Ovintiv Strengthens Hand in Permian Basin with EnCap Deal

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Ovintiv Incorporated (NYSE:OVV) (Calgary, Alberta), formerly known as Encana, is picking up 65,000 acres of largely undeveloped resources in Texas' Midland Basin, bolstering its position in both the Permian Basin and the Texas exploration and production (E&P) market. The properties, currently held by EnCap Investments (Houston, Texas), add about 1,050 net well locations to Ovintiv's Texas portfolio. Industrial Info is tracking about $3.2 billion worth of active projects from Ovintiv, nearly half of which is attributed to projects in Texas' Permian Basin.

Click on the image at right for a graph detailing Ovintiv's active projects, by formation.

The full transaction is valued at about $4.28 billion and is expected to close by the end of the second quarter. Roughly $825 million will come from Ovintiv's pending sale of its assets in North Dakota's Bakken Shale to Grayson Mill Bakken LLC, which is managed by EnCap.

Ovintiv says its pro forma Permian oil and condensate production is expected to nearly double to about 125,000 barrels per day (BBL/d). "We are acquiring a unique undeveloped asset in the Northern Midland Basin," said Brendan McCracken, the chief executive officer of Ovintiv, in a press release. "Located in some of the best rock in the Permian, these assets have demonstrated leading well performance and are a natural fit with our existing Martin County acreage."

Ovintiv's total oil and condensate production for full-year 2023 is now estimated to be between 185,000 and 195,000 BBL/d, an increase of about 12% from its previous estimate. This elevates the company's total companywide production for 2023 to between 520,000 and 545,000 barrels of oil-equivalent per day, an increase of about 4% from its previous estimate. Companywide capital spending (capex) for 2023 is now expected to total between $2.6 billion and $2.9 billion, an increase of about 22%.

In the Permian, Ovintiv already is drilling 40 new wells at the Nichols A lease north of Karnes City, and another 40 at the Wessendorff lease east of Karnes City, both of which began in February and are expected to last through the end of the year. The company also is preparing for up to 45 new wells at each development next year. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Oil & Gas Production Project Database can read detailed reports on the Nichols A 2023 and 2024 programs, and the Wessendorff 2023 and 2024 programs.

Ovintiv expects its average companywide oil and condensate production volumes to exceed 200,000 BBL/d in 2024, with total capex of $2.1 billion to $2.5 billion.

In Oklahoma, Ovintiv continues to develop its natural gas and natural gas liquid (NGL) assets in the Anadarko Basin, where it has about 360,000 net acres of production, primarily in the South Central Oklahoma Oil Province (SCOOP) and Sooner Trend Anadarko Canadian Kingfisher (STACK) shale plays. The company is drilling 25 new wells at its Canadian County lease near Calumet and 30 new wells at its Kingfisher County lease near Kingfisher for the current year, and is preparing for up to 30 and 35 new wells, respectively, in 2024. Subscribers can read detailed reports on the Canadian County 2023 and 2024 programs, and the Kingfisher County 2023 and 2024 programs.

Still, Ovintiv executives say activity in the Anadarko represents reduced growth from previous years, due to current market factors. "Given the weak outlook for natural gas and NGL prices this year, we have chosen to allocate our capital to the oil condensate-rich parts of our portfolio, as is evidenced by the lower activity in the Anadarko Basin," said Greg Givens, the chief operating officer of Ovintiv, in a recent earnings-related conference call. "As we expected, our first-quarter production is set to be the low point for the year, at about 500,000 barrels of oil-equivalent per day."

Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Project Database can click here for a full list of detailed reports for projects mentioned in this article, and click here for a full list of related plant profiles.

Subscribers can click here for a full list of reports for active projects from Ovintiv.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) platform helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).