Chord Energy will pay $550 million for Williston basin assets owned by Exxon Mobil's XTO Energy, expanding its stake in one of the basin's most prolific areas.
The deal includes 48,000 net acres in the Williston core, an 86% operated working interest and 100% held by production. Chord said the assets provide 90 net drilling locations and are expected to contribute about 9,000 boed of production (78% oil) at close.
"These assets are situated in one of the best areas of the Williston Basin and have significant overlap with our existing footprint, setting us up for long-lateral development," said Danny Brown, Chord president and CEO. "We expect the transaction to be significantly accretive to shareholders on all key metrics while maintaining pro forma leverage below the peer group."
The acquired properties have a low breakeven cost in the $40s per barrel, which Chord said will lower its portfolio breakeven levels as a whole. The company also indicated potential to enhance operating margins on producing wells and contribute to its drilling inventory.
The transaction is effective Sept. 1 and is expected to close prior to year-end. Post-close, Chord anticipates net leverage of 0.5x-0.6x, with a return to below 0.5x leverage by mid-2026, commodity prices permitting.
Chord has already repurchased more than 788,000 shares for $83 million in the third quarter under its shareholder return framework, which returns more than half of adjusted free cash flow.