Noble Energy sites weak markets
Houston-based Noble Energy (ticker: NBL) announced today that it will postpone an IPO of its wholly owned subsidiary Noble Midstream Partners, which the company planned to list on the New York Stock Exchange with the ticker NBLX. According to Noble, the company made the decision “as a result of unfavorable equity market conditions.”
Noble said it would continue to evaluate timing for an IPO of Noble Midstream Partners, but gave no timeline on when it might pursue a second IPO.
The IPO would have consisted of the company’s DJ Basin crude oil, natural gas and water-related midstream assets, according to the company. Noble holds more than 500,000 net acres in northern Colorado’s DJ Basin, with the company’s largest onshore field located in the Wattenberg. Noble’s production from the DJ represents over a third of the company’s production, which according to EnerCom’s E&P Weekly for the week ended November 13, 2015, was 326.4 MBOEPD over the trailing twelve months. The company has invested approximately $600 million in DJ midstream infrastructure in order to meet the demand coming from the region according to a company investor presentation.
When the master limited partnership first filed for the IPO in October, the proposed maximum aggregate offering price was listed as $100 million. That was updated to more than $301.87 million, according to the Nov. 12 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The company planned to offer 12.5 million common units representing limited partner interests, which were expected to be priced between $19 and $21. The company also expected to give underwriters a 30-day option to purchase an additional 1.88 million shares at the IPO price.
The offer was slated to represent about a 34 percent to 39 percent stake in the company, with Noble Midstream’s partner, Noble Energy Inc. (NYSE: NBL), retaining a majority of the limited partner interests, reports the Houston Business Journal.
