Chesapeake Energy Corp. is looking for buyers for some land in Western Oklahoma’s emerging Granite Wash and Hogshooter plays, according to Meagher Energy Advisors.

The producer, which is working to pare its debt and free up cash, is targeting up to $15 billion in asset sales this year and $5 billion in 2013. It said it is “offering this unique exploration and development opportunity because its current drilling budget is not sufficient to fully develop its leasehold in this area.” The bid date is Nov. 20, with closing anticipated Dec. 21.

According to the listing, the 28,360 net acres for sale are directly west of the Colony Wash field in Oklahoma’s Beckham, Custer and Washita counties. The West Turkey Creek area has 117 wells, which provide $3.2 million a month in net operating cash flow.

There are 113 producing wells, two horizontals now being drilled and two wells that are shut in. The listing indicated that in the past year net sales have been 765 b/d of oil, 684 b/d of natural gas liquids and 9.935 MMcf/d of gas. Chesapeake operates 25 of the wells to be sold, 14 horizontal and 11 vertical. It also has 92 nonoperated wells for sale with average working interest of 13%.

Chesapeake would retain about 2,000 net acres in the play, including part of the Hogshooter.

Four months ago CEO Aubrey McClendon highlighted both Granite Wash and Hogshooter, which he said would “provide a significant boost to Chesapeake’s focus on harvesting its existing assets for growth and value creation rather than on pursuing new leasehold” (see Shale Daily, June 4). An exploratory well in the Hogshooter had initial production rates of 7,350 b/d, and McClendon had said it was expected to “enhance our growing liquids production,” considered key to reshaping the natural gas-focused company.

According to Meagher, Chesapeake still has for sale its leasehold in the Chitwood-Knox formation, which is an extension of the Cana-Woodford Shale. The company has extended the bids for the leasehold to Oct. 19 (see Shale Daily, Sept. 4).

Statoil ASA also has some properties in the U.S. onshore up for sale. The Norwegian producer plans to sell about 230 wells in the Anadarko Basin and along the Gulf Coast, including 180 natural gas wells, a spokesman said The Anadarko Basin and Gulf Coast assets are to be part of an auction sale scheduled on Nov. 14. A separate package of gas wells in Texas, including some on 7,500 acres in Brooks County and 10,000 acres of the Permian Basin, also are to be put on the market “shortly.”

The assets to be sold were acquired by Statoil last year when it bought Brigham Exploration Co. (see Shale Daily, Oct. 18, 2011).