Harbour Energy has agreed to buy Louisiana-based privately-held LLOG Exploration Company for $3.2 billion in a strategic deal that will establish a foothold for the UK-based oil and gas producer in the deepwater U.S. Gulf of Mexico.
Harbour Energy on Monday announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire LLOG Exploration Company LLC from LLOG Holdings LLC for a total of $3.2 billion, comprising $2.7 billion of cash and $500 million Harbour’s voting ordinary shares.
“The Acquisition marks Harbour’s strategic entry into the US Gulf of America, strengthening its global portfolio and establishing another core business unit alongside Norway, the UK, Argentina and Mexico,” said the UK-based company.
Harbour Energy has recently moved to consolidate its UK presence in the face of the very high windfall tax which the UK government refused to revise in its latest budget.
Establishing a presence in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico would give Harbour Energy a foothold in a market where the Administration is currently very friendly toward oil and gas exploration and development.
“The transaction positions us as a leading player in a region with well-established infrastructure, a supportive fiscal and regulatory environment and opportunities for additional growth,” said Harbour Energy’s chief executive Linda Cook.
“The oil-weighted, deepwater LLOG portfolio enhances our production profile, provides significant operational control, extends reserve life and improves our margins.”
The acquisition, which Harbour expects to complete at the end of the first quarter of 2026, would add low breakeven assets with production of 34,000 boepd, operating costs of $12 per barrel of oil equivalent (boe), and a blended federal and state tax rate of about 23%, the company said.
Earlier this month, Harbour Energy announced an acquisition in the UK North Sea as the industry seeks to weather the crippling effects of the UK windfall tax, which makes total tax on UK oil and gas production at 78%–one of the world’s highest.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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