EnCana closed its $2 billion sale of Gulf of Mexico assets to Statoil, netting $1.45 billion after taxes and other adjustments, the company said Thursday, noting that its total investment in the assets was only $540 million. EnCana said its previously-announced divestiture of its Ecuador assets and select conventional producing properties in Western Canada should go through later this year.

The Gulf asset included six deepwater discoveries and an average 40% working interest in 239 gross blocks covering 1.4 million acres. As of December, the company 41 million boe of proved reserves booked at the most advanced discovery — Tahiti. All the Gulf assets are in the development and appraisal phase, and accordingly there is no current production.

Proceeds from the Gulf sale will be credited to EnCana USA’s full cost pool, which is expected to result in a reduction in the U.S. depreciation, depletion and amortization rate by 15%. Proceeds from the divestiture and the recently announced $326 million sale of conventional Western Canadian properties will be directed primarily to a combination of debt reduction and the purchase of EnCana shares. The company’s normalized debt-to-capitalization target is between 30 and 40%.

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