(Offshore Technology, 18.Jan.2022) — Wintershall Dea Argentina has agreed to sell a 50% operated working stake in the unconventional Aguada Federal and Bandurria Norte blocks, in Argentina, to Vista Oil and Gas for $140m.
According to the terms of the deal, Vista will pay $90m on or prior to 18 January 2022. The remaining $50m will be paid in eight quarterly instalments, starting in April 2022.
Upon completion of the deal, Vista Oil and Gas, through its subsidiary Vista Oil and Gas Argentina SAU, will have a 100% stake in the two blocks, located in the Argentine province of Neuquén.
Vista recently acquired ConocoPhillips’ 50% stake in the two concessions.
The transaction will add 25,231 net acres to Vista. This will increase the firm’s total Vaca Muerta acreage to 183,084 acres.
Vista chairman and CEO Miguel Galuccio said: “This deal is a unique opportunity that allows us to continue expanding our leadership in Vaca Muerta, and to reaffirm our commitment to its development by incorporating high-potential assets, in which we plan to capture significant operational synergies.
“As operators of the blocks, we plan to replicate our operating business model based on efficiency, safety, and mainly, sustainability.”
Located in the black oil window of the Vaca Muerta area, the Aguada Federal block produced approximately 718 barrels of oil equivalent per day in Q3 2021.
The Bandurria Norte block includes a surface area of 26,404 gross acres in the volatile oil window of Vaca Muerta.
With the sale, Wintershall intends to focus on developing gas projects in Tierra del Fuego and Neuquén, Argentina.
Wintershall Dea board member Thilo Wieland said: “Argentina is, and remains, an important core country for Wintershall Dea’s gas production in our global portfolio.
“With the sale of our interests in Aguada Federal and Bandurria Norte, we are focusing our activities in Argentina on gas production. Here we have a strong position in the country, with projects in Tierra del Fuego and Neuquén, that contribute significantly to Argentina’s energy supply.”
In a separate announcement, Wintershall said that it will close all of its operations in Brazil, following a global portfolio analysis and evaluation of individual projects.
In Brazil, the firm owns stakes in nine exploration licences located across the Potiguar, Ceará, Campos, and Santos basins.
In September 2021, Wintershall announced that it had discovered more oil at the Bergknapp discovery.
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