Apache to sell Gulf of Mexico assets to Freeport-McMoRan for $1.4 bn
09 May 2014
Apache Corp, the second-largest US independent oil and gas company after Anadarko Petroleum, yesterday said it would sell assets in the Gulf of Mexico to Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc for $1.4 billion.
The sale is part of the Houston-based company's 2013 plan to sell assets worth $4 billion in order to reduce debt and buy back shares. (See: Apache Corp plans to sell assets worth $4 bn)
Apache will sell non-operated interests in the Lucius and Heidelberg development projects and 11 deepwater exploration blocks to a subsidiary of Freeport-McMoRan.
The Lucius unit comprises Keathley Canyon blocks 874, 875, 918 and 919, and the company's working interest is 11.7 per cent. The Heidelberg unit includes Green Canyon blocks 859, 903, 904 and 948 and the company holds a 12.5 per cent working interest. Apache's working interest in the 11 deepwater exploration blocks ranges from 16.67 to 60 per cent.
During the fourth-quarter of 2013, Apache's Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Region contributed 9,167 barrels of oil equivalent per day to the company's total production. None of the company's producing operations are involved in the current sale.
Phoenix-based Freeport, which this week sold a major part of energy-rich land in Texas, said that it will fund the deal from the $3.1 billion proceeds it will receive from the sale of its Eagle Ford Shale assets in Texas.
