Exxon sells Gulf of Mexico oil and gas properties to Energy XXI
Energy XXI Ltd. announced Sunday that it has finalized a deal to buy oil and natural gas properties in the Gulf of Mexico from ExxonMobil for $1.01 billion. The announcement comes a little more than a month after ExxonMobil confirmed it was planning to sell some of its Gulf assets.
Included in the deal are nine properties that sit on the Gulf shelf at depths of 470 feet or less and lie between other Energy XXI operations. In a statement announcing the deal, Energy XXI chairman and chief executive John Schiller said, “The Exxon Mobil properties are an a extraordinary fit with our existing, oil focused core assets.”
As a result of the transaction, which is expected to be completed by year’s end, Bermuda-based Energy XXI will become the third-largest oil producer operating on the Gulf of Mexico shelf via its interest in in seven of the top 111 oil fields in the area.
In a statement provided to the media, ExxonMobil said it will remain a major producer of oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico, which currently supplies the company with about 85,000 barrels of liquid per day.
Energy XXI, which has offices in Houston, was represented by Vinson & Elkins partners T. Mark Kelly and Stephen Tarry.
The Exxon side of the deal was handled by in-house lawyers at the company, according to Vinson & Elkins.
Vinson & Elkins attorneys were also involved in a separate deal announced Monday. The firm represented Texas-based Concentra, Inc., a health care company, in its $790 million cash sale to Humana, Inc. Vinson & Elkins partner Jeffrey Chapman lead the team representing Humana which included partners A. Winston Oxley, Thomas Crichton, Shane Tucker, William Vigdor, Cathy Lewis, Vanessa Griffith, Elizabeth Rogers and Christopher Amandes.
Huamana was represented by Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell partners Michael Renetzky and Jon Biasetti.
