Penn West sells working interest in Weyburn Unit for $205M
by Canadian Manufacturing.com Staff
Company continues to divest as it works to strengthen its balance sheet
CALGARY—Penn West Petroleum Ltd. has announced it will sell its non-operated 9.5 per cent working interest in the Weyburn Unit in southeast Saskatchewan for $205 million in cash.
The move follows the sale of Penn West’s assets in the Greater Mitsue area of central Alberta for $192.5 million last month, and major jobs and capital spending cuts at the Calgary-based company.
“This disposition further demonstrates the continued success of our non-core asset disposition program,” David Dyck, senior vice-president and CFO of Penn West, said. “With this transaction, we have surpassed our $650 million non-core asset disposition target.”
“We believe that our dispositions this year evidence the quality of our non-core asset base, our ongoing commitment to reduce our debt, and our ability to successfully execute meaningful transactions in a challenging commodity price environment,” he added.
Upon the completion of the sale of its working interest in the Weyburn Unit, Penn West will have raised approximately $810 million in total proceeds this year through asset sales. Though the company has already exceeded its target, Dyck indicated the company’s asset sales may continue.
“We will continue to pursue additional non-core asset divestitures in order to further reduce our leverage and we will continue to focus on our core operations.”
