Samson Oil & Gas Ltd (ASX: SSN) aims to acquire additional Bakken acreage this year, managing director Terry Barr told this news service.Market cap USD 344m Samson is looking to add 20,000 acres in the North Dakota shale play at a price of less than USD 1,000 per acre and is in discussions regarding possible buys, Barr said. He would not comment as to whether Samson has a confidentiality agreement in place. Holland & Hart is acting as legal advisor to Samson. According to a recent financial statement, Samson has USD 5.88m on its balance sheet.However, transactions in the Bakken have been announced at steep acreage prices. The Williams Company Inc bought 85,000 acres in the Williston Basin in November, 2010, for around USD 10,780 per acre. Concho Resources sold its North Dakota Bakken assets for roughly USD 17,510 per acre in 2010, more than double what a banker had previously toldthis news service the assets would fetch.Perth, Western Australia-headquartered Samson is generally interested in adding land assets capable of generating 100 barrels per day of oil, according to Barr. The company?s operation base is located in Lakewood, Colorado.There is ample land for sale by private companies and individuals in the geography, according to Barr. This news service previously reported Peak Energy Resources had hired Scotia to divest its 54,000 Bakken acres, located in Dunn, McKenzie and Mountrail counties, just east and south of Williams County, where Samson operates.Samson already has a presence in the Bakken: a 32% working interest in the North Stockyard Oil Field, located in the Williston Basin in North Dakota. The company plans to expand in the Williston Basin, according to Barr. Fracture stimulation was completed 13 April at its Earl #1-13H well there.?The Bakken is alive and well,? Barr said, adding that the play ?continues to display a huge amount of success?.Samson recently sold its interests in two properties ? the Jonah and Lookout Wash fields in Wyoming?s Green River Basin -- for USD 6.3m. Barr told this news service in October, 2010, that he expected those properties to fetch USD 10m. At the same time, the company announced it would focus developing its oil plays in the Bakken and Wyoming?s Niobrara Foundation.It also sold 24,000 acres in Goshen County, Wyoming, in December, 2010, for USD 73.67m. A portion of the proceeds from the sale will go toward paying off its debt with Macquarie Bank Ltd when it comes due in May, according to its 2010 Form 20-F filing with the SEC. Samson has a USD 11.28m debt facility with Macquarie.In the more recent interview, he said Samson has non-core methane assets in Wyoming?s Powder River Basin, but the company had ?nothing of any substance? to sell.Samson?s auditors are PricewaterhouseCoopers and Ernst & Young LLP.by Max Brett in New York.
Source: Australian & NZ M&A intelligence: mergermarket.com
SSN Price at posting:
15.5¢ Sentiment: Hold Disclosure: Held
