Ithaca Energy plc agrees to buy Suncor's offshore Canada stakes for US$860M
The agreed purchase includes Terra Nova and White Rose interests, with closing targeted for the first half of 2027.
Ines Halvorsen
The first half of 2027 is the target closing window for a US$860 million purchase of Canadian offshore oil stakes, after Ithaca Energy plc LONITH announced the agreement on Oct. 5. Ithaca expects the acquired fields to produce an average 30,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day from 2027 through 2031. Suncor Energy Inc. TSESU NYSESU is the seller, and Ithaca may pay it up to US$250 million more under a Brent-linked provision running for 27 months from July 1, 2026.
The upfront cash price is payable at closing, subject to adjustments based on the July 1 economic effective date. Ithaca plans to fund the payment with cash on hand, its borrowing base facility and secured Canadian financing. The company has not assigned a dollar amount to each funding source.
The deal covers a 48 per cent operated stake in Terra Nova and a 40 per cent non-operated stake in the White Rose Existing Lands. Ithaca will also acquire 38.6 per cent of the White Rose Growth Lands, which include the West White Rose Extension, according to its Oct. 5 release.
Ithaca estimates the package holds 103 million barrels of oil equivalent in proved and probable reserves, valuing the upfront purchase at about US$8 for each barrel of reserves. It also identifies about 200 million barrels of oil equivalent in additional resources. Ithaca estimates the fields have about 17 years of proved-and-probable reserve life.
The acquired fields are forecast to reach between 35,000 and 40,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2029. Ithaca attributes that rise to the West White Rose development, where it expects first production in the fourth quarter of 2026. The production profile is a company forecast tied to the assets' proved and probable reserves.
“This acquisition marks the next era of growth for Ithaca Energy as we make our inaugural international acquisition in Offshore East Coast Canada.”
Ithaca executive chairman Yaniv Friedman said in the Oct. 5 release.
Suncor Sets Out the Assumed Liabilities
The purchase price is only one of the obligations described by the seller. In its Oct. 4 announcement, Suncor said Ithaca will assume a C$500 million regulatory well compliance program at Terra Nova starting in 2027. Suncor also estimated total abandonment and lease liabilities associated with the assets at C$1.4 billion, which Ithaca will assume.
Suncor will retain interests in Hebron and Hibernia after the sale. The seller separately raised its planned monthly share repurchases to C$750 million from C$500 million beginning in October 2026.
Ithaca expects the acquired business to increase adjusted EBITDAX, free cash flow and dividend per share immediately after completion. Those are company forecasts, and no amount of uplift was given in the announcement. The company said it has already executed deal-contingent hedges to protect transaction value and future cash flows at prevailing market prices.
West White Rose's expected first production in the fourth quarter of 2026 is the next operating milestone. Ithaca is targeting financial close in the first half of 2027, subject to Canadian regulatory and government approvals; Suncor also lists partner consents among the closing conditions.
