BHP Billiton Ltd. said it’s “actively pursuing options” to sell its US onshore oil and gas assets, which it has classified as noncore amid pressure from shareholders to divest.
The Melbourne-based firm reported upward revisions in capital spending for its 2018 financial year due in part to an increase in US onshore drilling and development expenditure. While it looks for buyers, BHP said it will proceed with well trials, acreage swaps, and assessing midstream solutions.
BHP has more than 838,000 net acres in the Eagle Ford, Permian, Haynesville, and Fayetteville. The Black Hawk area of the Eagle Ford and the Permian area are two of its largest liquids-focused field developments.
“We certainly have plenty of people interested in taking a look,” BHP Chief Executive Officer Andrew Mackenzie told reporters during an earnings call on Aug. 21. “The shale acquisitions were poorly timed. We paid too much,” he explained (OGJ Online, Aug. 22, 2017).
BHP’s US onshore operated rig count was five as of June 30, with three rigs in the Haynesville, one in Black Hawk, and one in the Permian.
