Argentina Shale – Neuquen basin

Drilling results to date suggest that Argentina’s Neuquen Basin holds vast amounts of shale gas, tight gas and shale oil. The 137,000 km² basin, situated entirely onshore, is part of the Sub-Andean trend which extends the entire length of South America. Many analysts believe Neuquen shale’s geology to be better than that of Texas’ Eagle Ford. Continue reading here..

67 Unconventional Assets for Sale as of July 2011

There are many unconventional packages put up for sale, with most in the US or Canada. Given the flurry of unconventional deal activity recently, it wouldn’t be surprising if unconventional deal volumes and values reach record highs this year.

Jack Williams, president of the Irving, Texas-based ExxonMobil's XTO unit, which was acquired by ExxonMobil in June 2010, says that Exxon is looking to expand its shale gas holdings in more than a dozen gas-rich shale-rock formations worldwide. Exxon is also getting active internationally, starting hydraulic fracturing on formations in Poland this year and last week agreeing with China Petrochemical Corp. to jointly assess the resource’s potential in China. Although gas prices have been relatively low, Exxon is reportedly pleased with the returns they’re seeing with production from their unconventional assets, and particularly XTO’s assets.

This announcement by Exxon comes on the back of a series of multi-billion dollar deals involving unconventional (shale) transactions. Last week, BHP Billiton agreed to acquire Petrohawk Energy for $12.1 billion to expand its shale gas holdings in the US. Since June 1, companies including Exxon, Marathon Oil Corp. and Malaysia’s Petroliam Nasional Bhd have announced at least $7 billion worth of North American shale-gas deals.

The following table shows unconventional opportunities for sale recorded in Derrick’s “Deals in Play’ database, part of Derrick’s ‘E&P transactions’ database

Table 1: Unconventional opportunities available in US and Canada as of July 2011. Click on squares to get to the detailed deal sheet. Source: Derrick Petroleum Services. *HRB = Horn River Basin.
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There are currently 67 unconventional oil and gas packages for sale in the market. The majority of these packages are located in the USA (46) and most of them are either for unconventional oil (21) or unconventional gas (21). A large number of packages are for investments in undeveloped discoveries (30) and for investments in fields under development (20). Eagle Ford Shale has the most number of opportunities at 12 followed by the Marcellus Shale at 7. Most packages are related to selling undeveloped acreage (36), followed by Joint Venture related opportunities (17)

      

BHP Billiton acquires Petrohawk for ~$15 billion in the largest oil and gas M&A deal so far in 2011

BHP Billiton has agreed to acquire Petrohawk for US$38.75 per share by means of an all-cash tender offer for all of the issued and outstanding shares of Petrohawk, representing a total equity value of approximately US$12.1 billion and a total enterprise value of approximately US$15.1 billion, including the assumption of net debt.

Quick facts of the transaction:

• Provides BHP Billiton with operated positions in the three world class resource plays of the Eagle Ford (332,000 net acres) and Haynesville shales (345,000 net acres), and the Permian Basin (325,000 net acres acquired in May 2011 for an average price of $1,400/acre).
• Estimated 2011 net production of approximately 950 MMcfe/d.
• Year-end 2010 proved reserves of 3.4 Tcfe and unproved resource base of 32 Tcfe for a total risked resource base of 35 Tcfe.
• US$0.39 per Mcfe for total risked resources.

Valuation of the assets being acquired

A look at the split up of deal vale paid for the Haynesville, Eagle Ford and Permian assets-

• The value for Haynesville Shale acreage is $3,622.5 million (at an assumed price of $10,500/Acre for 345,000 acres or $1.12/BOE of uproved resource potential);
•  The value for Eagle Ford Shale acreage is $3,784.8 million (at an assumed price of $11,400/Acre for 332,000 acres or $1.78/BOE of unproved resource potential).  
• The value for Permian basin acreage is $455 million (at $1,400/Acre for 325,000 acres based on the May 2011 transaction value);
• Midstream assets are valued at $995 million as estimated by the buyer;
• Remaining deal value of $6,242.7 million is ascribed to Proved Reserves ($11.04/BOE or $39,428/Daily BOE).

Benefits for BHP Billiton:

BHP’s acquisition of Petrohawk is the largest unconventional deal this year, the previous one happened when ExxonMobil bought XTO in 2009. This $15 billion deal has been followed by its recent entry into US shale business by acquiring Chesapeake’s Fayetteville assets for $4.8 billion. With these two back to back unconventional deals, BHP has set itself a strong foundation in unconventional business.

The following are the benefits for BHP through this acquisition.

• The unconventional assets being acquired are well connected to a pipeline network which Petrohawk recently sold it to Kinder Morgan for $920 million. Therefore, distribution of the produced gas will not be an issue for BHP.
• BHP’s acquisition of Fayetteville assets boosted its net reserves and resources by 45% and the current acquisition of Petrohawk takes BHP to a next level by doubling the resource base to 11.3 Billion BOE. BHP expects to increase its oil and gas production by 10% per year for the next decade.
• BHP Billiton Petroleum will become one of the 10 largest independent upstream oil and gas companies in the world based on total resources.

Shale market is ROBUST

The unconventional market in US has seen a total deal volume of ~$33 billion since the beginning of this year against the last year volume of ~$17 billion with the same number of deal count. The following interactive charts show the unconventional deals in the past one year sorted by deal value and region.

By Deal Value 

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By Region

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Source Documents:

Acquisition ppt

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Petrohawk july 2011 ppt

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$2 - $3 Billion Worth of Eagle Ford Shale Assets Up For Sale as of July 2011

Derrick Petroleum's "Deals in Play' database has recorded $2 - $3 billion worth of Eagle Ford Shale assets for sale as on July 2011. The Eagle Ford Shale is becoming prized property for oil and gas companies in 2011. The shale play area starts at the Texas-Mexico border in Webb and Maverick counties and extends 400 miles toward East Texas. The play is 50 miles wide, an average of 250 feet thick at a depth between 4000 and 12,000 feet, and has high carbonate content making it easier to fracture than other shales. In addition, it is also more liquid rich than other shales. The $/acre of the shale has been increasing rapidly over the last few years due to increasing successes of companies exploring this play. The high present $/acre relative to previous years is also bringing capital to firms who want to sell non-core Eagle Ford assets to focus on their core assets.

The following table from Derrick Petroleum’s ‘Deals in Play’ database shows opportunities available with respect to Eagle Ford assets as on 4 July 2011.

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Table 1: Is an interactive chart/ table showing data recorded from Derrick Petroleum's 'Deals in Play' database. Only deals above $10 million are shown. Net undeveloped acres have been sorted from highest (up) to lowest (down). Subscribers can click on the relevant bar to view detailed information from the database. 

The following table shows recent transactions involving the Eagle Ford Shale for insight into its recent $/Acre.

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Table 2: X axis shows Buyer-Seller. Y axis is deal value. $/acre is given above the bar's in the chart. Data is sorted by month and quarter. Only deals above $100 million in Q1 and Q2 2011 have been shown. Click on the bars for more detail on individual deals.

Analyst Comments
1. Total deal value involving Eagle Ford shales has been among the highest relative to the other US shales.
2. Number of deals involving Eagle Ford shale have been the highest so far in 2011 as compared to other shales (~25 deals), as recorded in Derrick's Deals database.
3. Eagle Ford shale looks set to dominate the deals market for unconventionals in 2011. 

SM Energy divests Eagle Ford acreage at ~$15,000/acre

SM Energy entered into an agreement with Statoil and Talisman to divest a portion of its Eagle Ford shale position. The position is a detached block of acreage that is comprised of the entirety of the company's operated acreage in LaSalle County, Texas, as well as an immaterial portion of adjacent operated acreage in Dimmit County, Texas. In total, approximately 15,400 net acres are being sold for cash proceeds of approximately $225 million.

Due to limited infrastructure, there is currently no production associated with three wells that have been drilled on the acreage. As of year-end 2010, there was an immaterial amount of proved reserves booked for this acreage. The buyers will be entitled to approximately 12% of the takeaway capacity associated with SM Energy's agreement with Eagle Ford Gathering LLC, a joint venture between Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP and Copano Energy LLC.

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A busy month for Eagle Ford Shale. A look at Eagle Ford metrics
SM Energy’s Eagle Ford divestiture is the third deal for the month June, 2011. The most notable transaction was Marathon’s acquisition of Eagle Ford acreage for ~$25,000/acre. The current SM divestiture leaves the acreage metrics at $14,600/acre.

In addition, Talisman is also looking to buy additional assets in Eagle Ford Shale, if prices are going to be reasonable. Recently, the metrics in Eagle Ford Shale is skyrocketing between $20,000-$25,000/acre as compared to the 2010 average metrics of $8,000/acre.

Here is an interactive tool with regards to Eagle Ford acreage metrics. Play around.

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Talisman hunting for more oil-rich Eagle Ford assets..Will clinch deals if price are in-line

Canadian O&G company, Talisman Energy has oil and gas assets in North America, the North Sea and Southeast Asia. The company is pursuing a number of high-impact international exploration opportunities for 2011. In 2010, Talisman produced 417,000 boepd, approximately 50% oil and 50% natural gas.

For more presentations on "Eagle Ford", use our oil and gas document library:

Talisman's Transforming to Oil-Focused Company:

In terms of the portfolio, the company completed the sale of $2 billion of non-core, predominantly North American natural gas assets during 2010, bringing the total to $5 billion over the past two years. In general, the intent was to sell higher-cost, high-decline conventional gas assets and reposition the portfolio towards lower-cost, long-life assets, focusing on liquids.

"In North America, our emphasis will shift to liquids, and we will reduce gas directed spending by 35%. Our reduced gas directed drilling remains profitable at US$4 prices, and our land retention commitments are relatively minor. With the Eagle Ford acquisition complete, we plan to build to eight rigs by year end, with net Talisman production expected to average 55-65 mmcfepd, just under half of which will be liquids” said John A. Manzoni, President and Chief Executive Officer, Talisman.

Talisman’s Divestitures from 2010:

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Following the successful entry into the liquids-rich Eagle Ford through two acquisitions in 2010, the company is expecting to drill approximately 35 net wells. Talisman expects to ramp up to eight operated rigs by year end, and has budgeted approximately US$300 million. Net annual production from this play is estimated at 55-65 mmcfepd. Approximately half of this production is expected to be liquids.

Shale production in North America is expected to average 455-525 mmcfepd (~75,000-85,000 boepd), with an additional 90,000 boepd of conventional production.

Talisman in Eagle Ford:

Talisman took its first position in Eagle Ford in May 2010, buying 37,000 acres, and augmented that in December, when it and joint-venture partner Statoil paid $1.33 billion for 97,000 acres
The company successfully sold $2.2 billion of assets through 2010, all at very good metrics, and that allowed company to reposition the portfolio substantially through the year with about $2 billion of acquisitions, including some discoveries in Norway, the BP Colombia acquisition partnering with Ecopetrol, and deepening in the Eagle Ford jointly with Statoil.

Recent Major Transactions in Eagle Ford:

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Eagle Ford Hilcorp Resources Acreage Acquisition

Hilcorp Acreage Acquisition Summary
- $3.5 Billion cash, subject to closing adjustments and HSR approval
- ~141,000 net acres (217,000 gross acres)
- Accretive to earnings and operating cash flow and self-funding by 2014
- Expected closing November 1, 2011, effective date May 1, 2011
http://docsearch.derrickpetroleum.com/files/12974/Eagle%20Ford%20Shale%20Presentation%20Slides.pdf

US/Canada unconventional assets worth ~$14 billion available on market. Marcellus Shale leads the play.

The unconventional marketplace is being driven by motivated buyers (majors, internationals like KNOC, Marubeni, CNOOC, BHP, etc.,) and opportunistic sellers (Anadarko, Chesapeake, EnCana, Talisman, etc.,). Unconventional transactions dominated the upstream asset transactions in Q1-2011, nearly 35% of the total upstream value. PetroChina’s C$5.4 billion for a 50% interest in Cutbank Ridge assets in the Montney shale play from EnCana and BHP Billiton’s $4.75 billion for acquisition of interest in Fayetteville shale play from Chesapeake were the two major gas weighted shale deals in Q1-2011. However, number of transactions were more towards oil weighted Bakken and Eagle Ford plays. The following two tables show the significant unconventional deals of Q1-2011 in US/Canada.

In United States...

In Canada...

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Unconventional assets worth $14 billion up for sale

Source: Derrick Petroleum E&P Transactions Database

A total of $13,671 million worth of shale oil/gas assets are available for sale in the United States and Canada. The Marcellus shale gas assets top the sale activity and account for 44% of the total value. The key and the emerging shale plays and the assets put up for sale in those areas are detailed below-

Key US shale plays:

• Bakken Shale, hybrid shale system with mainly oil production, also exploiting underlying Three Forks tight sands formation

• Marcellus Shale in Appalachia, covering multiple states with Pennsylvania as main state, NE-part dry, SW-part with wet gas area

• Barnett Shale in Texas, dry and wet gas zones, combo area with oil/condensate as well

• Fayetteville Shale in Arkansas, mainly dry gas

• Haynesville Shale on the Louisiana-Texas border, mainly dry gas

Emerging plays:

• Eagle Ford in South Texas, oil and wet gas in addition to dry gas

• Niobrara in the Rockies, mostly oil

• Utica in eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvani may be oil prone and future target by companies

• Avalon in the Permian, mostly oil

• Canadian plays, notably Montney and Horn River in British Columbia; and Oilsands in Alberta.

Anadarko reported 15-percent quarter-over-quarter increase in daily liquids volumes; On-track with the company’s five-year target of growing sales volumes at a CAGR of 7%- 9%!!

During Q1 2011, Anadarko reported sales volumes totaled 62 mmboe, or 690,000 boepd, averaging approximately 2.4 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day, 212,000 barrels of oil per day, and 76,000 barrels of natural gas liquids per day. This record performance was highlighted by the rapid growth of shale plays and first lifting from the Jubilee field offshore Ghana. Recently, the company closed the $1.6 billion Eagle Ford JV with KNOC.

Source: Derrick Petroleum E&P Transactions Database

Operations Report:

In the company’s shale plays, average sales volumes in the Eagleford and Marcellus areas increased by about 30 percent and 82 percent, respectively, over the fourth quarter of 2010. Production also continued to ramp up at the Jubilee mega project offshore Ghana, which at the end of the 1^st quarter, was producing almost 70,000 boepd gross from five wells.

At the Caesar/Tonga development in the Gulf of Mexico, Anadarko successfully completed and tested two wells at more than 15,000 BOPD and initiated completion activities on the third well. In addition, the development team is simultaneously progressing two riser solutions with first oil expected in 2012.

In Algeria, the El Merk mega project is progressing and is approximately 75% complete and remains on schedule for full facility completion around year-end 2012.


Exploration Report:

Source: Derrick Petroleum Planned Exploration Wells Database

Anadarko announced three deepwater discoveries during the first quarter of 2011. The Teak-1 and Teak-2 discoveries, located in the West Cape Three Points Block offshore Ghana, encountered high-quality oil, condensate and natural gas. In Mozambique, the company announced the Tubarão discovery, marking its fourth operated natural gas discovery in the Offshore Area 1 of the Rovuma Basin. 

In the Deepwater Tano Block offshore Ghana, the company and its partners announced successful appraisal wells at Enyenra-2A, Tweneboa-3 and Tweneboa-3ST. Subsequent to quarter end, the operator also announced the successful Tweneboa-4 appraisal well. Additional appraisal activity is ongoing in the Tweneboa/Enyenra complex as the partnership continues to work toward a declaration of commerciality, which is expected later this year.
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Australian company- Strike Energy acquires Eagle Ford acreage!! May be for $20 million?? Strike increases exposure to OIL

Strike Energy is securing a substantial position in the Eagle Ford shale play. In the last two to three years the Eagle Ford shale play in Texas has emerged as one of the most attractive gas and oil shale plays in North America. Strike has taken a 27.5% position in the Eagle Ford shale play through a joint venture with four Texas-based oil and gas exploration and production companies. This Eagle Ford shale play is located northwest of Strike’s existing production and exploration activities focussed on the gas and condensate rich Wilcox trend.

Leasing activities by the operating partner in the newly formed joint venture have been progressing for some time. The total acreage under lease currently stands at approximately 8,500 acres, with Strike’s net position about 2,300 acres. The leasing is focussed within the interpreted oil fairway where drilling by other operators has resulted in published projected recoveries in the range of 450,000 to 1,000,000 barrels of oil equivalent per well based on 160 acre spacing. Similar recoveries, if extended onto leases secured by the Eagle Ford Joint Venture to date, provide a target potential of 7 to 14 million barrels oil equivalent from Strike’s current net acre position.

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Significant Oil Window Transactions in 2010

Source: Derrick Petroleum E&P Transactions Database

How much Strike would have shelled out of its pocket for this package??

• The acreage is situated primarily within the oil window of the Eagle Ford.

• Strike’s net acreage position of approximately 2,300 acres, which based upon reported Eagle Ford shale recoveries, has a target potential of 7 to 14 million barrels of oil equivalent.

The 2010 Eagle Ford oil window transactions have set an average acreage metric of ~8,000/acre. Based on this acreage metric of $8,000/acre in oil window, this transaction could be valued at $18 million. In addition, the average resource potential of 10 mmboe associated with this transaction can be valued at $2/boe, which leaves the total value for the resources at $20 million.

Either ways, the value of the acreage been acquired by Strike is around $20 million!!

Goodrich Petroleum Corporation shifting towards Oil and Liquids development from Natural Gas; Allocated 70% of its 2011 Capital Program to Oil Exposure (62% Eagle Ford Shale Trend)!!

Goodrich Petroleum increased 2011 capital program to develop the company's new acreage in the Eagle Ford Shale, as the company joins the shift towards oil and liquids development. Goodrich Petroleum increased its total 2011 capital budget by $10 million, from $225 million to $235 million.  The company increased the allocation to the Eagle Ford Shale formation by $45 million, from $100 million to $145 million.

Eagle Ford Shale

Goodrich Petroleum has been focusing its attention and capital over the last few years for developing the company's natural gas assets, including the Haynesville Shale and Cotton Valley formations in East Texas and North Louisiana.

In April 2010, faced with low prices and weak fundamentals for natural gas, the company decided to diversify away from this commodity, and purchased 35,000 net acres in the Eagle Ford Shale in Texas. The acreage is located in La Salle and Frio County, which is considered the oil window of the play. During the fourth quarter of 2010, the company drilled 4 gross or 3 net wells into the Eagle Ford Shale. Goodrich Petroleum is operating two rigs on its Eagle Ford Shale acreage and expects to drill from 22 to 26 wells on its 40,000 net acres.

Recent M&A Deals in Eagle Ford Shale:

Source: Derrick Petroleum E&P Transactions Database

Haynesville Shale

Although Goodrich has been focusing in the Haynesville Shale, the company is deemphasizing development here in 2011 in favor of more oil focused properties in its portfolio. In 2010, the company spent approximately 56% of its total drilling budget, or $156 million, to drill 18 net wells into the Haynesville Shale. In 2011, the company plans to spend only $90 million to drill nine net wells on its Haynesville Shale properties. One area of focus for Goodrich Petroleum in 2011 will be in the Shelby Trough area of East Texas, where the company has 28,000 net acres under lease. The company drilled its first Haynesville Shale well here, and also plans development of the Bossier Shale in 2011. This formation lies just above the Haynesville Shale and produces natural gas.

Recent M&A Deals in Haynesville Shale:

Source: Derrick Petroleum E&P Transactions Database

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Abraxas Petroleum Built Around Solid Conventional Assets; Expanded Capital Program of $60 million for 2011; Most of its capex is going to producing more oil!!

Abraxas reported 2010 year-end reserves totaled 26.6 mmboe up 7% over 2009 despite selling 9% of proved reserves in our divesture program. The company operates wells in the Bakken, West Texas, South Texas, and Canada. Abraxas has outside operated wells in the Bakken. Most of its capex is going to producing more oil. Its goal this year 2011 is to try to get to a 50% oil/gas mix. In the Eagle Ford, it would like to accelerate its partnership with the JV. Last year it had asset sales of $34 million (non-core and non-operated). The money is used for this year's capex and to pay down debt. It would like to eventually get 90% of its assets operating.

Source: Derrick Petroleum E&P Transactions Database

Currently, Abraxas has south and West Texas conventional assets, Eagle Ford and northern Rockies and Canada conventional resource plays, including the Bakken and the Niobrara.

Abraxas has 8,333 acres in Eagle Ford. This location, part of a $25 million equity investment, is 43% oil, 35% gas/condensate, and 22% gas window. The company also has approximately 14,000 acres in the Niobrara shale, with 3,800 gross acres leased and 11 producing wells. Its holdings are in the same area with Chesapeake (CHK) and EOG Resources. In the Southern Alberta Bakken it has approximately 10,000 acres leased. Abraxas also has a small holding in the Pekisko Fairway in Canada.

Abraxas' Rocky Mountain assets has 7.2 MMBoe in proven reserves; 63% of this is proved developed, 82% is crude oil, with 1063 Boepd of production, 900 gross producing wells, and 90,362 gross acres. Primary locations here are the Willston Basin, Powder River Basin, Green River Basin, and Unita Basin.

The Permian Basin has 5.6 MMBoe of proved reserves; 66% proved developed; 70% is natural gas. There is also 1254 Boepd of production; 237 gross producing wells; 36,064 acres, The primary producing sub-basins are the Delaware Basin and Eastern Shelf.

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The Gulf Coast has 9 MMBoe of proved reserves; 38% is proved developed; 91% is natural gas; 1044 Boepd of production. This area has 74 gross producing wells, and Abraxas has 11,414 acres in the area. The primary sub-producing basin is the Onshore Gulf Coast.

This company looks to be another oil and gas exploration and production company with great assets that, in time, could turn into something great if everything works out. It is well positioned, especially if oil gets up to around a $100 a barrel and stays there for a while.

Petrohawk Energy reported 34% increase in 2010 hydrocarbon production over 2009; Announced $2,300 million Capital Program for 2011; Plan to double its liquid production in 2011

Petrohawk produced an average of 562 Mmcfepd during 2010. The midpoint of full year 2011 production guidance is 885 Mmcfepd, representing an estimated 31% year over year increase and a 57% year over year increase pro forma for 2010 divestitures. The midpoint of first quarter 2011 production guidance is 770 Mmcfepd.

Petrohawk announced $2,300 million capital program, of which $1,900 million (82%) is allotted to drilling and completion activities.

Eagle Ford Shale:

- Planned 12 rigs for 1H 2011 and 15 rigs for 2H 2011. ~347,600 risked net commercially productive acres

Black Hawk:

- Estimate of ~73,600 risked commercially productive net acres. Currently operating eight rigs ramping to 10 rigs by June 2011

Hawkville Field:

- Currently operating 5 rigs with plan to hold constant in 2011. Risked estimate of ~224,000 commercially productive net acres

Red Hawk:

- Five wells scheduled for 2011, two waiting on completion. 

Haynesville Shale:

- Estimated ~225,000 risked commercially productive net acres; 75% operated. Operated rig count currently 16 and will hold thru 1st half 2011, 7 in 2ndhalf of 2011; leasehold requirements primarily met by mid-year

Lower Bossier Shale:

- Estimate ~150,000 risked commercially productive net acres. The company anticipates initiating Bossier development once Haynesville lease capture complete in mid-2012

KNOC acquires Eagle Ford acreage for ~$14,000/acre through $1.55 billion JV with Anadarko. KNOC hungry for foreign oil assets!!

Anadarko signed a joint-venture agreement with KNOC, whereby KNOC will earn approximately one-third of Anadarko's 71% interest in the company's Maverick Basin assets, located in southwest Texas. KNOC's $1.55 billion investment will be made entirely in the form of a carry, funding approximately 100% of Anadarko's 2011 post-closing capital costs in the basin, and up to 90% thereafter until the carry is exhausted, which is expected to occur by year-end 2013. KNOC will also reimburse Anadarko for net cash outflows, relative to their acquired interest, subsequent to the effective date, which are expected to be approximately $50 million. The transaction differs from other recent joint ventures with the fact that there is no up-front cash consideration.

Through this JV, KNOC will receive:

-- Approximately 80,000 net acres in the liquids-rich Eagleford Shale play

-- Approximately 16,000 additional prospective net acres for the deeper dry-gas Pearsall Shale, as well as Pearsall opportunities underlying the aforementioned Eagleford acreage

-- Reserves of 116 million barrels of oil equivalent and production of 6,628 barrels a day.

A look at the Eagle Ford acreage metrics

KNOC is believed to pay ~$14,000 per Eagle Ford acre after allocating a value for the reserves and Pearsall shale acreage. This $14,000/acre is the highest price per acre paid till date in the Eagle Ford and represents a premium of 27% when compared with the recent Eagle Ford transactions. The following data source from Derrick Petroleum Services shows the acreage metrics of the 2010 Eagle Ford transactions.

Recently, KNOC acquired 95% of Altius Holdings Inc for $515 million. Altius Holdings owns four oil blocks in Kazakhstan- Akzhar, Besbolek, Karataikyz and Alimbai - with reserves totaling 56.9 million barrels, the South Korean ministry said. Altius is the Kazakh arm of Arawak Energy.

KNOC in shopping spree!!!

KNOC said in February that it plans to invest as much as $4 billion in overseas oilfields this year to secure supplies for an economy that relies on imports for almost all its oil needs. The company aims to raise daily output by 60,000 barrels to 240,000 barrels by the year-end. These two recent acquisitions may boost KNOC’s output by 16,500 barrels a day. KNOC Vice-President Kim Seong-hoon said, “KNOC is focusing on acquiring assets with high upside potential and little investment risk.” This is in line with their production milestone, with the acquisition train starting from Kazakhstan and US. The acquisition train might stop in US (Bakken and Niobrara shales) for a while or it might travel towards the upcoming oil frontiers like Brazil and West Africa.