據3月25日路透社報道，負債累累的Ovintiv Inc表示，將以8.8億美元的價格將其位于德克薩斯州的Eagle Ford資產出售給Validus Energy，這家油氣生產商在能源行業經歷了動蕩的一年后，尋求支撐其財務狀況。

Ovintiv公司于2020年將總部從加拿大遷至美國，希望能更好地獲得資金。但是，去年由于新冠肺炎爆發的油價暴跌，迫使投資者遠離了頁巖氣行業，尋求資產出售和兼并以求得生存。

隨著歐佩克減產后，油價開始回升。Enverus并購分析師Andrew Dittmar表示：“由于原油價格遠高于2020年的低點，有大量私募股權支持的公司在低增長的油田尋找機會，包括南德克薩斯州的鷹福特和北達科他州的巴肯。”

Dittmar表示：“由Felix Energy創始人Skye Callantine領導的Validus公司提出的8.8億美元的價格，高于Eagle Ford頁巖盆地2020年所有交易的總價值。”

這是一個強勁的價格，包括未開發面積的價值。Ovintiv股價收盤上漲一小部分，報價23.81美元。幾周前，Ovintiv結束了與私募股權公司Kimmeridge Energy Management的代理權之爭，后者曾敦促該公司改變其資本支出，將重點放在治理上。

Ovintiv周三表示，憑借超過11億美元的資產出售，包括Eagle Ford和此前宣布的Duvernay出售，收益將實現其債務削減目標。它預計2021年年底的債務將低于50億美元，在2022年上半年實現45億美元的債務目標。

馮于榮 摘譯自 路透社

原文如下：

Oil producer Ovintiv to sell Eagle Ford assets for $880 million

Debt-ridden Ovintiv Inc said it will sell its Eagle Ford assets in Texas to Validus Energy for $880 million, as the oil and gas producer seeks to shore up its finances following a tumultuous year for the energy industry.

Ovintiv moved its headquarters from Canada to the United States in 2020 in the hopes of better access to capital. But a pandemic-driven crash in oil prices last year pushed away investors from the shale industry, forcing companies to look at asset sales and mergers for survival.

Oil prices have recovered since as OPEC and its allies made record output cuts.

With crude prices well above their 2020 lows, “there is a pool of private-equity backed companies looking for opportunities in lower growth” oilfields including the Eagle Ford in south Texas and Bakken in North Dakota, said Enverus M&A analyst Andrew Dittmar.

The $880-million price by Validus, headed by Felix Energy founder Skye Callantine, was higher than the combined value of all transactions in the Eagle Ford shale basin in 2020, Dittmar said.

“It is a strong price that includes value for untapped acreage.”

Ovintiv shares closed up a fraction at $23.81.

The sale comes weeks after Ovintiv ended a proxy fight with private equity firm Kimmeridge Energy Management that had urged the company to alter its capital spending and focus on governance.

Ovintiv said on Wednesday, with over $1.1 billion in asset sales, including the Eagle Ford and the previously announced Duvernay sale, proceeds will achieve its debt reduction target. It anticipates year-end 2021 debt to be below $5 billion.

It also expects to achieve its $4.5 billion debt target in the first half of 2022.