Halcón divests from the Williston Basin

Shares of Halcón Resources briefly surged almost 50% in pre-market trade on Tuesday after the company announced it had agreed to divest its operated assets in the Williston Basin for approximately USD 1.4 billion.

Halcón will keep its non-operated assets in the area but would consider selling them in the future, the company statement said.

At 9:23 am in New York, company shares were at USD 6.25, up 40% since Monday’s close.

The buyer in the cash deal, an affiliate of Bruin E&P Partners, will acquire a net production capacity of 7,500 boepd.

The deal, expected to close within 60 days, will be effective June 1, 2017. The unloading of operated assets in North Dakota’s Bakken and Three Forks formations means Halcón is fully committed to the Permian Basin in west Texas, where the company has operations in the prolific Delaware sub-basin.

“The sale of our Williston Basin operated assets transforms Halcón into a single-basin company focused on the Delaware Basin where we have more than 41,000 net acres [165.9 net square kilometres] in Ward and Pecos Counties representing decades of highly economic drilling inventory,” Halcón CEO Floyd Wilson said.

“The cash proceeds from this transaction and related debt reduction provide us with a strong balance sheet and liquidity to execute our growth plans.”