商业/经济

天然气巨头:切萨皮克将斥资 74 亿美元收购西南航空,成为美国顶级天然气生产商

美国两家最知名的独立公司正在合并组建一家天然气巨头,该公司将于今年晚些时候获得新名称。

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资料来源:切萨皮克能源

切萨皮克能源公司宣布以价值 74 亿美元的全股票交易收购西南能源公司后,美国能源格局再次重塑。

合并后的公司将在交易结束时获得新名称,将超越竞争对手页岩勘探公司 EQT,成为美国最大的天然气生产商,预计产量为 7.3 Bcf/D,占美国总产量的 7%。 2023 年的数字。

除了成为路易斯安那州海恩斯维尔页岩最大的运营商(合并后持有 65 万净英亩土地)外,新公司还将在俄亥俄州、西弗吉尼亚州和阿巴拉契亚盆地多产的阿巴拉契亚盆地拥有 118 万英亩净土地。宾夕法尼亚州。

切萨皮克和西南航空的股东将分别拥有合并后公司约 60% 和 40% 的股份,预计企业价值约为 240 亿美元。交易条款包括切萨皮克承担卖方近 40 亿美元的未偿债务。

切萨皮克总裁兼首席执行官尼克·德尔奥索在一份声明中表示:“这一强大的组合重新定义了天然气生产商,形成了第一家能够真正在国际范围内竞争的美国独立公司。”

戴尔奥索将继续担任合并后公司的总裁兼首席执行官,该公司的董事会将由 11 名董事组成,其中包括来自切萨皮克的董事和来自西南航空的 4 名董事。

西南航空公司总裁兼首席执行官比尔·韦 (Bill Way) 在宣布这项交易时向他的员工表示感谢,他称该交易是“变革性的”。

他补充说,“西南航空和切萨皮克可以通过扩大规模、提高资本配置灵活性以及进入优质市场来满足不断增长的全球天然气需求,从而提高我们高度互补的投资组合的利润和回报。”

合并后的公司总部将设在俄克拉荷马城,切萨皮克公司由已故页岩先驱 Aubrey McClendon 于 1989 年在那里创立。去年,切萨皮克公司完成了超过 35 亿美元的多笔交易,剥离了其位于德克萨斯州液体资源丰富的 Eagle Ford 工厂,成为一家专注于天然气的运营商。

合并后的公司计划维持在休斯顿地区的业务,西南航空自 2000 年以来一直将总部设在休斯顿地区。该计划的一部分包括在休斯顿建立新的贸易业务,将其来源可靠的天然气推向全球市场,这些天然气受到独立监管机构的监管。验证提取过程中使用了环境最佳实践。

Enverus Intelligence Research 的分析师表示,此次交易背后的最大推动力是西南航空在 Haynesville 的 286,000 英亩资产,这将使切萨皮克干气区的产量提高到超过 4 Bcf/D。该市场研究公司指出,所收购的气井中约有 1,300 口的回报率至少为 10%,回报率等于或低于 3.50 美元/千立方英尺。

Enverus Intelligence 高级副总裁安德鲁·迪特玛 (Andrew Dittmar) 表示:“海恩斯维尔是切萨皮克尤其希望扩大其影响力的地区,因为该地区不仅拥有高质量的钻探机会,而且靠近新兴的天然气市场,可满足美国液化天然气出口需求。”研究称,该交易。

他补充说,随着美国流向液化天然气列车的天然气比例从现在的 12% 增加到 2030 年的 20%,美国将在未来 36 个月内看到 10 Bcf/D 的新液化天然气产能上线。

合并后预计每年可节省管理费用、人员配置和运营成本 4 亿美元。

两家公司的联合声明称,预期节省运营成本的关键之一是钻探更长的支管,许多致密岩生产商将水平段的长度从 2 英里延长到 3 英里。此外,合并后的公司将维持到 2035 年实现范围 1 和范围 2 净零排放的目标。

该交易正在等待股东和监管机构的批准,预计将在第二季度末完成。

原文链接/jpt
Business/economics

A Gas Giant: Chesapeake To Become Top US Gas Producer With $7.4 Billion Deal To Buy Southwestern

Two of the most established US independents are combining to form a natural gas powerhouse that will be given a new name later this year.

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Source: Chesapeake Energy

The US energy landscape is reshaping once again after the announcement that Chesapeake Energy is acquiring Southwestern Energy in an all-stock deal with a $7.4 billion value.

The combined firm, to be given a new name at closing, will eclipse rival shale explorer EQT to become the biggest gas producer in the US, with a pro forma production of 7.3 Bcf/D—or 7% of total US output based on 2023 figures.

In addition to becoming the largest operator in Louisiana’s Haynesville Shale, with a post-merger holding of 650,000 net acres, the new company will also boast a position of 1.18 million net acres across the prolific Appalachian Basin in Ohio, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania.

Chesapeake and Southwestern shareholders will own approximately 60% and 40% of the combined firm, respectively, which will have an estimated enterprise value of around $24 billion. Terms of the deal include Chesapeake assuming almost $4 billion in the seller’s outstanding debt.

"This powerful combination redefines the natural gas producer, forming the first US based independent that can truly compete on an international scale,” Nick Dell'Osso, Chesapeake's president and CEO, said in a statement.

Dell'Osso will stay on as the president and chief of the combined company, whose board will consist of 11 directors—seven from Chesapeake and four from Southwestern.

Bill Way, president and CEO of Southwestern, thanked his staff in the announcement of the deal, which he described as “transformational.”

He added, “Together, Southwestern and Chesapeake can drive improved margins and returns from our highly complementary portfolios through enhanced scale, capital allocation flexibility, and access to premium markets to supply growing global natural gas demand.”

The combined firm will be headquartered in Oklahoma City, where Chesapeake was founded in 1989 by the late shale pioneer Aubrey McClendon. Last year, Chesapeake completed a multideal divestment exceeding $3.5 billion of its liquids-rich Eagle Ford in Texas to become a gas-focused operator.

The merged company plans to maintain a presence in the Houston area, where Southwestern has been based since 2000. Part of that plan includes establishing a new trading business in Houston to bring to global markets its volumes of responsibly sourced gas, which are subject to independent verifications that environmental best practices were used in the extraction process.

Analysts at Enverus Intelligence Research said the top driver behind the deal was Southwestern’s Haynesville asset of 286,000 acres, which will boost Chesapeake’s output in the dry gas play beyond 4 Bcf/D. The market research firm noted that some 1,300 of the acquired gas wells generate at least 10% returns at or below $3.50/Mcf.

“The Haynesville is particularly desirable as an area for Chesapeake to grow its exposure as the play combines high-quality drilling opportunities with proximity to a burgeoning market for gas to feed US LNG exports,” Andrew Dittmar, senior vice president of Enverus Intelligence Research, said of the deal.

He added that the US is about to see 10 Bcf/D of new LNG capacity come online over the next 36 months as the share of US gas flowing to LNG trains swells from 12% today to 20% by 2030.

Overhead, staffing, and operational savings as a result of the merger are expected to be in the area of $400 million annually.

The joint announcement by the companies said one key to the anticipated operational savings will be the drilling of longer laterals—a trend that has seen many tight rock producers extend from 2-mile long horizontal sections to 3 miles. Additionally, the merged firm will maintain a goal to attain net zero Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2035.

Pending shareholder and regulatory approval, the transaction is expected to close by the end of the second quarter.