SM Energy to Shed Some Eagle Ford Assets

U.S. oil and gas producer SM Energy Co said on Tuesday it would sell certain assets in the Eagle Ford shale of South Texas to a unit of KKR for $800 million.

The assets, operated by a third-party, include about 37,500 net acres and related pipeline infrastructure.

The assets produced about 27,260 net boed (barrels of oil equivalent per day) in the third quarter of 2016, SM Energy said.

The sale to Venado Oil and Gas LLC is expected to close in the first quarter of 2017.

SM Energy has been trying to boost its presence in the Permian basin in west Texas and eastern New Mexico, while divesting assets elsewhere.

The company said in October it would buy 35,700 net acres in west Texas's Howard and Martin counties for about $1.6 billion.

Reporting by John Benny