Published:
EXCO Resources, Inc. Announces Agreement with BG Group for Joint Development of Its Haynesville Shale and Other Operations in East Texas/North Louisiana
DALLAS - (BUSINESS WIRE) - EXCO Resources, Inc. (NYSE:XCO) ("EXCO" ) today announced that it has
reached a definitive agreement with BG Group plc (LSE:BG.L) ("BG Group" )
for the joint development and operation of EXCO's Haynesville shale and
certain other related natural gas assets located in East Texas/North
Louisiana. In addition, EXCO and BG Group have reached an agreement in
principle regarding the joint development and operation of EXCO's
midstream assets in East Texas/North Louisiana.
Pursuant to a purchase and sale agreement ("PSA" ), EXCO will sell BG
Group a 50% interest in its producing and nonproducing assets in a large
area of mutual interest ("AMI" ) which encompasses most of EXCO's
holdings in East Texas/North Louisiana, excluding the Vernon Field in
Jackson Parish, Louisiana, the Redland Field in Bossier and Webster
Parishes, Louisiana and the Gladewater and Overton Fields in Gregg, Rusk
and Smith Counties in East Texas. The parties will enter into a joint
development agreement at closing with respect to the Haynesville,
Bossier and other deep horizons as well as the Cotton Valley, Hosston
and other shallow horizons. EXCO will continue serving as operator of
the joint development subject to oversight from a Joint Development
Operating Committee.
EXCO and BG Group will each own 50% of the acreage, production and
reserves within the AMI. The existing assets within the AMI include
approximately 120,000 net acres with approximately 65,000 net acres in
East Texas and 55,000 net acres in Louisiana. Approximately 84,000 net
acres are prospective for Haynesville shale development, and most of
this acreage is in the core Haynesville shale areas of DeSoto and Caddo
Parishes in Louisiana and Harrison County, Texas. Also included is net
production of approximately 95 Mmcfe/d from the Cotton Valley and other
shallower horizons and approximately 60 Mmcf/d from the Haynesville
shale. As of December 31, 2008, the Cotton Valley and other shallow
rights included approximately 414 Bcfe of net proved reserves and
approximately 445 Bcfe of net probable and possible reserves, based on
year-end SEC pricing. The Haynesville/Bossier shale acreage is under
development, and EXCO estimates that its current acreage position, most
of which is held by shallow production, includes over 1,600 undrilled
Haynesville locations containing net potential reserves of 4 to 6 Tcfe,
with significant additional potential in the Bossier shale. EXCO and BG
Group plan an aggressive development program, particularly in the
Haynesville shale, for the remainder of 2009 and in future years. EXCO's
Haynesville shale results to date have been outstanding as 8 horizontal
Haynesville wells have been drilled and completed in DeSoto Parish with
average gross initial production rates in excess of 23 Mmcf/d on
restricted chokes. These well results will allow booking a significant
amount of proved reserves. The full year 2009 budget calls for a minimum
of 34 horizontal Haynesville wells to be drilled, 27 of which will be
operated by EXCO.
EXCO will receive $655 million in cash at closing pursuant to the
upstream joint development transaction, subject to customary closing
adjustments. In addition, BG Group has agreed to fund $400 million of
capital development on EXCO's behalf, with BG Group paying 75% of EXCO's
drilling and completion costs on the deep rights until the $400 million
commitment is satisfied. The drilling and completion cost commitment is
expected to be satisfied in 2011 or 2012. EXCO and BG Group will share
equally in additional leasehold and asset acquisitions within the AMI.
In addition to the PSA signed for the upstream assets in East
Texas/North Louisiana, EXCO and BG Group have also reached an agreement
in principle whereby EXCO will sell BG Group a 50% interest in its
midstream business (exclusive of the Vernon Field midstream assets) in
the area for $249 million in cash. In concert with the planned
Haynesville shale development, there will be an effort to develop and
grow the midstream business. EXCO currently owns in excess of 700 miles
of pipeline and gathering assets in the area and is constructing a 29
mile, 36" diameter header system to transport its Haynesville gas
production. Throughput in the midstream business to be contributed to
the joint venture is approximately 440 Mmcf/d of which approximately 50%
is EXCO gas and 50% is third party gas.
The PSA signed today is subject to normal pre- and post-closing purchase
price adjustments and subject to customary closing conditions, customary
regulatory approval and the consummation of the midstream joint
development transaction. The upstream and midstream joint development
transactions are expected to close in the third quarter of 2009, and
both transactions have an effective date of January 1, 2009.
The total unadjusted cash proceeds to EXCO of $904 million will be used
to repay EXCO Operating Company, LP's $300 million Senior Unsecured Term
Loan with the remainder to be applied to the outstanding balances under
EXCO's credit facilities.
Douglas H. Miller, EXCO's Chief Executive Officer, commented, "We are
very pleased and excited about our joint venture with BG Group. BG Group
is a world leader in developing and marketing natural gas. With its
strong technical and business capabilities in finding and
commercializing reserves in 27 countries on five continents, BG Group
will bring considerable expertise to the development of our
Haynesville/Bossier shale assets. In addition, BG Group markets
approximately 3.5 Bcf of natural gas per day through 66 major interstate
and intrastate pipelines serving markets throughout the Midwest and
Eastern United States. BG Group will be an extremely valuable partner in
our gas marketing efforts. EXCO and BG Group are both committed to
increasing the leasehold position and accelerating the drilling and
completion efforts in the Haynesville and Bossier shales in East
Texas/North Louisiana. This transaction is a significant event for EXCO,
both in terms of the ability to aggressively pursue the Haynesville
opportunities and in terms of strengthening our balance sheet to be in a
position to capitalize on future opportunities in our core areas. We
look forward to a long, mutually profitable relationship with our new
partner."
EXCO was advised by Goldman, Sachs & Co. in these transactions.
EXCO Resources, Inc. is an oil and natural gas exploration,
exploitation, development and production company headquartered in
Dallas, Texas with principal operations in East Texas, North Louisiana,
Appalachia, West Texas and the Mid-Continent.
EXCO will host a conference call on Tuesday, June 30, 2009 at 9:00 a.m.
(Dallas time) to discuss the contents of this release and respond to
questions. Please call (800) 309-5788 if you wish to participate and ask
for the EXCO conference call ID# 17987368. The conference call will also
be webcast on EXCO's website at www.excoresources.com
under the Investor Relations tab. Presentation materials related to this
release will be posted on EXCO's website on Tuesday, June 30, 2009,
before market open.
A digital recording will be available starting two hours after the
completion of the conference call until 11:59 p.m., July 13, 2009.
Please call (800) 642-1687 and enter conference call ID# 17987368 to
hear the recording. A digital recording of the conference call will also
be available on EXCO's website.
Additional information about EXCO Resources, Inc. may be obtained by
contacting EXCO's Chairman, Douglas H. Miller, or its President, Stephen
F. Smith, at EXCO's headquarters, 12377 Merit Drive, Suite 1700, Dallas,
TX 75251, telephone number (214) 368-2084, or by visiting EXCO's website
at www.excoresources.com.
EXCO's SEC filings and press releases can be found under the Investor
Relations tab.
This release may contain forward-looking statements relating to
future financial results, business expectations and business
transactions. Business plans may change as circumstances warrant.
Actual results may differ materially from those predicted as a result
of factors over which EXCO has no control. Such factors include,
but are not limited to: estimates of reserves, commodity price changes,
regulatory changes and general economic conditions. These risk
factors and additional information are included in EXCO's reports on
file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. EXCO undertakes
no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking
statements.
The SEC has generally permitted oil and natural gas companies, in
filings made with the SEC, to disclose only proved reserves that a
company has demonstrated by actual production or conclusive formation
tests to be economically and legally producible under existing economic
and operating conditions. We use the terms "probable,"
"possible," "unproved," or "potential" to describe volumes of reserves
potentially recoverable through additional drilling or recovery
techniques that the SEC's guidelines prohibit us from including in
filings with the SEC. These estimates are by their nature more
speculative than estimates of proved reserves and accordingly are
subject to substantially greater risk of being actually realized by the
company. While we believe our calculation of unproved drillsites
and estimations of unproved reserves have been appropriately risked and
are reasonable, such calculations and estimates have not been reviewed
by third party engineers or appraisers. Investors are urged to
consider closely the disclosure in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for
the year ended December 31, 2008 available on our website at www.excoresources.com
under the Investor Relations tab or calling us at 214-368-2084.
EXCO Resources, Inc.
Douglas H. Miller, 214-368-2084
Chairman
or
Stephen
F. Smith, 214-368-2084
President
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