WPX Energy buys assets for $775 mln in Delaware basin

The WPX Energy acquisition will expand the company’s Permian Basin operations. Reuters photo by Jim Urquhart.

Assets in WPX Energy buy include 6,500 boe/d

Jan 12 (Reuters) – Oil and gas producer WPX Energy Inc said it would buy assets in the Delaware basin for $775 million, the latest company to bolster its position in the oil-rich Permian region.

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The assets include about 6,500 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d), of which 55 per cent is oil, the company said on Thursday.

WPX’s shares, however, fell in extended trading after the company said it would part fund the purchase with an equity sale.

The Delaware basin is located in the larger Permian basin, which is located in West Texas and the adjoining area of southeastern New Mexico.

The Permian basin has seen a slew of land acquisitions as producers scramble to gain or expand positions in the top U.S. oil field, where drilling costs are low, in preparation for recovering oil prices.

The acquisition, which will expand WPX’s Permian operations to more than 120,000 net acres, is expected to close in about 60 days.

WPX is buying the assets from Panther Energy Company II LLC and Carrier Energy Partners LLC.

The company said it planned to fund the deal through cash on hand and an equity offering of 42 million shares.

(Reporting by Vishaka George in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)