WPX Energy sells assets in NM’s San Juan Basin
TULSA — WPX Energy Inc. has agreed to sell its remaining assets in northwest New Mexico's San Juan Basin for $700 million, the company said Monday.
WPX did not disclose the buyer, but said the deal completes its efforts to withdraw from the San Juan Basin and speeds up its debt reduction.
When the sale is complete, WPX operations will be focused only on the Permian's Delaware Basin in southeast New Mexico and west Texas and in the North Dakota Williston Basin, which is home to the Bakken Shale.
“Our bias for action has completely reshaped our story and our outlook, evidenced by the positive trends in our financial results," CEO Rick Muncrief said in a statement. "WPX is opportunistic, disciplined and committed to a strong balance sheet, ample liquidity and ongoing value creation."
Monday's announcement includes WPX's holdings in the San Juan's Gallup oil play. The company sold its natural gas holdings in the area for $175 million in December 2017. WPX previously sold its San Juan Basin gathering system for $309 million.
The Gallup field produced about 10.8 million barrels of oil per day for WPX in the third quarter of 2017. Because of the planned sale, the Tulsa company has lowered its 2018 production guidance to a range of 75,000 to 80,000 barrels of oil per day and total production of between 117,000 and 126,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. The capital expenditure budget is unchanged at between $1.1 billion and $1.2 billion.
Over the past five years, WPX has shifted its production to a mix of about 80 percent liquids and 20 percent natural gas from an earlier production mix of about 80 percent natural gas. The company has realized the shift by selling its natural gas-rich assets and buying into the oil-rich Permian instead.
WPX a year ago bought 18,100 acres in the Permian's Delaware Basin for $775 million. That deal expanded on the Delaware Basin position WPX bought in 2015 through the purchase of Oklahoma City-based RKI Exploration and Production for $2.75 billion.