Cenovus Energy Inc. said Nov. 30 it had reached agreements to sell its Husky retail fuels network and the Wembley assets in its conventional business for combined total cash proceeds of nearly CA$660 million.

The transactions mark the latest asset sales since the Canadian oil and gas producer laid out debt reduction plans at the start of 2021 following close of its all-stock merger with Husky Energy.

“This is another demonstration of Cenovus delivering on opportunities to continue to optimize our portfolio and unlock value from assets that will not attract significant investment in our business,” Alex Pourbaix, Cenovus’ president and CEO, commented in a company release.

Earlier in November, Cenovus announced the substantial achievement of its interim net debt target of $10 billion, the doubling of its quarterly dividend as of fourth-quarter 2021 and the establishment of a normal course issuer bid program for the repurchase of up to 146.5 million of the company’s common shares.

Proceeds from the latest transactions, however, will advance net debt repayment toward the company’s longer-term target of $8 billion and enhance the company’s capacity to increase shareholder returns.

“With these latest transactions, we now expect to realize more than $1.1 billion of total proceeds from sales announced in 2021,” Pourbaix added.

In its Nov. 30 release, Cenovus said it agreed to sell 337 gas stations in its Husky retail fuels network to Parkland Corp. and Federated Co-operatives Ltd. for total cash proceeds of CA$420 million. Cenovus is retaining its commercial fuels business, which includes approximately 170 cardlock, bulk plant and travel center locations. The transaction is expected to close in mid-2022, and is subject to approval under the Competition Act (Canada) and other customary closing conditions.

The sale in the conventional segment comprises primarily of Cenovus’ Montney assets in Wembley, which an undisclosed company agreed to acquire for cash proceeds of approximately CA$238 million. Total production from the asset averaged approximately 3,200 boe/d in 2021, with about 38% oil and NGL. The transaction is expected to close in December, subject to customary closing conditions.

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