Baytex buying northern Alberta heavy oil assets for C$65 million

Industry: Energy, Oil 2016-11-24

Mid-sized Canadian oil producer Baytex Energy Corp has agreed to buy heavy oil production assets in the Peace River region of northern Alberta in a deal worth C$65 million ($48.35 million), the company said on Tuesday.

The predominantly heavy oil assets are adjacent to Baytex’s existing Peace River lands and would add around 3,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day to its total production of 67,000 boepd, the Calgary-based company said in a statement.

The seller was not identified and Baytex did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The deal includes 3,000 boepd of production that has been shut in due to subdued oil prices and regulatory requirements.

Baytex said bringing those volumes back online would cost around C$30 million, and it expected to restart that production over the next few years as long as crude prices were “favorable.”

The acquisition, which is expected to close by the end of the year, would more than double Baytex’s land position in the Peace River region, one of its core operation areas. Its other major regions include Lloydminster on the Alberta-Saskatchewan border and Eagle Ford in Texas.

Baytex said it would fund the acquisition through a C$100 bought deal financing with a syndicate of underwriters co-led by Scotia Capital Inc and RBC Capital Markets.