QEP Resources, Inc. announces that its wholly owned subsidiaries, QEP Energy Company, QEP Marketing Company, and QEP Oil & Gas Company, have entered into a definitive agreement to sell natural gas and oil producing properties, undeveloped acreage and associated gas gathering and treating systems in the Haynesville/Cotton Valley for $735.0 million, subject to purchase price adjustments.

"The sale of our Haynesville/Cotton Valley business is an important next step in our process of becoming a Permian pure-play company,” commented Chuck Stanley, Chairman, President and CEO of QEP. “We intend to use the proceeds from this sale to fund the ongoing development of our core Permian assets, reduce debt, and return cash to shareholders through a share repurchase program."

The agreement provides for the sale of all of QEP’s Haynesville/Cotton Valley assets in northwest Louisiana to Aethon III, an affiliate of Aethon Energy, for a purchase price of $735.0 million. As part of this transaction, the buyer has agreed to assume all firm gas transportation agreements related to these assets. In addition, QEP will novate natural gas derivative contracts covering approximately 40 Bcf of gas for the last eleven months of 2019 to the buyer. The effective date of the transaction is July 1, 2018, and closing is expected in January 2019. The transaction is subject to closing conditions, including regulatory approval.