MOCOW (MRC) -- Spain's Repsol has agreed to buy Equinor's equity position in US Eagle Ford shale basin for USD325 million in a deal giving it 100% control and operatorship of the shale assets, reported S&P Global with reference to the companies' statement late Thursday.
Under the deal, Repsol said it will acquire 69,000 net acres and 34,000 b/d of oil equivalent production taking its total output at Eagle Ford to 54,000 boe/d.
"The added stake in this asset will allow improvements in operations and synergies, and progress in the achievement of strategic goals associated to portfolio upgrading, profitable growth and increased returns," Repsol said in a statement.
Equinor entered the Eagle Ford asset in 2010 through a joint acquisition with Talisman Energy, which is now owned by Repsol. In 2015, Equinor increased its interest in the joint asset from 50% to 63% and assumed full operatorship.
In a separate agreement, Equinor said that Repsol will acquire a 20% non-operated interest in the Monument prospect that Equinor is drilling in the Northwest Walker Ridge area in the Gulf of Mexico.
Equinor said it plans to commence drilling the well before the end of the year.
As MRC wrote previously, Repsol has recently signed a collaboration agreement to license ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA), ethylene butyl acrylate (EBA) copolymer and low-density polyethylene (LDPE) production technology with American engineering company Engineers & Constructors International (ECI), depository of the high-pressure technology originally developed and licensed by Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) through its UK subsidiary, Simon Carves Engineering, Ltd. Under this agreement, Repsol is the operational partner that provides product knowledge, applications and operating support (training, technical services, operating procedures, etc.).
Besides, we remind that Repsol will shut down its cracker in Tarragona (Spain) for maintenance in the fourth quarter of 2019. The turnaround at this steam cracker, which produces 702,000 mt/year of ethylene and 372,000 mt/year of propylene, was pushed back from Q3 2019. The exact dates of maintenance works are not disclosed.
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,589,580 tonnes in the first nine months of 2019, up by 7% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. The estimated PP consumption in the Russian market was 976,790 tonnes in January-September 2019, up by 4% year on year. Shipments of PP block copolymer and homopolymer PP increased.
Repsol S.A is an integrated Spanish oil and gas company with operations in 28 countries. The bulk of its assets are located in Spain.