Noble Energy to sell US assets to Black Stone Minerals for $340m

Noble Energy has signed an agreement to sell mineral and royalty package in the US to Black Stone Minerals for $340m.

Under the agreement, the assets under the sale consideration include around 1.1 million gross mineral acres, 380,000 gross acres of non-participating royalty interests (NPRI), and 600,000 gross acres of overriding royalty interests (ORRI).

The assets are spread over 20 states, including Texas, Oklahoma, and North Dakota.

The transaction is expected to increase Black Stone’s position in the greater Permian Basin through the addition of about 8,300 net royalty acres in the Midland Basin.

Black Stone Minerals president, CEO and chairman Thomas Carter said: “First, we’re acquiring a sizable and diverse mineral and royalty package that substantially expands our Permian and other positions, complements our overall existing asset base extremely well, and is immediately accretive to our distributable cash flow per unit.

“We see a great opportunity to actively manage these assets to generate lease bonus and move more lands into development.”

In addition, the proposed sale comprises around 7,200 net royalty acres in the Delaware Basin, as well as 10,000 net royalty acres in the Bakken/Three Forks play.

The acquisition also includes positions in the Powder River Basin in Wyoming, the SCOOP play in Oklahoma, and the Granite Wash play in Texas.

The assets to be sold had an estimated average daily production of 2.6mboed for this month.

Black Stone recently signed an agreement to farm out of its remaining working interests in the Shelby Trough area of East Texas targeting the Haynesville and Bossier shales to Pivotal Petroleum Partners.

The deal covers the company’s remaining 20% of its working interest in the XTO Energy-operated wells.

The latest development is part of Noble Energy’s continuing strategy to divest non-core assets to improve the balance sheet and focus on core assets.

In May this year, the company reached a deal to sell Marcellus Midstream for $765m, while it sold upstream assets in northern West Virginia and southern Pennsylvania for $1.125bn in June.

Earlier this month, Noble Energy signed an agreement to offload non-core DJ basin acreage in Weld County, Colorado, in a deal valued at $608m.