Maersk acquires Devon Energy’s Gulf of Mexico oil stakes for $1.3 billion
23 Dec 2009
A P Moller-Maersk Group, the Danish business with interests in container services, energy and shipping, is acquiring Devon Energy Corporation's interests in the Cascade, Jack and St. Malo oil fields in the Gulf of Mexico for $1.3 billion.
The projects are in the deepwater Walker Ridge federal lease area offshore of Louisiana and the Copenhagen-based Maersk will obtain a 50 per cent participating interest in the Cascade field and a 25 per cent participating interest in each of the Jack and St. Malo fields.
Maersk, ranked 106 on the Fortune Global 500 list for 2009 said that the transaction is subject to a waiver of the preferential purchase rights held by the other partners in the fields as well as additional closing conditions and regulatory approvals.
Ahead of on-stream production, Maersk Oil's estimated additional investment is expected to be in the range of $1.3 - 1.8 billion, going up to around $4 billion over time, and its estimated share of recoverable resources from the three fields combined is more than 200 million barrels.
Brazilian state oil company Petrobras-operated Cascade field is expected to commence production in 2010, while the Chevron operated Jack and St. Malo fields are expected to commence production in 2014.
"Maersk Oil is an important part of our portfolio, and we have said we wanted to invest in our oil business. For that reason, we have been looking and continue to look for investment opportunities in the areas where we are already active with production or exploration,'' said Nils Andersen, CEO of Mærsk.
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