14.05.1999, 20:14
Cal Dive Completes Three Offshore Property Acquisitions HOUSTON (ots-PRNewswire) - Energy Resource Technology, Inc.(ERT), awholly owned subsidiary of Cal Dive International, Inc. (Nasdaq:CDIS)completed three acquisitions of offshore oil and gas propertiesin April.ERT acquired two offshore blocks from Spirit Energy 76, one blockfromNewfield Exploration (NYSE: NFX) and an additional interest in acurrentlyowned ERT property from Samedan Oil Corporation. The transactionswerecompleted for an undisclosed amount of cash and otherconsideration,including assumption of the related decommissioning obligations. The properties are located from the East Cameron to EugeneIsland areasin the Gulf of Mexico in water depths ranging from 40 fsw to 120fsw. TheSpirit Energy 76 properties include 11 wells on three platformsand onecaisson structure producing about 1,000 mcfd. The Newfieldpropertiescontain 20 wells on five platforms and two caisson structuresproducingabout 2,000 mcfd and 450 bopd. ERT will operate all blocks andcarry outwellwork to improve current production rates. Lyle Kuntz, President of ERT, stated "This brings the numberofoffshore property acquisitions completed so far in 1999 to six,includingour fourth purchase from Spirit Energy 76. Most Gulf operatorsare nowconsidering the possibility of future depressed commodity pricesandcontingent P&A liabilities when they sell mature propertiesrather thanjust accepting high bids. This last acquisition from SpiritEnergy 76 isparticularly important as we structured the transaction such thattheseller maintains an unencumbered interest in upside opportunities(i.e.,no exposure to the decommissioning liability) should productionexceedcertain agreed upon levels." Spirit Energy 76 is Unocal Corporation's (NYSE: UCL) lower 48exploration and production unit. Cal Dive International, Inc. operates a fleet of technicallyadvancedmarine construction vessels and conducts salvage operations inthe Gulf ofMexico. Energy Resource Technology acquires and operates matureoffshoreproperties as part of CDI decommissioning services.ots Original Text Service: Cal Dive InternationalInternet: http://www.newsaktuell.deContact: Jim Nelson, Chief Financial Officer of Cal DiveInternational,Inc., 281-618-0400
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