Tamarack Valley Energy and Headwater Exploration have agreed to merge in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately US$7.2 billion (C$10 billion), creating the largest publicly traded pure-play producer in Alberta’s Clearwater oil play.
The combined producer is expected to have more than 80,000 boed of run-rate production, over 300 MMboe of proved and probable reserves and more than 3,000 identified drilling locations. Its land position will span more than 1,500 sections across the greater Clearwater fairway, including core positions at Marten Hills, Nipisi and Marten Hills West.
Tamarack also expects to expand its oil transportation capacity following the merger. The company has secured 25,000 bpd of Trans Mountain capacity to Canada’s West Coast beginning in first-quarter 2027 and 10,000 bpd of potential capacity on the proposed South Bow Prairie Connector, which would provide access to Cushing and the U.S. Gulf Coast.
As part of the transaction, certain non-core exploration assets will be transferred into a new publicly listed company, Tributary Exploration. The portfolio will include Mannville exploration acreage in Alberta, thermal heavy-oil opportunities in Saskatchewan and the McCully natural gas asset in New Brunswick.