Buccaneer bankruptcy sale approved

A federal bankruptcy judge is allowing Buccaneer Energy Ltd. to sell nearly all of its Alaska assets to AIX Energy LLC, despite the objections of some creditors.

Judge David R. Jones of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas approved the sale between Buccaneer and its largest creditor in an Oct. 31 ruling.

The matter remains far from concluded, though.

For starters, Buccaneer and AIX Energy must close the deal. The court has scheduled a status conference for Nov. 17. Should the deal fall through, the court would meet on Dec. 2 to find a way forward. The judge also approved Cook Inlet Energy’s back-up bid.

The order fails to resolve the ongoing disputes over correlative rights at the Kenai Loop gas field in Cook Inlet. Those proceedings have been on hold as the bankruptcy case progressed. The Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission is holding a hearing in December with the aim of resolving the matter, possibly through pooling or unitization.

The case includes the state of Alaska, Cook Inlet Region Inc. and the Alaska Mental Health Trust land office, all of which own land in the area around Kenai Loop. Please see continuing coverage in Nov. 16 issue.

- Eric Lidji