Page 9 - NorthAmOil Week 43

NorthAmOil PROJECTS & COMPANIES NorthAmOil
C&J, Keane shareholders approve $1.8bn merger
US
The merged entity
will rank just behind Halliburton and Schlumberger in terms of total US hydraulic fracturing horsepower.
OILFIELD services firms C&J Energy Services and Keane Group announced on October 22 that the shareholders of both companies had approved their proposed all-stock merger. The deal, worth $1.8bn, is now anticipated to close on October 31, creating a company with projected annual revenues of $4bn.
The new company created by the merger will be named NexTier Oilfield Solutions. Its stock will trade on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker symbol NEX. Keane’s CEO, Robert Drummond, will become CEO of the merged company.
C&J offers a variety of oil and gas production services, while Keane specialises in well com- pletions. The companies have described their merger as one of equals.
“We are pleased that shareholders voted in favour of this combination, which creates an industry-leading, diversified oilfield services provider,” Drummond said in a statement. “Today’s approvals represent a key milestone in completing the transaction and clearly support our view that this merger of equals will provide many strategic and financial benefits, with our increased scale and density across services and
geographies and a prominent presence in the most active US basins.”
Drummond has previously described the two companies’ businesses as “highly complementary”.
The merged entity will rank just behind Hal- liburton and Schlumberger in terms of total US hydraulic fracturing horsepower. However, the closing of the deal comes amid reduced usage of pressure pumping units and declining service prices across North America. Indeed, Schlum- berger wrote down $1.575bn from its North American pressure pumping business during the third quarter of 2019. Meanwhile, Hallibur- ton, which is the largest provider of fracking ser- vices, cut 650 jobs in North America earlier this month.
Halliburton’s CEO, Jeff Miller, warned ana- lysts on the company’s earnings call that com- pletions activity was also anticipated to be lower year on year in the fourth quarter of this year. Other service providers will also be hit by this.
According to Baker Hughes, the active US rig count dropped by 21 in the week up to October 25, to 830 units. This compares with 1,068 active rigs targeting both oil and gas a year ago.™
UPSTREAM
Ecopetrol and OXY receive
US approval for investment
agreement in Permian Basin
Ecopetrol reports that regulatory approvals were received today in the United States to form the joint venture between Ecopetrol and OXY, announced last July 31 in a press release. The transaction is expected to close by year end.
ECOPETROL, October 22, 2019
Samson Resources II
announces $100mn reserve-
based lending facility
Samson Resources II announced today
NEWS IN BRIEF
that the company’s reserve-based lending facility has been adjusted for the divestiture of the Green River Basin assets and was redetermined during the 2019 fall semi- annual re-determination process at $100mn. Samson ended the third quarter of 2019 with approximately $44mn of cash and no borrowings on the reserve based lending facility.
Joseph A. Mills, president and CEO of the company stated: “We want to thank our bank group for their continued support of Samson during this time of volatile capital markets. Samson’s partnership with our bank group
is an important element in our oil-weighted development plan as a pure play Powder River Basin company. Samson’s undrawn $100mn reserve based lending facility will help facilitate the Company’s robust organic growth in the Powder River Basin during 2020.”
SAMSON RESOURCES II, October 22, 2019
Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation reports third-quarter 2019 results, increases dividend by 11%
Cabot Oil & Gas today reported financial and operating results for the third quarter of 2019.
“In the third quarter of 2019, Cabot increased free cash flow by over 150% compared to the prior-year period, driven
by higher production volumes, lower per
unit operating expenses, improved basis differentials, and reduced capital spending, despite a 23% reduction in NYMEX benchmark prices,” stated Dan O. Dinges, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. “Our results highlight the resiliency
of Cabot’s business model and our ability to deliver strong financial results even in the lows of the natural gas price cycle, while continuing
Week 43 29•October•2019
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