Occidental to sell Wyoming, Colorado, Utah land grant assets for US$1.33 billion

Occidental Petroleum Corporation has agreed to sell Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah land grant assets to Orion Mine Finance for US$1.33 billion.

 

The transaction, which is expected to close in this year’s fourth quarter, has a footprint of about 4.5 million mineral acres and 1 million fee surface acres. Occidental will retain all cash flow from currently producing oil and gas properties on the position, which are primarily cost-free royalties.

 

Not included in the sale is some 2.5 million mineral acres derived from the land grant in Colorado, including Occidental’s core Denver-Julesburg basin position.

 

“This transaction significantly advances the progress against our US$2 billion plus divestiture target for 2020,” said Vicki Hollub, Oxy president and chief executive officer.

 

“We will retain our core oil and gas assets in the Rockies, including the prolific DJ basin in Colorado and the highly prospective Powder River basin in Wyoming.”

 

With the deal, Orion is acquiring mineral rights to the world’s largest known trona deposit. Trona is a mineral used to make soda ash, the principal ingredient in baking soda, global glass manufacturing, pollution control systems, as well as other critical chemical applications.

 

The acquired properties will be held under Sweetwater Royalties, a new base metals and industrial minerals royalty company, managed by Orion.

 

Orion Resource Partners specialises in institutional metals and mining investment strategies in the base and precious metals space.

 

Source: Oil & Gas Journal