Occidental explores $3.6 billion sale of CrownRock Permian stake to Colombia’s EcoPetrol

(Bloomberg) – Occidental Petroleum Corp. is exploring selling a 30% ownership stake in its recent Permian basin acquisition to EcoPetrol SA for $3.6 billion, the company said Friday in a government filing.

Depending on negotiations, Colombian driller EcoPetrol could end up acquiring an even larger stake, up to 49%, in the assets Occidental agreed to buy from CrownRock LP for $12 billion in late 2023. This option expires in August, according to the filing.

Any deal the companies reach would be the result of a joint venture Occidental first began with EcoPetrol in 2019 after the Houston-based company’s $55 billion takeover of Anadarko Petroleum.

At the time EcoPetrol agreed to help develop Occidental’s assets and was given the right to participate in future oil and gas interests acquired by Occidental “in an area of mutual interest.”

Occidental has previously said it seeks to make as much as $6 billion worth of asset sales following its CrownRock deal closure, and it’s unclear what selling a stake in the deal to EcoPetrol means for that plan.

There’s been a $200 billion consolidation wave over the last year in U.S. oil and gas, with companies looking to improve efficiencies, extend their inventory of quality drilling sites and return cash to investors.