DALLAS, TEXAS — February 4, 2020 — Peregrine Energy Partners has agreed to acquire producing overriding royalty interests in the North Slope of Alaska from Caelus Energy for an undisclosed sum.
“We are very excited about our latest acquisition,” commented C.J. Tibbs, Peregrine's Managing Director. “Italian oil major Eni recently reached a deal with Caelus to buy out their ownership in the Oooguruk Field, making Eni the sole owner/operator within this lease. The retained royalties quickly became non-core to Caelus and Peregrine was able to provide a simple and direct avenue for divestment.”
Oil production in Oooguruk began in 2008. Today there are 25 PDP wells producing 10,000 boepd from the lease. Eni also owns 100% of the nearby Nikaitchuq lease and plans to drill additional wells in both fields, taking advantage of operational synergies to increase production by an estimated 7,000 boepd.
“We are happy to have put ourselves in the line of increased development,” said Josh Prier, Managing Partner of Peregrine. “We appreciated the opportunity to work on this project and to acquire royalty rights under a world-class operator like Eni who is committed to putting additional capital into this field. Working with Peregrine allowed Caelus to fast-forward years of capital in a tax-efficient manner. They could then redeploy the sale proceeds into more core areas of the business where the returns are more favorable.”
This is the second recent acquisition in Alaska for Peregrine, having acquired royalty assets on the Kenai Peninsula the year prior. Peregrine is currently looking for additional opportunities to work with operators in much the same fashion, regardless of location.
“The structure makes sense for any E&P company who has interest in divesting non-core royalty income to generate debt-free capital,” said Mr. Prier. “Many of the operators we've worked with prefer to control their growth through the drill bit. Peregrine is able to add value to operators by freeing up future revenue today which allows them to invest more capital in the ground and move their 3P reserves to 1P that much quicker.”
About Peregrine Energy Partners — Peregrine Energy Partners is a private purchaser of oil and natural gas royalties with more than 50 years of combined experience. Since 2004, the company's founders have worked alongside hundreds of mineral owners in 30 states across millions of acres. With corporate headquarters in Dallas and an acquisition office in Denver, Peregrine provides value and optionality to royalty owners and E&P firms looking to maximize the value of their minerals.
For more information or to obtain a valuation, contact CJ Tibbs at (214) 329-1452 or cj@peregrinelp.com, or Josh Prier at (303) 256-6275 or josh@peregrinelp.com.