M&As this week: Encana, Motley Services, Bellatrix Exploration

Encana has entered a $5.5bn agreement to take over US-based oil and gas company Newfield Exploration Company.

The acquisition includes approximately 360,000 net acres in the STACK/SCOOP play in the Anadarko basin, three billion barrels of oil-equivalent of net unrisked resource, and 6,000 gross risked well locations.

The combined company is expected to create the second biggest producer of unconventional resources in North America, with premium assets in three major oil and liquids-weighted plays Permian, STACK/SCOOP and Montney.

Subject to regulatory and shareholder approval, the transaction is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2019.

Based in Canada, Encana is involved in the production, transportation and marketing of natural gas, oil, and natural gas liquids.

Motley Services has been acquired by KLX Energy Services Holdings for $148m.

The transaction will add Motley’s large diameter coiled tubing business, wireline and thru-tubing services to the KLX Energy’s portfolio and enhance its integrated platform.

It will also allow the acquirer to provide Motley’s coiled tubing services to the Rockies and Northeast/Mid-Con geographic regions.

KLX Energy provides oilfield services for onshore well intervention and production activities, while Motley supplies a wide range of oilfield services to the oil and gas industry.

Both the companies involved in the transaction are based in the US.

Bellatrix Exploration has completed the acquisition of Grafton Energy, an oil and gas exploration services provider.

The acquired assets include approximately 2,200 barrels of oil-equivalent a day (boe/d) of low-decline production, comprising 79% natural gas and 21% liquids. The assets are located in Bellatrix’s core Ferrier area of west central Alberta.

Bellatrix is engaged in the exploration, development and production of oil and natural gas reserves.

Both the companies involved in the transaction are based in Canada.

Velvet Acquisition Company has completed the purchase of Iron Bridge Resources (IBR).

A subsidiary of Velvet Energy, Velvet Acquisition Company bought 126.9 million common shares outstanding from Iron Bridge shareholders for $0.845 a share in cash.

Both the companies are involved in the exploration, development and production of crude oil and natural gas in Canada.

Panoro Tunisia Production, a subsidiary of Panoro Energy, has entered a deal to purchase OMV Exploration & Production’s wholly-owned subsidiary, OMV Tunisia Upstream, for $65m.

OMV Tunisia Upstream holds net 2P reserves of 8.1 million barrels with net production of 2,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) from 14 wells across five concessions in Tunisia, in which it holds a 49% interest.

It also holds a 50% stake in Thyna Petroleum Services (TPS), which provides operating services for five oil concessions, namely Cercina, Cercina South, Rhemoura, Guebiba/El Hajib, and El Ain.

The acquisition will add high-quality oil-producing assets with existing infrastructure and substantial upside potential to Panoro’s portfolio, as well as strengthen its presence in Tunisia.

Panoro Energy is a Norwegin independent exploration and production company based in Norway, while OMV Exploration & Production is an oil and gas company based in Austria.