$3.2 billion move on LLOG opens doors to Gulf of America oil & gas scene for Harbour

December 22, 2025, by Melisa Cavcic

London-listed oil and gas company Harbour Energy has made a multibillion-dollar play for the U.S.-headquartered LLOG Exploration Company (LLOG), which is being acquired from LLOG Holdings for $3.2 billion, comprising $2.7 billion of cash and $0.5 billion of the UK player’s voting ordinary shares.

LLOG's FPU Salamanca; Source: Tampnet — LLOG’s FPU Salamanca; Source: Tampnet

Harbour claims that this acquisition marks its strategic entry into the U.S. Gulf of America (Gulf of Mexico), strengthening its global portfolio and establishing another core business unit alongside Norway, the UK, Argentina, and Mexico.

This move is said to add conventional offshore oil assets with significant operational control, increasing production, extending reserves life, and improving margins, while delivering differentiated growth profile with significant exploration opportunity, as material and increasing free cash flow supports competitive shareholder returns and investment grade profile.

Linda Z Cook, CEO of Harbour, commented: “With LLOG, we found the right combination of high-quality assets and a talented team, providing a strong strategic and cultural fit with our company. The transaction positions us as a leading player in a region with well-established infrastructure, a supportive fiscal and regulatory environment and opportunities for additional growth.

“The oil-weighted, deepwater LLOG portfolio enhances our production profile, provides significant operational control, extends reserve life and improves our margins. In addition, the LLOG organisation brings decades-long experience in the Gulf of America with a successful track record, creating a solid foundation for Harbour in the area.

“We are proud to build on LLOG’s strong heritage in the Gulf of America. Its advantaged portfolio and exceptional team, led by CEO Philip LeJeune, have established the company as one of the region’s most respected operators. Following completion, LLOG will serve as Harbour’s new Gulf of America business unit, which will incorporate the LLOG name in order to preserve and leverage its history and reputation.”

The acquisition, which is perceived to establish a material presence in one of the world’s most prolific offshore basins with well-established infrastructure and supplier base along with strong local and federal government support, provides high-quality, long-life, oil-weighted assets with production of 34 kboepd, operating costs of $12/boe and a blended federal and state tax rate of around 23%.

Alexander Krane, CFO of Harbour, remarked: “The LLOG business complements our portfolio with a high-quality, long-life asset base underpinning strong production and cash flow growth profiles. This transaction also builds on the recently announced agreements to acquire Waldorf in the UK and divest assets in Indonesia, materially enhancing our free cash flow outlook.

“Consistent with our practice following previous acquisitions, our priorities following completion of the transaction will be the safe integration of assets and people, ensuring a robust and resilient portfolio, continuing to deliver competitive shareholder returns and strengthening our investment-grade credit rating profile.”

The key assets include Who Dat in Mississippi Canyon, and Buckskin and Leon-Castile in Keathley Canyon – all operated by LLOG. Harbour’s production is expected to approximately double by 2028, underpinned by its position in the prolific Lower Tertiary Wilcox play. The acquisition supports overall production at about 500 kboepd to the end of the decade, adding 2P reserves of 271 mmboe, increasing the firm’s 2P reserves by 22%.

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Exploration & Production

Philip LeJeune, LLOG’s CEO, emphasized: “We are pleased to be joining an outstanding company and believe that by uniting our teams and expertise, we’re unlocking new possibilities, empowering our people, and setting the stage to achieve extraordinary results with Harbour.

“As we look to the future, we remain dedicated to maintaining the same high ethical and operational standards that have helped guide us for the past 48 years, but with a new partner whose shared vision of growth, innovation, and operational excellence will help us achieve significant successes through a strong collaborative culture.”

Harbour underlines that the upside potential is underpinned by significant drilling and lease inventory, with the deep inventory of high return, short cycle, infrastructure-led drilling opportunities, including the potential for eight wells across 2026 and 2027. The combined company will operate more than 80 leases, predominantly in Mississippi Canyon and Keathley Canyon.

LLOG is expected to secure 11 deepwater leases from the recent Gulf of America federal lease sale. Upon completion, LLOG will own 11% of Harbour’s listed voting ordinary shares with the latter’s current shareholders owning 89%, subject to adjustment resulting from the firm’s current share buyback program, which is expected to complete in the first quarter of 2026.

The completion of the acquisition, which is subject to customary closing conditions, including the expiration or termination of all waiting periods under the HSR Act in the U.S., is expected to occur in late Q1 2026.

This acquisition move comes shortly after Harbour Energy took steps to offload natural gas assets off the coast of Indonesia for a cash consideration of $215 million.