Ovintiv Sells Anadarko Assets following NuVista Merger

Ovintiv Inc said Tuesday it has entered into a definitive agreement to divest substantially all its Anadarko assets, located on Oklahoma's side of the basin, to an undisclosed buyer for $3 billion.

The disposition is part of Ovintiv's "portfolio transformation" under which the Denver, Colorado-based oil and gas producer recently completed a $2.7-billion transaction to acquire NuVista Energy Ltd. Calgary, Canada-based NuVista owns assets adjacent to Ovintiv's Alberta Montney position.

Ovintiv said in an online statement Tuesday the Anadarko sale would help it achieve its target to cut debt to $4 billion. As of the third quarter of 2025 it had $5.21 billion of debt, including current debt, and $3.3 billion of liquidity, including $25 million in cash and cash equivalents.

Ovintiv plans to publish its Q4 2025 results, Q1 2026 guidance and new shareholder return framework February 23.

"The [Anadarko] sale includes approximately 360,000 net acres, which represents substantially all of the company's acreage in the play", Ovintiv said. "Month to date production in February is approximately 90,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day including approximately 27,000 barrels per day of oil and condensate, approximately 240 million cubic feet per day of natural gas and approximately 23,000 barrels per day of natural gas liquids".

Ovintiv president and chief executive Brendan McCracken said of the Anadarko sale, "This transaction marks a significant milestone by focusing our portfolio, delivering on our debt target and unlocking increased returns to our shareholders".

"We have built one of the deepest premium inventory positions in our industry in the two most valuable plays in North America, the Permian and the Montney", McCracken added.

Advertisement - Scroll to continue Ovintiv expects to complete the sale in the second quarter subject to customary conditions.

On February 3 Ovintiv said it had consummated its purchase of NuVista, in which the debt-inclusive purchase price consisted of 50 percent cash and 50 percent Ovintiv common stock.

The acquisition of NuVista gives Ovintiv around 930 net 10,000-foot equivalent well locations and approximately 140,000 net acres, of which about 70 percent are undeveloped, in the core of the Alberta Montney, according to Ovintiv. Ovintiv expects the assets to produce about 100,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day this year.

"The assets are directly adjacent to Ovintiv's current operations and include access to processing and downstream infrastructure with significant available capacity", Ovintiv said in a press release.

McCracken said of the merger, "We expect to generate cost synergies of approximately $100 million annually, including per-well cost savings of approximately $1 million, consistent with our current Montney well costs".

In its announcement of the NuVista deal November 4, 2025, Ovintiv said it would fund the acquisition with cash on hand, borrowings from its existing credit facility and a term loan.

Ovintiv said then it had also paused its share buyback program for two quarters. "Ovintiv's bolt-on acquisition activity has effectively been paused until the share buyback program has resumed", it said. "The company's base dividend is expected to remain unchanged".

"Once the company has reduced non-GAAP net debt to or below its long-term target of $4 billion, Ovintiv plans to update its capital allocation framework to direct a greater portion of its post-dividend non-GAAP free cash flow to shareholder returns", Ovintiv said at the time.

To contact the author, email jov.onsat@rigzone.com

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