OGFJ100P company update
John S. Herold Inc., the trusted independent research firm, has once again provided OGFJ with updated production data for our periodic ranking of US-based private E&P companies. The rankings provided by Herold are based on operated production only within the US.
Since April’s issue and the “year-to-date” data published, the data has been updated. Numbers now include production for the entire year of 2007.
Updated production numbers aren’t the only thing of interest this month. Since the last installment, there has been a lot of activity in the private sector.
The past few months have seen public companies acquire large private companies – companies that have consistently ranked high on our OGFJ100P listings.
In one such move, Concho Resources Inc. has agreed to purchase all the outstanding general partner, limited partner, and membership interests of Henry Petroleum and certain affiliated entities for $565 million in cash.
Henry Petroleum jumped to No. 9 in this listing from its previous spot at No. 23 in April. The Midland, Tex.-based oil and gas exploration and production company holds a large position in the Spraberry/Wolfcamp play in West Texas where it has drilled over 500 wells since 2002.
“Henry’s properties are a perfect complement to our existing Southeast New Mexico core asset. This acquisition establishes a second proven growth engine within the Permian Basin for Concho by increasing our portfolio of identified opportunities by 60%,” commented Timothy A. Leach, Concho’s chairman and CEO.
Continuing with this trend was XTO Energy Inc. The company has gobbled up two of the listing’s higher-ranked companies – No. 17-ranked Headington Oil Co., and No. 30-ranked Hunt Petroleum Corp.
In late May, XTO paid $1.85 billion for Headington Oil. The purchase included 352,000 net acres of Bakken Shale leasehold in Montana and North Dakota and internal engineers estimate proved reserves on the properties to be 68 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMboe), of which 60% are proved developed.
In early July, XTO bought out No. 30-ranked Hunt Petroleum Corp. The company slipped from No. 18 with 5,132,515 boe in the April issue to No. 30 with 2,428,047 boe at year end 2007. Regardless, Hunt’s assets in East Texas and central and northern Louisiana overlapped and aligned so well with XTO’s Eastern Region assets that the company paid Hunt and other associated entities $4.186 billion for them.
XTO Energy’s internal engineers estimate proved reserves on the properties to be 1.052 tcfe, of which 62% are proved developed. Daily production of 197 MMcf of natural gas, 8,500 bbls of oil, and 2,300 bbls of natural gas liquids will be added to XTO’s production upon closing.
On the other side of the coin, private company and newcomer to the list, Tulsa, Okla.-based Laredo Petroleum Inc., recently purchased certain high risk, high decline Verden area properties from public company Linn Energy LLC for $185 million.
Linn Energy will retain the option to participate in future qualifying Verden wells after a substantial portion of the drilling risk has been mitigated. Linn Energy anticipates closing during the third quarter 2008.
Other new additions to the list are Wolverine Energy, Yuma Exploration and Production Co., Force 5 Energy, Shelby Resources LLC, and Proteus Energy Corp. While production data on these companies is not known, and therefore rank has not been established, readers may still find them of interest.
Wolverine Energy has been in business over 25 years. The company has oil and gas properties around the country from traditional development in Michigan Antrim Shale play to heavy oil in the Santa Barbara county, Calif. area. The company made a major discovery in the Utah Hingeline area in 2003. The Covenant field in the Hingeline is expected to produce 70 million bbl of oil.
Yuma is a Houston-based private company founded in 1983. The company drills roughly 20 wells a year and in April, made a discovery in Plaquemines Parish, La. in the West Black Bay area. The Rapala Well produced at a rate of 531 b/d and 1 MMcf/d. Yuma holds a roughly 20% working interest in the prospect. Operator on the well is Helis Oil & Gas Co. LLC.
Another newcomer to the list is Force 5 Energy LLC. This Houston-based company was formed from EnCap Investments LP, certain members of the former senior management team of KCS Energy Corp., and Charlie Prioleau. The company is set to acquire, exploit, and produce oil and gas reserves principally in south and east Texas and northern Louisiana.
The company received an equity commitment from various affiliates of EnCap Investments and other minority investors for $100,000,000.
In April, privately-held Shelby Resources LLC sold reserves, production, and certain oil and gas properties in Kansas to Denver-based Teton Energy Corp. for $53.4 million.
The final newcomer is Proteus Energy Corp., an independent petroleum producer acquiring and operating oil and gas fields in California. President of Proteus California and vice president of operations of Proteus Energy Corp., Daniel A. Franchi was recently appointed to the board of directors of Transmeridian Exploration Inc.
Click here to download a .pdf 2007 total production ranked by BOE - privately held E&P companies