Legacy Reserves seeks buyers for shale oil and gas assets

Privately owned shale producer Legacy Reserves is in search of a buyer for its oil and gas assets in the Permian and Haynesville basins, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday.

Legacy, which is among the biggest natural gas producers in the United States, has hired an investment bank to run the sale process for the assets and is valuing them at around $800 MM at current commodity prices, the sources said.

The company did not respond to phone calls requesting comment and the sources requested anonymity as the sale talks are confidential.

Crude oil and natural gas prices hit multi-year records last year as the easing of pandemic restrictions boosted fuel demand. U.S. crude oil was trading around $79 per bbl on Friday, up 5% for the week. 

The heated prices have encouraged dealmaking in the sector, especially in the Permian basin, the region of Texas and New Mexico considered the heart of the U.S. shale industry, where output is expected to exceed a record 5 MMbpd this month.

Midland, Texas-based Legacy, which went private after emerging from bankruptcy in 2019, estimates production from its Permian assets would total around 11,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) in January, one of the sources said. 

Buyers have also clamored for assets in the gas-rich Haynesville play of Louisiana and East Texas, betting on the basin's proximity to the growing U.S. Gulf Coast export hub.

Legacy's Haynesville assets were estimated to produce around 108 MMft³ of natural gas equivalent per day in January, the sources said.

The company last year had total production of 38,200 boepd, according to its website.

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