Repsol and Statoil announce asset swap

Alfa Sentral platform in the North Sea

On 11th December, Statoil and Repsol announced that they had entered into number of asset swaps as part of a packaged deal:

• In the North Sea, Statoil farms down a 15% WI in Gudrun (Norway), whilst retaining operatorship and will acquire a 31% WI in Alfa Sentral (UK portion), a field which spans the UK-Norway border
• In the US, Statoil acquires a 13% WI in the Eagle Ford JV and becomes operator, taking its interest to 63%; Repsol’s interest reduces to 37%
• In the Brazil Campos Basin, Repsol-Sinopec will transfer operatorship of the BM-C-33 licence to Statoil

Summary of asset swaps

From Statoil's perspective, sole-operatorship on the Eagle Ford JV will allow the company to have more control of the project going forward and improve efficiency of the operations. The JV was previously jointly operated with Repsol operating one-half of the acreage and Statoil operating the other half, leading to sub-optimal development. In the North Sea, Statoil will remain the largest partner in Gudrun and will consolidate its position in Alfa Sentral. Statoil increased its interest in the Norwegian part of Alfa Sentral to 62% in October 2015 (from First Oil) and the 60mmboe gas condensate field is a priority project for Statoil and will be developed as a tie-back to the Sleipner Area. The assumption of operatorship in Brazil will further Statoil’s strategy of growing in the country and enable the company to build on its deepwater experience.

Alfa Sentral tie-back to Sleipner

For Repsol, the key swap is the reduced interest in the Eagleford, alongside acquiring a producing asset in the form of Gudrun. The transaction will support Repsol’s financial position and stretched balance sheet with cash flows expected to improve by €500m in the period 2015-17. Furthermore, the transfer of operatorship in Brazil is consistent with Repsol’s focus on three themes (onshore, shallow offshore and unconventionals) as outlined in its 2016-2020 strategic plan.

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Bienvenido Victor Hugo

Amerisur's pipeline into the Victor Hugo field

On 1 December, Amerisur provided an operational update on its interconnector pipeline from Platanillo to the Ecuadorian export pipeline. Once operational, oil export will benefit from the low cost, under-utilised Ecuadorian infrastructure bringing transportation costs to below USD5/bbl. In addition to improved netbacks, the excess export capacity will support increasing production levels at Platanillo.

The pipeline is expected to be operational at the beginning of 2016 compared to the original expectations of end 2015 due to an outstanding environmental approval, which has been delayed by personnel changes at the Ecuadorian Environment Ministry. The permit is expected to be issued imminently and will allow the drilling of the 1.4km under-river crossing from Platanillo to the Ecuadorian river bank and construction of the 3.8km pipeline from the river bank to the connection point (under construction) at the southern point of the Victor Hugo field.

Pipe laying operations have commenced from the facilities on the Victor Hugo field to the new connection point – this 14km stretch of pipeline should be fully welded and trenched by year end. At the Victor Hugo field itself, civil works to prepare for the receipt and handling of Platanillo crude are c.80% complete with tankage, piping and instrumentation largely in place.

The pipeline should be ready for operational testing and commissioning around year end with initial transportation of oil through January. Aside from the environmental approvals, certification of the LACT units (fiscal measuring points) on the Colombian and Ecuadorian sides will take around two weeks once the pipeline is operational.

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Fortnum & Mason: the true cost of Christmas

Spending became complacent when oil prices were high and now with oil prices in a lower for longer environment, oil companies are tightening the purse strings. All costs are scrutinised, projects are being sent back to the drawing board to be re-engineered and no dollar of spend is approved unless it is absolutely necessary. In the spirit of Christmas, the team at OGInsights thought we would do a little cost scrutiny of our own following stories about the cost inflation of Christmas hampers.

Fortnum & Mason's Imperial Hamper costs £5,000

We had a look at the Fortnum & Mason’s Imperial Hamper which can be purchased for the small sum of £5,000. How much would it cost if all the items were bought separately? We looked at the maths and the answer is £3,036.55 (excluding the tea caddy which isn’t available to buy standalone). This implies one of two things, both of which are extraordinary and outrageous! Either Fortnum & Mason’s are charging a mark-up of £1,963.45 on top of the profit of the individual items, simply for the service of putting everything into a hamper for you or the basket, packaging and tea caddy are worth £1,963.45! Full workings below - all credit to our guest contributor Alistair F.

What about all the trouble of going around the store picking up all the items you say? Well, you can either order online, or if you are spending £3,036.55, we are sure the personal shoppers will be more than happy to help out in store.

Actual cost of the Fortnum & Mason's Imperial Hamper

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ExxonMobil - finding a needle in a haystack

We met with ExxonMobil in the first week of December to catch up on what they have been up in 2015 on the M&A front. The low oil price has certainly prompted an internal flurry of screening for targets and the teams have been looking at “a lot of opportunities” with billions of dollars ready to be spent on acquisitions. Despite a desire to do something, finding the right opportunity is still like “finding a needle in a haystack”.

ExxonMobil’s corporate development team is split into two divisions – Upstream Ventures which look at deals up to USD20 billion and Corporate Strategic Planning which look at deals above USD20 billion. Acquisitions broadly fall into three categories which are generally independent of size:

• Bolt-ons – these are generally small acquisitions to supplement an existing position although larger acquisitions will be considered on a case-by-case basis 
• Expansions – these are to materially grow an existing position into a wider position; size is opportunity specific and considered on a case-by-case basis
• New entry – these are always sizeable acquisitions as they must have sufficient critical mass in order to establish a new position

Outside of North America, Africa and the Middle East are regions of keen interest and we discussed two themes around current market developments.

The Africa Oil farm-out to Maersk was viewed as interesting and ExxonMobil remarked that more innovative structures, such as the one adopted by Maersk, was likely needed to get deals which weren’t clear winners over the line in the current oil price environment. East Africa is an area which ExxonMobil’s technical team have evaluated before and they remain cautious on the prospectivity (noting that no-one outside of Tullow/Africa Oil has been successful in the region) and timing to first oil (given the export pipeline infrastructure is yet to be built).

On Kurdistan, ExxonMobil are comfortable with the region geologically but see very few opportunities of sufficient size to justify building up a full-scale presence. This likely limits the opportunities to a handful such as Genel and Gulf Keystone. Payments for exports by the Kurdistan Regional Government remain a key issue and ExxonMobil noted that any slippage of payments could severely depress project economics as well as delaying any development spending. The Kurdistan Regional Government have implemented payment schedule on multiple occasions in the past which subsequently collapsed and it yet remains to be seen whether the current payment plan, implemented in September 2015, can be sustained.

ExxonMobil will continue to scour the international E&P landscape for opportunities and believe that current environment is a good time to act, but finding the perfect opportunity remains a challenge.

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CNOOCNexen on the prowl

Last week, we met with the CNOOCNexen corporate team to discuss their thinking in the current low oil price environment and the possibility of using the opportunity to make acquisitions.

At the beginning of 2015, CNOOCNexen expected oil prices to settle at c.USD60/bbl and the second drop in June came as a surprise. Similar to the view held by many oil companies, the oil price is now lower for longer than originally anticipated. CNOOCNexen anticipates oil prices in 2016 to be similar to 2015 levels.

The company’s UK portfolio, which mainly comprise of its 43.21% interest in Buzzard and 36.54% interest in Golden Eagle, is in a relatively good place with operating costs of below USD20/bbl. While the UK operations are not making a fortune at current oil prices, it is keeping its head above water which is more than what can be said for many North Sea fields.

M&A remains on the radar with Beijing head office looking for opportunities in the UK, Brazil, West Africa and Southeast Asia. In fact, the UK North Sea has been cited as one of the top desired areas for further investment and growth. Corporate and farm-in opportunities at all stages of the lifecycle from exploration through to production are of interest. CNOOCNexen did not disclose their oil price assumptions for evaluating acquisitions, but noted that they are beginning to see convergence between buyers and sellers in the market. In terms of acquisition size, USD5 billion would be the top end of what could be do-able. However, CNOOCNexen are still waiting for some stability in oil prices and cost indices before they can feel comfortable with valuations internally and start to make moves.

In the UK North Sea, acquisitions would be to “keep the engine running” rather than building a new business. CNOOCNexen are looking for assets where there is scope for upside and their team could add value; in this regard, assets which have demonstrated reserves creep are of interest such as Apache’s Beryl field and Shell’s Pierce field. Upcoming disposals from the majors, whether piecemeal or as a portfolio, are opportunities coming to market that CNOOCNexen are keeping a close eye on. Development assets are not ruled out given the current North Sea portfolio is in a tax paying position and development expenditure could be used to offset against profits. CNOOCNexen are now beginning to explore heavy oil opportunities as the size of the resource and progress in developing technology to exploit heavy oil (such as by the likes of Statoil) means it can no longer be ignored as a strategy. 

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Premier Oil exits Norway

Premier Oil Norwegian operation
Source: Premier Oil

On 16 November 2015, Premier Oil announced that it had agreed to sell its Norwegian business to Det Norske for USD120 million. The Norwegian business consists of the Premier Oil Norges subsidiary and includes the Vette development, adjacent Mackerel and Herring discoveries, a non-operated stake in Froy and seven exploration licences.

The transaction is expected to close before year end and proceeds will be used pay down debt. The exit of the business will give rise to a G&A saving of c.USD20 million p.a. as well as remove capital requirements for the Vette development that was progressing towards sanction.

For Premier Oil, the sale is in line with the company’s ongoing portfolio management strategy and is an important step to managing the high debt levels.

For Det Norske, the acquired business will bolster its Norwegian portfolio and Det Norske will be able to offset its production against the tax losses in Premier Oil Norges (from spend on Vette and Froy) which stood at USD146 million as at mid-2015. Det Norske will fund the acquisition from internal cash resources.

Tony Durrant, CEO of Premier Oil commented:

“We are pleased to have reached agreement to sell our Norwegian business to Det norske, one of our long term partners in Norway. Our team in Norway has done an excellent job in bringing the Vette project close to a sanction decision in a low oil price environment. The transaction will realise immediate value from the project as part of our strategy of active management of our portfolio.”

Karl Johnny Hersvik, CEO of Det Norske commented:

“Following the recent closing of the Svenska transaction, the acquisition of Premier is another bolt-on acquisition that further underlines our firm belief in and commitment to the Norwegian Continental Shelf.”

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Petroamerica’s call for cash

A sign of the times, another independent raises funding as the low oil price environment continues to hit small producers hard. On 27th October 2015, Petroamerica became the next in line to ask for cash, raising USD20 million in debentures. The expensive cost of the debt at 13.5% reflects the high risk which investors are attributing to the sector, and also that of Petroamerica. The USD20 million will consist of two USD10 million tranches, with the first expected to close on or around 16 November 2015, and the second six months later.

This fund raise comes shortly after the acquisition of PetroNova and raises the question of whether Petroamerica acquired more than it could take on. A review of the PetroNova asset base suggests that the acquisition appears sensible – the CPO-7 and CPO-13 blocks provide existing production with commitment wells not required to be drilled until July 2016 and July 2017 respectively, the Tinigua block has attractive fiscal terms (0% X-factor) although a commitment well is also required by July 2016 and Petroamerica’s Put-2 position is consolidated to 100%.

Petroamerica - PetroNova combined portfolio
Source: Petroamerica

In hindsight, it can be seen that Petroamerica’s woes stem from pre-PetroNova. At the end of 2014, the company had seven exploration wells and seismic commitments and balance sheet cash of USD73 million, out of which the redemption of a c.USD40 million debenture would be required (essentially leaving the company with c.USD33 million to fund its activities). The exploration portfolio is clearly one for a USD100/bbl oil price environment where production cash flows would have funded drilling. However, at current low oil prices, Petroamerica has been loss making – balance sheet cash as at the end of June 2015 was USD23 million; netbacks fell to USD9.1/bbl for the six months ended 30 June 2015 compared with USD54.2/bbl for the same period last year. The company has spent minimal capex in 2015 to date, conserving precious cash and only spending what it needs to maintain or manage production at its producing assets (Los Ocarros and Sur Oriente).

Some of the exploration commitment deadlines have now passed without being met (no drilling has been reported to date), yet no licences appear to have been relinquished. It is expected that Petroamerica are negotiating hard with the ANH to extend these deadlines; most likely, other cash-strapped Colombian E&Ps are doing the same. Petroamerica should be able to keep the lights on for now with the new USD20 million funding going towards satisfying the commitments. However, unless Petroamerica makes a significant discovery which it can bring onstream quickly, it will be stuck between a rock and a hard place as it continues to battle a declining production base, dwindling cash flows and a shrinking cash balance. It would not be a surprise if the company brings in partners to help with some of its commitments or raises more financing. In the meantime, Petroamerica’s case is not unique and there remains a long line of E&Ps that need more cash.

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