After four years of development and deals, the Delaware Basin’s Endurance Resources said Nov. 22 that it has sold the majority of its assets in separate transactions with two entities.
Endurance, a Midand, Texas-based company backed by Lime Rock Partners, said it held 30,000 net surface acres in the Delaware as of June, including leasehold in Reeves County, Texas, and in Lea and Eddy counties, N.M.
Endurance did not name the buyers.
However, on Nov. 21, Concho Resources Inc. (NYSE: CXO) said it had agreed to buy 16,400 net northern Delaware Basin acres for $430 million from an undisclosed seller. About 10,000 net acres are located in the Red Hills area in Lea and Eddy counties.
Related: Concho Scratches A&D Itch Again With Delaware Deal
Endurance was likely the seller, based on existing wells and permits encompassing the acquired acreage, Scott Hanold, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets, said in a Nov. 22 report.
The majority of Concho’s deal value was associated with acreage in Red Hills in Lea County. Concho also purchased 6,400 acres in northern Eddy County.
Concho’s New Mexico purchase included 2,500 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d), of which 69% is oil.
In August, Endurance completed two wells, including a horizontal Brushy Canyon oil discovery in Lea County that flowed 544 bbl/d while a second well, the #1H Coronado 35 Federal, had an IP rate of 1.166 Mbbl.
Endurance’s Texas acreage produces largely natural gas. For the first eight months of the year, its Reeves operations averaged 9 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d), according to the Texas Railroad Commission.
The sales agreements allow Endurance and Lime Rock to realize value on the acquisition and development of assets in New Mexico and Texas that began with Lime Rock’s initial $100 million commitment in 2012.
Endurance was founded by CEO Don Ritter, who previously worked at Mobil and GeoMechanics International, and also by Garrett Smith, who previously served as CFO at Pioneer Natural Resources Co. (NYSE: PXD).
Ritter said that in the past four years, the Delaware and other parts of the Permian Basin have led the American oil renaissance.
Ritter said the buyers of both assets own assets complementary to what they sold.
“Over the last four years, we took many of these assets from a raw acreage position, assembled them for long lateral opportunities, drilled nearly three dozen wells using advanced drilling and completion techniques, and converted the positions to [HBP] status,” he said. “This leaves both positions de-risked, and the opportunity for the buyers to add production, drill longer laterals and achieve economies of scale.”
J. McLane, a managing director at Lime Rock, congratulated the Endurance team for its “relentless work on behalf of our investors.”
RBC Richardson Barr and Thompson & Knight LLP were advisers to Endurance Resources.
Both transactions are expected to close by January 2017, Endurance said.
Darren Barbee can be reached at dbarbee@hartenergy.com.
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