Pioneer initially announced the sale of its Alaska assets to Caelus in November 2013, with an expected closing date around the end of the year. But the process of tying up the sale has taken longer than the companies had anticipated. Issues that needed to be resolved included reaching agreements with the State of Alaska over how to deal with dismantling of the field infrastructure at the end of field life, and dealing with royalty relief that has applied to some Oooguruk leases.

In March the companies announced that Pioneer had agreed to drop the price of its Alaska subsidiary from $550 million to $300 million, with the company reporting an accounting cash loss as a consequence. At the same time, Caelus said that it was going to take on a $300 million second-lien term loan and a $115 million asset-based loan facility to fund the purchase and provide working capital for its operations.

—Alan Bailey