LLOG Exploration Offshore is exploring a potential sale, which may value one of the largest privately held oil and gas producers in the U.S. Gulf at more than $3 billion including debt, people familiar with the matter said.
The Covington, Louisiana-based company is working with investment bankers at Guggenheim Securities on the effort, with a limited number of parties contacted in recent weeks to gauge buyer interest, said the sources.
Gerald Boelte, who founded LLOG in 1977, passed away last year, and his family remains the controlling owner. Any deal would include provisions to cement his legacy, such as commitments by any buyer to retain the LLOG name and keep its Covington headquarters and company staff, the sources added.
No transaction is guaranteed, said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations.
LLOG did not respond to a request for comment. Guggenheim declined to comment.
While overall deal activity in U.S. upstream oil and gas has been subdued this year after reaching historic highs in the previous two years, U.S. Gulf operations have continued to attract attention as energy firms value the region's long-term production potential.
Apart from new investments in the basin, production from sites developed in recent years is also coming online. LLOG reported last month first oil from its Salamanca floating production unit, which is supporting drilling in the Leon-Castille fields. Among LLOG's partners in this development is Repsol.
Given LLOG's scale, the sources said an energy major would be a logical buyer, but it would also be a desirable acquisition for an international oil and gas operator with offshore experience seeking entry into the U.S. Gulf.
(Reuters)