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Person doggedly trying to hang on in trying conditions.Scuddy Waggoner/Getty Images/iStockphoto

Asset sales are starting to shake out in Canada's oil patch, as debt-heavy companies jettison property to survive and oil's eight-month slump stretches on.

Enerplus Corp. on Friday cut its dividend, budget, and announced an asset sale. It has agreed to sell property producing about 1,900 barrels of oil equivalent in two deals totalling about $182-million. Enerplus said its Pembina waterflood assets make up the majority of the assets in the transactions. Enerplus did not disclose the buyers.

Meanwhile, Bonterra Energy Corp. on Friday said it has signed a deal to buy land churning out about 1,800 barrels of oil equivalent per day for $172-million. The assets sit within Bonterra's Pembina Cardium operations and employ waterflooding. Bonterra did not disclose the seller.

An industry source confirmed the Pembina assets Enerplus has agreed to sell are the same as the ones Bonterra said it has agreed to buy. Enerplus said the selling price was about $96,000 per daily barrel of oil equivalent; Bonterra said it paid about $95,500 per flowing barrel of oil equivalent.

But Enerplus' asset sales were not enough to shield its balance sheet from further damage. The company cut its monthly dividend to 5 cents per share from 9 cents per share. The firm also sliced its 2015 budget down to $480-million, down from its December estimate of $635-million. Bonterra at the end of January trimmed its dividend to 15 cents per share, down from 30 cents.

Surge Energy said on February 11 that it has sold assets worth $35.6-million. That cash is headed toward the company's debt. Surge said the assets are in the Dodsland area of southwest Saskatchewan. Surge did not disclose the buyer. Raging River Exploration Inc. on February 9 said it bought assets worth $35.6-million. The assets, Raging River said, are in the Dodsland Viking play. Raging River did not disclose the seller.

Torc Oil & Gas Ltd. in early February bought assets in southeast Saskatchewan from a private company for the equivalent of $128-million. It dished out 16 million shares to seal the deal.

And the march of budget cuts and dividend reductions continued this week. Lightstream Resources Ltd. on Friday cut its budget for the first half of 2015 to $75-million, down from its previous estimate of $95-million for the first half of the year, which was down from its original full-year budget of between $190-million and $210-million. Baytex Energy Corp. on Thursday trimmed its budget to between $500-million and $575-million, down from between $575-million and $650-million, which was down about 30 per cent from its original expectation of between about $825-million and $925-million. Baytex also said Thursday that it amended its financial covenants. Tourmaline Oil Corp. on Wednesday reduced its budget to $1.2-billion, down from $1.4-billion, which was down from its original 2015 budget of $1.6-billion. Trinidad Drilling Ltd. on Tuesday halved its budget to $175-million from $350-million.

Ivanhoe Energy Inc. on Friday said it wants a 30-day court order protecting it from creditors under the Canada's Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act.

"While under BIA protection, the company will continue with its efforts to pursue strategic alternatives, including restructuring its existing debt obligations and pursuing the sale of assets," the company said in its statement. "The company continues to be actively engaged in discussions with various stakeholders to recapitalize the company. Strategic and financial alternatives under consideration are focused on relieving the financial burden of the company's current debt structure and obtaining additional financing necessary to fund ongoing operations."

The Toronto Stock Exchange suspended trading for Ivanhoe's shares.

Southern Pacific Resource Corp., a struggling oil sands company, at the end of January obtained creditor protection under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act – relief that was extended this week to April 27. Investment bankers at Royal Bank of Canada are now heading up a court-approved "sale and investor solicitation process." Southern Pacific reminded the market on Friday that it is looking to sell itself, sell some assets, or recapitalize and restructure the company's debt. Bidders must have binding proposals in by noon on April 2, although the company said that, too, is negotiable.

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Tickers mentioned in this story

Study and track financial data on any traded entity: click to open the full quote page. Data updated as of 28/03/24 3:52pm EDT.

SymbolName% changeLast
BNE-T
Bonterra Energy Corp
+0.79%6.35
BTE-N
Baytex Energy Corp
+3.71%3.63
BTE-T
Baytex Energy Corp
+2.52%4.89
E-T
Enterprise Group Inc
-1.16%0.85
ERF-N
Enerplus Corp
+1.44%19.66
ERF-T
Enerplus Corp
+1.26%26.61
IE-T
Ivanhoe Electric Inc
+7.53%13.28
RY-N
Royal Bank of Canada
+0.48%100.88
RY-T
Royal Bank of Canada
+0.29%136.62
SGY-T
Surge Energy Inc
+1.18%7.71
T-N
AT&T Inc
+0.28%17.6
T-T
Telus Corp
+0.37%21.67
TOU-T
Tourmaline Oil Corp
+1.69%63.33
TU-N
Telus Corp
+0.63%16.01

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