South Korea’s KNOC buys Canadian assets of Hunt Oil for $521 million
15 Dec 2010
Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC) yesterday signed a deal to buy the Canadian assets of Hunt Oil Co for C$525 million ($521 million), the second overseas acquisition made by South Korea's largest oil company this year.
The deal comes after KNOC fought a protracted hostile battle this year to acquire UK-listed oil explorer Dana Petroleum for $2.9 billion. (See: KNOC secures 64.26-% stake in bid for Dana)
The Canadian assets of Hunt will be acquired by Harvest Energy Trust, which KNOC had bought last year. Harvest Energy will get Hunt's proven and probable reserves of 52.8 billion barrels of oil equivalent and approximately 377,000 acres of undeveloped land in Alberta and British Columbia.
KNOC will also get Hunt's tight gas play in west-central Alberta, as well as its position in the Horn River Basin.
The acquisition will give KNOC 1,085 barrels a day of light oil, 45.5 million cubic feet of gas daily and 3,050 barrels a day of natural gas.
KNOC will pay an additional $25-million should natural gas prices ''exceed pre-determined levels'' over the next two years, KNOC said in a statement.