Vermilion Energy Inc. has entered into an arrangement agreement to acquire Westbrick Energy Ltd., a privately held oil and gas company operating in the Deep Basin, for total consideration of $1.075 billion. The deal is expected to close in Q1 2025(1).
"The strategic acquisition of Westbrick represents a significant step forward in Vermilion's North American high-grading initiative to increase operational scale and enhance full-cycle margins in the liquids-rich Deep Basin," commented Dion Hatcher, President and CEO of Vermilion.
"The Deep Basin is an area Vermilion has been operating in for nearly three decades and is currently the largest producing asset in the company. The acquisition adds 50,000 boe/d of stable production and approximately 1.1 million (770,000 net) acres of land from which Vermilion has identified over 700 drilling locations, providing a robust inventory to keep production flat for over 15 years while generating significant free cash flow to enhance the company's long-term return of capital framework."
The acquisition enhances depth and quality of Vermilion's Deep Basin inventory and complements their high-growth, liquids-rich Montney asset. Vermilion's Canadian liquids-rich gas assets, combined with over 100 mmcf/d of high-netback, low-decline European natural gas production provides the company with a premium realized natural gas price.
Vermilion is committed to strategically growing its international assets both organically, as demonstrated by recent successes in Germany and Croatia, and via acquisitions. In the near term, the company will focus on operational execution, debt reduction, return of capital and further high-grading of assets within its portfolio, including non-core asset sales, to enhance long-term shareholder value.
