XOM To Buy Celtic Exploration, Canadian Exploration Company

Updates

Later, 1:04 pm: a reader alerts me to another new fracking technology: NEXT Frac. 

NEXT Frac outperforms traditional hydraulic fracturing techniques as it can easily reach wellbore radial fracture propagation of 180m - 365m, as compared to typical hydraulic fracture propagation of 30m.

I may do a stand-alone post on this later. I have mentioned several times on the blog that is appears to me that the radial effectiveness of conventional fracturing is about 500 feet. I may have been way too generous. CLR suggests as much with its study on the Three Forks, and then this link to NEXT Frac in which they suggest that the "typical hydraulic fracture propagation of less than 100 feet."

Later, 9:53 am: Celtic is up over $8, almost 50% higher in opening. I think XOM bought the company for the fracking technology; great news for the Bakken.

Original Post

For around $3 billion.

Market cap yesterday for Celtic, about $2 billion.

Bought for Celtic's technology/experience in nitrogen fracking?

September 10, 2012, operations update:

At Jayar, Alberta, in the northern portion of Celtic's Resthaven land block, the Company has completed a horizontal well located at 4-22-61-3W6 (100% WI). The well was drilled with a horizontal lateral of 1,545 meters in the Montney formation and was completed with a 900 tonne, 18-stage nitrogen foam fracture. The well was flowed on clean-up for 194 hours and during the last 24 hours of the test the well was flowing at 11.7 MMCF per day of raw gas and 362 barrels per day of condensate with a flowing tubing pressure of 8,748 kPa (1,268 psi).

2012 guidance:

Celtic re-confirms its exit 2012 production guidance of 29,900 boe per day. In addition, the Company's 2012 net capital expenditure program remains at $322.0 million. Celtic expects production in 2012 to average between 22,000 and 23,000 boe per day. 

Average production in 2012 is expected to be weighted 24% oil and 76% gas; however, operating income in 2012 is expected to be weighted 78% oil and 22% gas. At the low end of the range of 2012's average production forecast, this represents a 36% increase from average production of 16,212 boe per day in 2011. On a production per common share basis, the increase would be 26%.

XOM  with $18 billion in cash.