Changes and updates to private company listings
Since the OGFJ100P was last published in September, some of the companies listed have changed hands. Several have been acquired by or merged with public companies and others have new names. Some of the top executives have changed as well. Those companies that have become public will no longer be listed in this report.
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A new addition to the list is Rosetta Resources Inc., which was formed in June 2005 and began operation in July 2005 following the acquisition of substantially all of the domestic oil and gas business of Calpine Corp. Most of the current management team, including CEO B. A. Berilgen, previously operated these oil and gas assets while employed by Calpine. The funding of the acquisition of these properties, valued at about $1.05 billion, was through a 144A private placement, plus additional borrowings of $325 million under two credit facilities. With headquarters in Houston, Rosetta’s E&P activities are concentrated in the Sacramento basin of California, South Texas, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Rocky Mountains.
Houston-based AROC Inc., has morphed into Southern Bay Energy LLC. Southern Bay acquired all of the oil and gas assets of AROC for $10 million. These assets are mainly in South Texas, South Louisiana, and the Permian basin. Southern Bay founder and president Frank Lodzinski (formerly president and CEO of AROC), who acquired private equity funding from Wachovia Capital Partners, says the funds will be used to acquire assets and further the company’s strategy of low-risk field development and exploration projects.
BreitBurn Energy, headquartered in Los Angeles, will continue to operate under this name but has been acquired by Provident Energy Trust, a Calgary-based energy income trust listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the American Stock Exchange. Hal Washburn and Randall Breitenbach, co-founders and co-CEOs of BreitBurn, will continue to share those duties. The company employs about 70 persons. Net proved reserves are more than 100 million boe, according to the company, with operations in Southern California and Wyoming.
Houston-based Gryphon Exploration Co. was acquired by Woodside Energy (USA) Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Woodside Petroleum Ltd., Australia’s largest publicly traded E&P company. Woodside paid $282.7 million to acquire Gryphon, which had extensive offshore assets in the Gulf of Mexico (118 leases, 95 of which were operated by the company). After taking into account Gryphon’s net debt, the total acquisition cost was $296.9 million. Independent petroleum consultants Ryder Scott estimated Gryphon’s proved reserves as of June 30, 2005, at 72.5 bcf of gas equivalent. Proved and probable reserves are estimated at 114 bcf of gas equivalent. Gryphon was formed in 2000 by Warburg Pincus, Cheniere Energy, and company management.
Perenco, a limited liability company based in Houston, will no longer be listed in the OGFJ100P. Its parent, London- and Paris-based Perenco, an independent E&P company with operations in 13 countries, has divested its entire portfolio of producing assets in West Texas, New Mexico, and the US Gulf Coast for an undisclosed amount. These assets were part of the company’s purchase of CMS Oil and Gas Inc. in 2002 and were producing some 5500 boe/d.
Midland, Tex.-based Southwest Royalties Inc. will no longer be listed in this report. Clayton Williams Energy Inc., a Nasdaq-listed independent energy company, acquired Southwest Royalties for $187.8 million in 2004. The company also purchased Southwest Partners LP, a related limited partnership, for $7 million. With the two acquisitions, CWEI said it has added 187 bcfe of proved reserves, increasing the company’s existing reserves by 150% and doubling reserve life. Substantially all of Southwest’s assets were in the Permian basin. CWEI has headquarters in Midland.
Houston-based Petrohawk Energy Corp. purchased privately-held Wynn-Crosby Energy Inc. and related limited partnerships that Wynn-Crosby managed for a total cash price of $425 million in late 2004. The transaction included an estimated 200 bcfe of proved gas reserves and 46 MMcfe/day of production, 74% of which was natural gas. The company also claimed another 100 bcfe of probable and possible reserves. The acquired properties are located in South Texas, East Texas, West Texas, the Arkoma basin in Arkansas, and in the Mid-Continent region. Wynn-Crosby had headquarters in Plano, Tex.
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