American oil and gas giant Devon Energy Corp. is selling its Canada corporation in a move to focus on American production. The Oklahoma City-based company is looking to focus on key assets in the U.S. meaning its Canadian assets, as well as Barnett Shale holdings in Texas, are separating.
The company has some heavy oil operations in the Lloydminster area as well as three oilsands facilities. It will still be producing as normal but is looking to sell Canadian assets. Nadine Barber, a spokesperson for Devon Energy, says they’re looking to sell all of Devon Canada Corporation to a single buyer.
“There are other alternative business arrangements that might be looked at in the future, but right now the focus is on selling the entire corporation to one entity,” says Barber.
Barber adds that there is no plan for Devon Canada Corp. to make any layoffs before the final transaction. The company plans to open data rooms in March for prospective buyers to “look under the hood.” Barber says that while it’s still too soon to speculate on what the final sale might look like, they expect a strong interest.
“We’ve got an excellent reputation in the market, we’ve got excellent assets, excellent people, but we can’t really speculate on a price, or potential buyer, or timing at this point. It could be as quick as three or four months, it could be as long as twelve months.”
Barber adds that the process has only just begun and there is still a lot of work to do. The company’s Canadian operations represent about 24 per cent of its total production.