and gas assets, noted Global Hunter Securities in a statement to investors June 20. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Shortly after Chevron's April 2005 announcement to acquire Unocal for $18 billion, speculation swirled about which assets would be sold.
The recent deal with privately held Hilcorp, currently ranked No. 3 in production on the OGFJ100P list, includes Unocal’s interests in Granite Point, Middle Ground Shoals, Trading Bay and MacArthur River fields as well as 10 offshore platforms, an onshore gas field including the Ninilchik and Beluga River units, and two storage gas facilities. Interests in the Cook Inlet Pipeline Co. and Kenai Kachemak Pipeline LLC are also included.
Current net production from the operations is roughly 3,900 bopd and 85 MMcf/d or 4,410 boe/d.
Chevron expects to maintain its interest in the North Slope oil fields and a 1.36% interest in the trans-Alaska pipeline system.
The deal is expected to close by year-end.
“The acquisition by Hilcorp allows the company to reinvest its cash flow to bolster its offshore operations and add oily production after divesting its Eagle Ford acreage along with its partner, private equity firm KKR, to Marathon Oil and Gas (NYSE: MRO) for $3.5 billion earlier in 2Q11,” said Global Hunter Securities analysts.
