Freepoint Commodities, an energy and metals trading house, has announced that it has acquired two offshore oil and gas blocks for US$110mn oil in the US Gulf of Mexico
The US-based company and two investment groups bought working interests in two oil and natural gas production blocks — Green Canyon 18 and 60 — and a platform about 241km offshore Louisiana from ExxonMobil and W&T Offshore. Production at Block 18, which came with a platform, peaked at 30,000 bpd, company sources said.
Apollo Global Management, an investment firm, and Summit Partners Credit Advisors were co-investors in the deal.
According to the company, the move is part of a broader trend by trading houses to expand from buying and selling commodities as middlemen to sourcing them at origin.
In March 2013, Freepoint Commodities had acquired natural gas wells in Wyoming in its first hydrocarbon property acquisition. Last month it also bought a royalty interest in oil and gas wells across New Mexico and Colorado, the company said.
Brian Cumming, head of structured finance of Freepoint Commodities, said, “This transaction is another example of how Freepoint is well positioned to provide both financing and physical trading capabilities to the upstream energy sector.”
