Japan’s Mitsubishi Corporation has agreed to acquire Aethon Energy Management’s Haynesville Shale assets in Texas and Louisiana through a stock-and-debt transaction valued at $7.2 billion.
Under the terms of the agreement, announced 16 January, Mitsubishi will acquire $5.2 billion in privately held Aethon stock and assume more than $2.3 billion in debt. The acquired properties produce about 2.1 Bcf/D of natural gas and are positioned to supply the region’s expanding liquefied natural gas (LNG) processing and export infrastructure.
Output from Aethon’s Haynesville operations represents almost 15 mtpa of LNG equivalent. The company also operates more than 1,700 miles of pipeline infrastructure supporting its upstream position.
In a statement highlighting its entry into the US shale gas sector, Mitsubishi said, “This investment will not only strengthen the earnings base of [Mitibshisi’s] natural gas and LNG businesses, but also accelerate efforts to build an integrated value chain in the United States—from upstream gas development to power generation, data center development, chemicals production, and related businesses.”
Mitsubishi already holds interests in shale gas development through its stake in Ovintiv’s operations in British Columbia, Canada, and maintains a liquefaction capacity contract with Cameron LNG, one of the US Gulf Coast’s key LNG export hubs. That interest is held through Japan LNG Investment, a joint venture with Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha, alongside Sempra, TotalEnergies, and Mitsui & Co.
Dallas-based Aethon Energy reports a net acreage position of nearly 400,000 acres, including joint-venture projects. In addition to its Haynesville assets, the company owns and operates oil and gas properties in Wyoming.
Aethon and Mitsubishi have also formed a strategic alliance that will allow the companies to evaluate potential investments in LNG; carbon capture, use, and storage; geothermal energy; and low-carbon natural gas, as well as data-center and other digital infrastructure projects.
“We view this alliance as a natural extension of Aethon’s disciplined, long-term approach to building integrated energy platforms,” Albert Huddleston, founder and CEO of Aethon, said in a statement on 15 January, ahead of the acquisition announcement.
The release notes that the partnership is nonbinding and nonexclusive, allowing both companies to pursue opportunities independently or with third parties.
The acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter of Japan’s fiscal year and is subject to customary regulatory approvals.
