Chalker Energy Partners II and Rusk Energy Ltd. Close on Sale of Oil and Gas Properties
Chalker Energy Partners II and Rusk Energy Ltd., a subsidiary of Chalker, today announced the sale of substantially all of their oil and gas properties to NFR Energy LLC. NFR is a recently formed joint venture launched by First Reserve Corporation and Nabors Industries with the objective of investing in oil and gas exploitation opportunities throughout North America. The acquisition by NFR includes both producing and undeveloped natural gas properties, and consists of over 24,000 acres of leasehold in the Cotton Valley Trend of East Texas, 85 producing wells yielding approximately 23 Mmcfe per day and proved reserves of nearly 300 Bcfe. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“I am extremely proud of our team’s success,” said Doug Krenek, president and CEO of Chalker. “The project was headed by proven entrepreneurs with a strong operating history. The Chalker team contributed the expertise in engineering, operations, land and day-to-day management needed to build a scalable set of assets in the mature East Texas basin in a very short period of time. We were able to boost production three fold, keep costs low and generate the inventory needed to ensure an outstanding return for the management team and our investors.”
“Chalker II did an outstanding job on the execution side of this business,” said investor Alan Smith, managing director of Quantum Energy Partners. “Quantum is very pleased to have successfully partnered with Chalker again. This team is a testament to staying focused, executing well and finishing strong.”
Private-equity firms have been realizing lucrative returns investing in the energy sector due to rising energy prices but this deal stands out, according to Brandon Freeman, president of Freeman Group, who contributed assets and capital to Rusk Energy. “Within an 18-month period of relatively flat natural gas prices, we were able to assemble a great team, acquire and develop our acreage position, and package one of the most significant private energy deals of 2007– earning over a 350 percent net return on our equity investment.”
Simmons & Company and Griffis & Associates acted as co-advisors to Chalker for the transaction.
About Chalker Energy Partners II
Chalker Energy Partners II is an oil and natural gas acquisition, exploitation, development and production company headquartered in Houston, Texas. Chalker Energy Partners II is a privately held portfolio company of Quantum Energy Partners. To learn more about Chalker Energy Partners II, please visit www.chalkerenergy.com.
About Rusk Energy
Rusk Energy is a privately held entity owned by Chalker Energy Partners II and Freeman Group. To learn more about Rusk Energy, please visit www.chalkerenergy.com.
About Quantum Energy Partners
Founded in 1998, Quantum is an investment firm specializing in the energy industry with over $3.2 billion in capital under management, of which $2.0 billion is in its family of private equity funds and $1.2 billion is in its direct property acquisition fund, Quantum Resources, which it co-manages with Aspect Energy, LLC. Quantum primarily targets investments in the oil & gas sector, while also considering opportunities in the midstream, service, and related energy sectors. To learn more about Quantum, please visit www.quantumep.com.
About Freeman Group
Freeman Group is a Dallas-based private investment firm seeking long-term capital appreciation through a multi-disciplined investment approach across a broad range of industries, including communications, enterprise services, energy, manufacturing and real estate. To learn more about Freeman Group, please visit www.freemangp.com.
About NFR Energy
NFR Energy is a joint venture of US-based private equity firm First Reserve Corporation (www.firstreserve.com) and Nabors Industries (www.nabors.com) to invest in oil and gas exploitation opportunities throughout North America. For more information about NFR Energy, please visit www.nfrenergy.com.