US oil and gas company Talos Energy has agreed to acquire 16 assets from affiliates of Castex Energy 2005 in the US Gulf of Mexico (GOM) Shelf core area for $65 million in a stock cum cash deal.

Castex Energy 2005 had come out of bankruptcy in 2018 and is presently controlled by prior first lien lenders. The acquired assets include 16 properties in which the company currently has a working interest.

The assets had proved reserves of about 17.6 MMBoe, with more than 66% classified as proved developed reserves. For the year-to-date period ended 31 May 2020, the average daily production of the acquired assets was nearly 6.4 MBoe/d, made up of about 15% oil and 85% natural gas.

The acquisition includes operating stakes of 11 fields in which working interest was acquired previously in Talos Energy’s acquisitions that were closed in February 2020, consolidating interests and giving the company greater operational control over drilling, asset management, maintenance, and abandonment activities in the future.

Timothy S. Duncan – President and CEO of Talos Energy said: “The bolt-on acquisition includes additional ownership in an attractive set of positive cash-flowing assets in which we already have interests, and securing operatorship for the majority of these assets also provides us with greater control moving forward. This tactical deal with a compelling valuation highlights the importance of continuing to remain opportunistic and commercial in the current environment.

“The ability to utilize our equity as consideration in this transaction and the previously announced Second Lien Notes exchange transaction demonstrates both our focus on executing value accretive transactions for our shareholders as well as our commitment to protecting our strong credit profile, both of which better position us to continue to evaluate further opportunities.”

  Castex Energy 2005, Talos Energy, Timothy S. Duncan, US Gulf of Mexico, USA