QEP Energy Co., a wholly owned subsidiary of Denver-based QEP Resources Inc., is selling natural gas assets in southwest Wyoming in two deals worth a combined $777.5 million.
The first deal involves the agreed upon sale of all of QEP’s assets in the Pinedale Anticline field in Sublette County, Wyo., to Pinedale Energy Partners LLC, an affiliate of Tulsa-based Oak Ridge Natural Resources LLC, for $740 million.
The Pinedale deal includes an estimated 964 bcf of gas equivalent in proved reserves as of Dec. 31, 2016, and first-quarter 2017 net production of 234 MMcfed, of which 12% was liquids. The firm has been running 1 rig on its 17,400 net acres.
In the second deal, QEP on June 30 completed the sale of certain noncore gas assets in southern Wyoming to an undisclosed buyer for $37.5 million. The deal covered an estimated 15.2 bcfe of proved reserves as of Dec. 31, 2016, and first-quarter 2017 net production of 4 MMcfed, of which 2% was liquids.
Like many US producers since 2016, QEP has increased its focus on the Permian basin. The firm has previously said it expects to run an average five of its seven active rigs companywide in the basin this year.
Oak Ridge Natural Resources, formed in 2015 and backed by alternative investment management firm Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP, targets properties in the Ark-La-Tex and Midcontinent regions.
Contact Matt Zborowski at [email protected].