Canada’s Enerplus to buy some of Hess’ North Dakota assets By Reuters – Investing.com

Canada’s Enerplus to buy some of Hess’ North Dakota assets By Reuters – Investing.com

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Pumpjacks taken out of production temporarily stand idle at a Hess site while new wells are fracked near Williston

(Reuters) - Canada's Enerplus (NYSE:) Corp said it would buy some assets in North Dakota's Williston Basin from Hess Corp (NYSE:) for $312 million, as improved oil price expectations have buoyed mergers and acquisitions in North America. Canada's oil and gas sector had a record start to 2021 in terms of mergers and acquisitions as the energy sector benefits from a rebound in oil prices from the pandemic-led crash last year, and as smaller companies bet on economies of scale. Enerplus said it will buy 78,700 net acres in North Dakota, adjacent to its current core Bakken acreage, with about 6,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) of working interest production from Hess. The acquisition of largely undeveloped land has expanded Enerplus' drilling inventory in the play by two to three years, Scotiabank analysts wrote in a note, adding its five-year plan to grow production modestly and emphasize free cash flow will likely be well received by investors. The deal, expected to close in May, will add to Enerplus' adjusted free cash