Middle east takes stake in the Horn River basin.
Abu Dhabi National Energy Co. (ADX: TAQA), acquired two blocks of land comprising 1,300 square kilometers (~10,000 hectares) in the Horn River Basin for $65 million. The purchase was through the Company’s Calgary-based Canadian subsidiary TAQA North which was founded in August 2007 when it acquired Northrock Resources and has become the 12th largest oil and gas producers in Canada with a projected revenue growth of up to CDN$20 billion by 2012. It is the first shale gas acquisition for TAQA North and considered a beachhead for the company’s investment plans for natural gas in North American’s shale gas plays.
In an interview Friday, Frederic Lesage, Managing Director of TAQA North stated;
“This is a great time to buy, obviously.”
He also was quoted;
“Why do we want to get into the Horn River? It has great prospective for production and reserves. It’s one of the best shale gas basins in North America, equivalent to the Haynesville [in Louisiana] or the Barnett [in Texas]. And it’s just in our backyard. So why not?”
TAQA has joined a growing list of major companies and investment groups making massive investments into the Horn River basin and underlining its attraction as an investment and in the basin’s long term importance to North America’s energy mix (and Asia’s).
Calgary Herald: TAQA buys shale stake
Reuters: Abu Dhabi’s Taqa buys Canada land worth $63 mln
