Global investment firm KKR has announced it will buy oil and gas properties from Linn Energy for $350 billion, the latest in a series of aggressive energy-related purchases this year. Led by Chairman Henry R. Kravis, KKR will make the purchase through its KKR Natural Resources division with Fleur de Lis Energy. The deal will close in the fourth quarter.
“These are high quality assets that fit our acquisition and development strategy perfectly,” said Fleur de Lis CEO Porter Trimble. “This field has an extensive geologic column consisting of multiple producing horizons within the Permian Basin. This will allow the FDL team to access over 33 MMBOE of long life reserves.”
The purchase includes over 7,200 contiguous acres with multiple hydrocarbon-rich zones, including the Strawn, Wolfcamp, and Spraberry formations. The yield is primarily oil, with an estimated production of over 5,200 boe/d for the fourth quarter.
“We believe this represents an exciting opportunity to acquire high-quality producing assets that will benefit from ongoing development and the application of new technologies,” said Jonathan Smidt, Head of KKR Natural Resources.
This is KKR’s second investment with partner Fleur de Lis (the first was the July 2014 acquisition of Selma Chalk properties from Penn Virginia Corporation). The partnership began in March 2014, when the two companies joined forces to specifically target oil and gas investments in North America. This was also the time when advanced drilling technology facilitated the discovery of new oil reserves on the North American continent, obviously exciting the investors, who hope to capitalize on the booming demand for Texas investments.
Since 2009, KKR has invested or committed about $4.7 billion in energy-related companies, making them one of the most active private market investors in energy. FDL is a prominent private energy firm with over $1 billion of available capital to acquire, reports KKR’s Media Center. Its continuous partnership with KKR has helped the private equity firm further capitalize on the energy market.