California Resources Sells $90M Uinta Basin Assets After Berry Corp Merger, Funding Crimson Midstream Acquisition

California Resources Corporation announced on September 17 that it agreed to sell its Uinta Basin assets for approximately $90 million in cash to an undisclosed buyer. The deal carries an effective date of July 1, 2026, with closing expected before year-end, subject to third-party consents and customary conditions. CRC will direct proceeds toward shareholder returns and carbon management investments inside California.

The assets came through CRC's all-stock merger with Berry Corporation, which closed December 18, 2025, at an enterprise value announced at approximately $717 million. Berry brought CRC two regional portfolios: conventional production in California's San Joaquin Basin and Uinta Basin properties in northeastern Utah. CRC has now elected to shed the Utah portion and concentrate its production base entirely in California.

Berry Corp's Uinta Output and What the Buyer Is Getting

Berry Corporation produced approximately 4,200 barrels of oil equivalent per day from its Utah operations as of the second quarter of 2025, according to Berry's investor filings. That production was roughly 65 percent oil and liquids, with the remaining 35 percent natural gas. At $90 million for 4,200 flowing boe/d, the implied acquisition price works out to approximately $21,400 per flowing barrel of daily production.

That per-flowing-barrel figure sits 19 percent below a recent Permian benchmark. When Diversified Energy acquired Elliott Investment Management's Birch Permian Holdings for $1.8 billion in September 2026, the implied price was approximately $26,500 per flowing barrel, as Oil Authority reported. The Uinta discount reflects the basin's limited pipeline takeaway and its waxy crude, which trades at a steeper differential to WTI than Permian barrels at major market hubs.

Portfolio Math: Crimson Buy Effectively Self-Funded

CRC's concurrent move on Crimson Midstream makes the Uinta sale more than a simple divestiture. On September 1, 2026, CRC closed the $63 million all-cash acquisition of Crimson Midstream Holdings from CorEnergy Infrastructure Trust. The California Public Utilities Commission approved the Crimson deal on August 13.

Set the two transactions against each other: $90 million received from the Uinta Basin sale minus $63 million paid for Crimson equals a net $27 million cash gain. CRC adds a California-wide midstream pipeline network and exits a non-core basin while retaining positive net cash flow from the paired transactions. CEO Francisco Leon stated in the press release: "This transaction sharpens our focus on California and captures additional value from the Berry merger."

Crimson's pipeline corridors are also being evaluated for potential CO2 transport across California. CRC achieved first CO2 injection at Carbon TerraVault I in May 2026, the company's flagship carbon sequestration project in the San Joaquin Valley. Dual-use pipeline infrastructure for both oil transport and CO2 transport adds optionality not fully reflected in the $63 million acquisition price.

Crude Context: Fifth Session of Losses for WTI

WTI crude settled at $89.64 per barrel on Tuesday's CME close, down $2.52, or 2.73 percent, per Trading Economics data sourcing CME settlement figures. Brent crude settled at $99.32 per barrel on the ICE, down $1.69, or 1.68 percent. Both benchmarks extended losses into a fifth consecutive session, pressured by Iran nuclear diplomacy progress and Saudi Arabia's effort to restart its East-West pipeline.

For Uinta Basin producers, waxy crude from northeastern Utah typically trades at a $5 to $8 per barrel discount to WTI at market hubs, owing to limited pipeline takeaway capacity. At current WTI levels, Uinta crude is fetching approximately $82 to $85 per barrel. At those netbacks, the buyer acquires production above the reported breakeven thresholds for Uinta Basin horizontal wells.

Horizontal Drilling Upside Passes to the Buyer

The Uinta Basin's potential for horizontal development factored into analyst expectations before the CRC divestiture. Hart Energy reported in late 2025 that CRC might sell Berry's approximately 100,000-acre Uinta position after the merger closed. Berry had drilled four operated horizontal wells in the Uteland Butte Formation during the third quarter of 2025, averaging 3,800 barrels per day gross at peak production, per Berry's investor materials.

The undisclosed buyer inherits those horizontal results along with a portfolio Berry's team described as stacked pay with upside across multiple formations. CRC will update full-year 2026 financial guidance when it releases third-quarter results, incorporating both the Crimson acquisition costs and the expected Uinta Basin sale proceeds. The transaction reflects a broader pattern across 2026: operators using elevated crude prices to monetize non-core assets and concentrate capital in integrated platforms closer to home.