Oxy, Looking to Cut Debt, Sells D-J Minerals to Elk for $905MM
Elk Range Royalties purchased 250,000 net royalty acres from Occidental...
Elk Range Royalties purchased 250,000 net royalty acres from Occidental Petroleum in the Denver-Julesburg (D-J) Basin for $905 million, the minerals and royalties company said March 21.
The deal comes as Oxy works to reduce debt after closing a blockbuster $12 billion acquisition of Permian Basin private E&P CrownRock in August 2024.
The company aims to repay at least $4.5 billion in debt within 12 months of closing the CrownRock acquisition. Reports that Oxy was shopping a D-J minerals package of up to $1 billion first surfaced in February at the 2025 NAPE Summit.
According to the press release, Elk said the assets have a mix of current production, DUCs, and undeveloped upside. These assets will expand Elk Range’s presence in the D-J and align with the company’s royalty acquisition strategy. Elk Range said that Chevron Corp. and Civitas Resources Inc. are operators on the acreage.
Interior to undo Biden-era curbs on Alaska development
The Interior Department is moving to reopen millions...
The Interior Department is moving to reopen millions of acres in Alaska for oil and natural gas leasing, including parts of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and National Petroleum Reserve, as well as to remove barriers to pipeline and road construction, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum announced. Alaskan officials and some indigenous nations welcomed the move, though high risks and long-term political uncertainty may limit oil industry interest.
A breakthrough type of AI-based weather forecasting uses thousands of...
A breakthrough type of AI-based weather forecasting uses thousands of times less computing power and predicts five days worth of outfit guidelines tens of times faster than typical models, according to research published last week by Cambridge, Microsoft, the Alan Turing Institute, and Europe’s weather service. The new model—trained on data from weather stations, satellites, ships, and planes—can go toe to toe with the US Weather Service using just a tenth of the amount of data needed by conventional forecasting systems, the researchers said. Down the line, it could be used to improve natural disaster preparations and forecast hyper-local climate conditions like regional wind speeds or heat at a much faster rate than existing custom models, which can take years for researchers to build.
Brookfield Sells Pipeline Stake to ArcLight for Exit Totaling $1.7B
Brookfield Infrastructure will sell its final 25% stake in the Natural...
Brookfield Infrastructure will sell its final 25% stake in the Natural Gas Pipeline Co. of America (NGPL), one of the largest networks in the U.S., to ArcLight Capital Partners, Brookfield said March 21.
Once the deal is completed, ArcLight will own a 62.5% stake in the line.
“This sale represents a complete and successful exit of the business, generating total proceeds of over $1.7 billion,” Brookfield’s press release stated.
Elon Musk visited the Pentagon. Musk’s trip to the...
Elon Musk visited the Pentagon. Musk’s trip to the Pentagon, where he met with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, stirred controversy after the New York Times reported that Musk would be briefed on top secret plans for how the US would handle a potential war with China. Such information would give Musk an edge in business since his companies hold defense contracts and operate in China. However, President Trump, Musk, and Hegseth all forcefully denied the claims on social media, with the president saying “China will not even be mentioned or discussed.” But China was one of the topics covered in the meeting, according to the Wall Street Journal, though Trump reiterated afterwards that he would not show Musk “secret China war plans,” citing Musk’s business in China.
StubHub filed for an IPO on the New York Stock Exchange.
President Trump rescinded an order targeting prestigious international law firm Paul Weiss after it agreed to provide $40 million of free legal work to support the administration’s policies and to scrap its DEI program.
Elon Musk told Tesla employees “hang onto your stock,” at a surprise all-hands meeting meant to reassure his staff on Thursday night.
The judge overseeing the high stakes case over the government’s use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport planes full of alleged Venezuelan gang members called the implications of the government’s actions “incredibly troublesome and problematic and concerning” and pressed the administration for more details.
TikTok has removed the “chubby filter,” which altered images to make the bodies of people in them look larger following backlash towards people sharing videos using it.
