INDUSTRY UPDATE
CNQ/CVX READ-THROUGHS FOR VRN & WCP
THE TD COWEN INSIGHT
Chevron (CVX-US, US$151.12, Hold, Gabelman) announced it divested its Cdn assets to Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ-T, $49.81, Buy, Hulshof) for C$8.8bln. The package included the widely marketed/expected sale of CVX's Kaybob Duvernay. Beyond implications for CNQ (here) and CVX (here); there are read-throughs for the incumbents in the Kaybob Duvernay - Veren (VRN-T, $9.13, Buy) and Whitecap (WCP-T, $11.17, Buy).
What Value Could CNQ Have Assigned to the Duvernay Assets? Given the mix of assets acquired, including difficult to value assets (Quest CCS, Scotford...), this exercise lacks precision; however, we believe it to be an instructive datapoint for those evaluating either Veren or Whitecap. If we assume CNQ attributed C$6.2bln for the Athabasca Oil Sands Project (AOSP) and C.6bln for the remaining non-Duvernay assets, this would imply a value of C$2bln for the Kaybob Duvernay (~40 mBOE/d; 245,000 net acres) - implying a metric of $50,000/BOE/d.
What Does This Imply for Kaybob Duvernay Value within Veren and Whitecap?
Implied Value to Veren:
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Veren's Duvernay production is currently ~50 mBOE/d, or ~25% of total. VRN holds 400,000 net acres in the region. Based on the implied metrics of this transaction, we estimate implied value of $2.5bln for Veren's Duvernay or ~30% of current EV.
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Based on VRN's current EV/BOE/d metric of ~$47,000 (Q3/24E), we estimate the CNQ/ CVX metric implies the market is valuing the Duvernay within the portfolio at $2.35bln. This implies upside of $150mm (.24/shr) or a 3% increase to the current share price.
Implied Value to Whitecap:
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WCP is currently producing ~20 mBOE/d in the Duvernay or ~12% of total. Whitecap holds 72,000 net acres of Duvernay at Kaybob. The transaction metrics outlined above imply a value of $1.0bln for Whitecap's Kaybob Duvernay or 13% of current EV.
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Based on WCP's EV/BOE/d metric of ~$45,000 (Q3/24E), we estimate the CNQ/CVX metric implies the market is valuing the Duvernay within the portfolio at $900mm. This implies upside of $100mm (.17/shr) or a 2% increase to the current share price