Murphy Oil Corp., based in El Dorado, said Wednesday it has closed on the sale of its operations in Malaysia to a subsidiary of PTT Exploration and Production Public Company Ltd.
Murphy, which first announced the $2 billion deal on March 21, also said it expects to report a gain of about $1 billion, after closing adjustments, with no tax liabilities related to the transaction. PTT is based in Thailand.
Murphy also announced Wednesday it has completed $300 million in share repurchases as of the end of the second quarter. The repurchases are part of a previously authorized and disclosed $500 million program. Murphy purchased 11.4 million shares outstanding, a 6.6% reduction from 173.6 million shares outstanding as of April 30, at an average price of $26.34 per share. The current share repurchase program expires at the end of 2020.
Murphy shares closed Tuesday at $24.60.
“Murphy remains committed to spending within cash flow while investing in our new Gulf of Mexico assets,” Roger W. Jenkins, Murphy’s president and chief executive officer, said in a news release. He noted that the sale was one of three major transactions for the company over the last nine months.
Murphy, he said, is “now set up for a transformed future with no revolver borrowings and liquidity of more than $2 billion.”
The Malaysian properties contributed 129 million barrels of oil equivalent, or 16 percent, of Murphy’s 816 million barrels of oil equivalent in year-end proved reserves, the company said. The properties being sold produced more than 48,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.