History
Ovintiv began as a 2020 rebrand and US redomiciliation of Encana, then bought Permian and Montney assets while selling Bakken, Uinta and Anadarko holdings to pay for them.
2019-2021: From Encana to Ovintiv
The story begins with a change of identity rather than a deal with an outsider. In November 2019 Encana Corporation filed to reorganize into a new company, Ovintiv Inc. Under a Canadian plan of arrangement, Encana shares were first consolidated one-for-five and then exchanged one-for-one into the new parent, which would move from Canada to become a Delaware corporation. A December 2019 amendment set 9 December as the record date for the shareholder meeting and explained what would change for holders. Ovintiv's certificate designates the Delaware Court of Chancery as the exclusive forum, whereas derivative, oppression and dissent remedies for Encana run through specified Canadian courts, and dividend and withholding tax treatment would differ between Canadian and US holders.
The reorganization closed on 24 January 2020, after shareholders approved it with more than 90% support. Ovintiv began trading on the NYSE and TSX. Five days later it set up credit facilities totalling $4 billion, made up of $2.5 billion in the US and $1.5 billion in Canada, maturing in 2024. In April 2021 the company tidied up an earlier purchase by merging Newfield Exploration Company, by then renamed Ovintiv Exploration Inc., directly into Ovintiv and taking on Newfield's remaining notes.
2022-2023: Doubling down on the Permian
The record is quiet from April 2022 to April 2023. In April 2023 Ovintiv agreed to buy Permian Basin upstream and midstream assets from Black Swan Oil & Gas, PetroLegacy II and Piedra Energy III/IV, all backed by EnCap Investments. The price was $3.125 billion in cash plus about 32.6 million Ovintiv shares. An $825 million two-year term loan was arranged as backup, dependent on the deal closing.
In May the company priced $2.3 billion of new senior notes in four maturities running from 2025 to 2053, and closed the offering on 31 May. It also planned to use proceeds from selling its North Dakota Bakken assets. The purchase closed on 12 June 2023 for $3.241 billion in cash after adjustments, plus the shares. The backup loan was not needed. Shares on issue rose from 245.7 million at the end of 2022 to 271.7 million at the end of 2023, a period that included the roughly 32.6 million shares issued for the purchase.
2024-2025: Buying into the Montney
After another quiet stretch, Ovintiv agreed in November 2024 to buy Paramount Resources' Montney assets in the Grande Prairie and Zama regions of Alberta for CAD$3.325 billion in cash, plus a swap of its own Horn River Basin gas assets in British Columbia. In December it arranged $2.5 billion of bridge loans: $1.5 billion tied to an asset sale and $1.0 billion over two years.
The asset sale was its Utah Uinta Basin holdings, sold to FourPoint Resources on 22 January 2025. The proceeds repaid and ended the $1.5 billion loan. The Paramount purchase, about 109,000 net acres, closed on 31 January 2025, paid for with short-term borrowings, cash including the Uinta proceeds, and the Horn River swap.
2025-2026: NuVista and the Anadarko exit
In November 2025 Ovintiv agreed to buy the rest of NuVista Energy, an Alberta Montney producer in which it already held 9.6% from an earlier private purchase. The deal, worth about $2.7 billion (C$3.8 billion) at C$18.00 a share, was half cash and half stock and added roughly 140,000 net acres next to its existing Montney operations. A $1.2 billion two-year term loan was arranged in December for the cash part.
The deal closed on 3 February 2026, with C$1.57 billion paid in cash and about 30.1 million shares issued. Shares on issue stood at 275.5 million in 2026. On 23 February Ovintiv agreed to sell its Anadarko Basin assets, about 360,000 net acres in west-central Oklahoma, to MidCon II BuyerCo for $3.0 billion.
That sale closed on 9 April 2026 at $2.9 billion. Ovintiv used the proceeds to repay and end the C$1.57 billion NuVista loan and called all $700 million of its 5.650% notes due 2028 for early redemption. As of that date, the company had left the Bakken, Uinta and Anadarko basins and focused on the Permian and the Alberta Montney.
Written from the 19 story beats below (2019 to 9 Apr 2026), which come from the company's own announcements and filings.