KKR & Co plans to sell Samson Resources' Bakken assets for around $500 mn: report

US private equity firm KKR & Co is planning to sell the North Dakota Bakken acreage of oil and gas producer Samson Resources Corp worth less than $500 million as part of its plan to divest these assets due to falling gas prices in the US.

Citing people familiar with the matter, Reuters yesterday reported that the private equity giant plans to sell Samson's North Dakota Bakken oil deposit since low natural gas prices have hampered its ability to finance the company and added to its debt burden.

KKR & Co had led the acquisition of Samson in 2011 for $7.2 billion and has since sold almost half its acreage with plans to focus on Samson's assets in oil and liquids.

KKR & Co's other partners in the acquisition were Carlyle Group, NGP Energy Capital Management, Crestview Advisors and Itochu Corp.

Oklahoma-based Samson has hired Bank of Nova Scotia to sell the Bakken assets, and may sell other assets as well to raise cash, the report said.

Last year it sold certain Bakken producing and undeveloped properties to Continental Resources, for around $650 million. These assets included leasehold of approximately 116,000 net acres primarily in Divide and Williams Counties, North Dakota and production of approximately 5,600 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

Samson now owns two million net acres in Williston, Powder River, Greater Green River, San Juan, Anadarko, Arkoma, and East Texas basins.

As of 31 December 2013 it had approximately 1.9 Tcfe of proved reserves.  For the three months ended 31 March 2014 it produced on around 529 MMcfe per day.