Petrohawk Energy Corp. has followed through on a plan announced last year and said Monday it would sell its Permian Basin properties to a privately owned company for $376 million in cash.

At the end of 2008 the Permian Basin assets, including its interests in the Waddell Ranch, Sawyer, Jalmat and TXL fields of West Texas and southeastern New Mexico, had estimated proved reserves of 177 Bcfe. The properties currently produce 30 MMcfe/d. Petrohawk late last year said it wanted to find a buyer for the properties (see Daily GPI, Oct. 2, 2008).

“Proceeds from this sale will add to our already strong liquidity position, as we continue to focus our attention on our rapidly growing shale assets, particularly high-return, high-margin development in the Haynesville and Eagle Ford shales,” said CEO Floyd C. Wilson.

Last year the Houston-based producer said it had leased more than 100,000 net acres in a prospective area of the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas (see Daily GPI, Oct. 22, 2008). The producer also has drilled some of the highest-producing wells in the Haynesville Shale. Earlier this year Petrohawk said its estimated ultimate recovery in the Haynesville play had risen to 7.5 Bcfe based on performance data from its first 14 completed wells (see Daily GPI, Feb. 26).

In a note Monday analysts with SunTrust Robinson Humphrey/the Gerdes Group said the Permian Basin transaction “should have a slightly positive value implication,” and “equates to a proven reserve value of $2.12/Mcfe (slightly above recent Permian transactions) and a 12.5x production rate multiple.” Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. Securities said the transaction “makes sense” and helps Petrohawk bridge a 2009 $500 million funding gap.

The sale is expected to close by Oct. 30; the effective date of the transaction is July 1, 2009. Bank of America Merrill Lynch acted as marketing and financial adviser.

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