Chord Energy Corp. has strengthened its position in the Williston Basin with an agreement to acquire core acreage from Exxon Mobil Corp. subsidiary XTO Energy Inc. and affiliates for $375 million cash.
The acquisition was announced May 22 as Chord sheds non-core acreage outside the basin.
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The nearly one-year-old company, formed by a merger of Whiting Petroleum and Oasis Petroleum in 2022, will add about 62,000 acres—of which about three-quarters is undeveloped—within or adjacent to its near-term development program, the company said in a news release.
“These low-cost, tier-one assets are highly competitive with our existing portfolio and further extend our inventory runway,” Chord CEO Danny Brown said. “Consolidation in the core of the basin supports longer laterals, higher capital and operating efficiencies, strong financial returns and sustainable free cash flow generation.”
The acquired acreage enables Chord to expand six of its pre-acquisition drilling spacing units from 2 miles to 3 miles. The acreage, which is 100% held by production, has 123 estimated net 10,000-ft equivalent locations, the company said.
“The transaction creates significant accretion for shareholders across all metrics, while maintaining pro forma leverage below our target,” Brown added.
With an effective date of April 1, the transaction is expected to close at the end of June 2023.