Legacy, which is one of the largest producers of natural gas in the United States, has hired an investment bank to handle the process of selling the assets and values them about $ 800 million at current commodity prices, the reports said. sources.
The company did not respond to phone calls seeking comment and the sources requested anonymity because the sales negotiations are confidential.
Crude oil and natural gas prices hit multi-year records last year as the easing of pandemic restrictions boosted demand for fuel. US crude oil was trading around $ 79 a barrel on Friday, up 5% for the week.
The surge in prices has encouraged transactions in the sector, particularly in the Permian Basin, the region of Texas and New Mexico considered to be the heart of America’s shale industry, where production is expected to exceed a record 5 million. barrels a day this month.
Legacy, based in Midland, Texas, which went private after emerging from bankruptcy in 2019, estimates that production from its assets in the Permian would total about 11,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (bepd) in January, the Permian said. one of the sources.
Buyers also demanded assets in the gas-rich Haynesville area of Louisiana and eastern Texas, betting on the basin’s proximity to the booming export hub of the US Gulf Coast. Mexico.
Legacy’s assets in the Haynesville area were estimated to produce about 108 million cubic feet of natural gas equivalent per day in January, the sources said.
Last year, the company had a total production of 38,200 boepd, according to its website.