From Apache, a three-part goodbye to Canada

Apache Corp. said it will exit Canada in three separate transactions worth a combined $713 million, much of which it plans to plow into the Permian Basin and other fields.

The Houston driller’s deals continue the oil industry’s exodus from the Canadian oil sands business, after European and U.S. rivals Royal Dutch Shell, Statoil, ConocoPhillips and Marathon Oil Corp. announced similar asset sales earlier this year.

Apache has signed a deal to sell its Canadian subsidiary, which owns property in Alberta and British Columbia, to Paramount Resources for $459.5 million. That deal is expected to close next month. Calgary-based Paramount has also agreed to merge with fellow Canadian producer Trilogy Energy Corp.

Last month, Apache also sold off oil assets in Alberta to an undisclosed company and, in a separate deal, sold other holdings in Saskatchewan and Alberta to Cardinal Energy in Calgary.

In 2016, about 11 percent of Apache’s oil and gas output came from Canada, where it had about 13 percent of its proved reserves, according to regulatory filings.

Apache said it would redirect a portion of the proceeds to its drilling programs in the Permian Basin and other areas in the United States, the U.K. North Sea and Egypt. Apache is developing a new field, called Alpine High, in the western part of the Permian known as the Delaware Basin. Apache last year announced the discovery of the field, which is estimated to hold about 15 billion barrels of oil and gas.

The rest of the funds from the Canada deals will go toward paying down debt and other uses. The company had previously set aside $125 million to develop its assets in Canada, but now it plans to spend that capital elsewhere.

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