Forest Oil sells Cosmopolitan, Prudhoe interests
Forest Oil, which has all its Alaska assets on the market, has sold its 12.5 percent interest in the Cook Inlet offshore Cosmopolitan oil and gas unit to Cosmopolitan operator Pioneer Natural Resources Alaska.
Forest traded its small working and royalty interests in the Prudhoe Bay unit late last year to the three main Prudhoe owners, BP, ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips. Although Forest’s top executive in Alaska, Leonard Gurule, confirmed the trade, he declined to say what the Prudhoe interest was traded for.
In the case of Cosmopolitan, Forest had an offer from a third party for its interest in the unit and notified Pioneer of its intent to sell. Pioneer exercised its preferential right to acquire Forest’s interest as defined by the operating agreement, Pioneer spokesman Tadd Owens told Petroleum News March 5.
Forest officials at its Denver headquarters are referring interested buyers to Scotia Waterous, an international oil and gas acquisitions and divestitures firm. The firm has an overview of Forest’s Alaska assets on its web site (www.waterous.com).
Dated Feb. 22, Scotia Waterous’ posting says Forest Oil “has initiated a process for the sale of its entire Alaskan position, including its wholly owned subsidiary Forest Alaska Operating LLC and other assets in the Cook Inlet area. Forest has retained Scotia Waterous as its financial advisor for this transaction.”
The map on the site shows the location of nine assets, including Forest-operated production, partner-operated production, and offshore exploration prospects Cosmopolitan and Sabre.
Other Alaska assets include approximately “one million net undeveloped acres,” (which would account for the rest of Forest’s Alaska assets, including Cook Inlet exploration acreage on and offshore and two Susitna basin exploration licenses), “defined exploration upside on and offshore, 40 percent interest in Cook Inlet Pipeline Co.” and seismic data.
Renaissance Umiat formed, appraisal drilling planned
Renaissance Umiat LLC has completed its acquisition of all the leases in the Umiat field, which is a shallow oil accumulation at the eastern edge of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. The newly formed company hopes to do appraisal drilling at the North Slope prospect in the winter of 2007-08, Renaissance executive Mark Landt told Petroleum News March 5.
Renaissance Umiat is owned by Renaissance Alaska LLC (42.5 percent), Rutter and Wilbanks (42.5 percent) and Arctic Falcon (15 percent). “Renaissance Alaska and Rutter and Wilbanks will be the funding partners,” Landt said. The Umiat field manager is Renaissance Alaska, which is opening an office in Resolution Plaza in Anchorage this week.
“Last year we (Renaissance Alaska and Rutter and Wilbanks) acquired an Umiat lease from Paul Craig and Pete Zamarello in the northern portion of the field. Recently, we closed on Arctic Falcon’s interest in the southern portion of the field, and created Renaissance Umiat LLC — all leasehold in the Umiat field” is held by it, Landt said.
Editor’s note: See the full Umiat and Forest articles in the March 11 issue of Petroleum News, available online (www.PetroleumNews.com) this Friday at noon Alaska Time.
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