Encana Corp. is seeking buyers for its natural gas properties in Louisiana as it focuses on drilling for oil and other liquids in Texas and its home country, Canada, those with knowledge of the matter tell Bloomberg.
Citigroup Inc. is soliciting offers for Encana’s Haynesville Shale basin acreage, valued at as much as $1 billion, according to Bloomberg’s sources, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. The bank has begun reaching out to private-equity firms, energy explorers and other potential buyers, the sources say.
A spokesman for Calgary-based Encana declined to comment, as did a spokesman for Citigroup.
Encana is unloading gas assets to better focus on drilling for oil and liquids such as condensate. It announced earlier this month it has completed the sale of some gas-gathering assets in Canada for about $376 million to Veresen Midstream LP.
The company, which acquired its first Haynesville lease in 2005, holds more than 350,000 acres in the area, according to its website. Royal Dutch Shell agreed last year to sell its half of a Haynesville joint venture with Encana to Vine Oil & Gas LP for $1.2 billion.
This year, Encana plans to spend 80% of its drilling budget in four areas: the Eagle Ford and Permian Shale basins in Texas, and the Montney and Duvernay Shale basins of Canada, according to a company presentation.
