Paramount Resources is purchasing the assets of Apache Canada in a transaction valued at $459 million as the company’s Houston-based parent exits Canada to "streamline its portfolio" to focus on assets in the United States, United Kingdom, North Sea and Egypt.

Paramount and Trilogy Energy have also agreed to all-share merger deal, creating a Montney, Duvernay and Deep Basin focused intermediate exploration and production company.

The transaction with Paramount is one of three that Apache announced on Thursday, with combined proceeds to the company of $927 million.

While the Paramount deal focuses on properties located principally in Alberta and British Columbia, Apache has also agreed to sell its Provost assets in Alberta to an undisclosed privately owned company, and its assets at Midale and House Mountain, located in Saskatchewan and Alberta, to Calgary-based Cardinal Energy.

This means that Cardinal will become the operator of Apache’s long-running Midale CO2 enhanced oil recovery and sequestration project.

“This strategic decision will enhance the company's resource allocation to its primary growth areas, particularly within the Permian Basin," Apache CEO John Christmann said in a statement.

Paramount says the transaction and merger are the next steps in its transformation following the sale of its Musreau deep cut processing plant and properties in 2016.

Seven Generations Energy purchased 310 net sections of Deep Basin properties for $1.9 billion, while Pembina Pipeline purchased the Musreau complex and related midstream assets for $600 million.

Paramount says it will now redeploy its cash on hand and immediately increase production, cash flows, reserves and landholdings.

The company expects that, following the Apache buy and Trilogy merger (which is not conditional on closing of the Apache transaction), its fourth-quarter 2017 production will exceed 90,000 boe/d, up from 16,163 boe/d in the first quarter of the year.

“We have replaced more than the liquids-rich Montney lands and reserves we sold in 2016 and acquired a suite of top-tier development opportunities,” Paramount CEO Jim Riddell said in a statement.

“The combination of these three organizations will result in synergies in field operations, general and administrative expenses and development capital expenditures, as well as the optimization of processing and transportation infrastructure and commitments.”

Image: Apache Canada