Imperial Oil Ltd. (TSX: T.IMO, Stock forum) said it will participate as a 50% owner with ExxonMobil Canada Ltd. in Celtic Exploration Ltd. (TSX: T.CLT, Stock Forum).
The acquisition of 100% of Celtic by ExxonMobil Canada is conditional upon approval by Celtic Exploration's shareholders and Canadian regulatory authorities.
According to the Imperial Oil press release, the company's participation will occur immediately after the acquisition closes, by means of a sale of a 50% interest in Celtic from ExxonMobil Canada to Imperial Oil. This investment represents a $1.55 billion commitment by Imperial Oil.
ExxonMobil Canada and Imperial Oil will acquire 545,000 net acres in the liquids-rich Montney shale, 104,000 net acres in the Duvernay shale and additional acreage in other areas of Alberta.
Current production of the acreage to be acquired is 72 million cubic feet per day of natural gas and 4,000 barrels per day of condensate and natural gas liquids.
Imperial Oil is one of Canada's largest corporations and leading member of the country's petroleum industry.
On Wednesday, Imperial Oil’s stock was up 0.78% and was trading at $42.84. The company has a market cap of $36.3 billion, based on 847.6 million shares outstanding. The 52-week high and low was $49.26 and $39.77 respectively.