The western Canadian marketplace is short assets for sale for between C$5- and C$10 million, according to investment-banking firm Sayer Securities Ltd., Calgary. "When smaller-size assets have been made available, there has been a feeding frenzy, resulting in an escalation of prices," says Alan Tambosso, Sayer president. Junior E&P companies depend on buying assets under C$10 million, and then exploiting them, for growth. Divestment firms are reporting a record number of dataroom visitors-and with firms of all sizes, "from the most junior of producers right up to the largest majors," Tambosso says. Prices that are being paid for western Canadian assets have reached a new high: a median C$46,196 per barrel of oil equivalent (BOE) per day in first-quarter 2005, compared with C$22,333 in first-quarter 2002, according to the firm. The new median means buying a 100-BOE-per-day asset costs about C$5 million, Tambosso notes; three years earlier, C$5 million would win a 250-BOE-per-day property. "A disposition of 100 BOE per day or less is almost insignificant to a larger producer, so the marketplace has recently rarely seen many dispositions in this size range from the larger companies," he adds. Also, there is little incentive for producers to let go of a small property, when experiencing companywide, strong cash flow. "Another reason for the lack of smaller packages is that companies are loath to sell any barrels of daily production as long as it is increasingly difficult to add daily barrels internally," he adds. He expects an E&P company "will figure out that it might take a little bit of work but it could be extremely lucrative to feed properties into this hungry marketplace. The hottest disposition in town could be a large package that is broken into smaller, bite-size pieces." Some relief is expected this fall with the launch of a Canadian version of The Oil & Gas Asset Clearinghouse auction. The expansion of the U.S. auction into Canada is the result in part of the merger of parent Petroleum Place Inc. with Calgary-based investment banker Tristone Capital Inc.

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