By Shasha Dai
Warburg Pincus is committing up to $500 million to back
Independence Resources Management, an oil and gas exploration and
production startup.
Equity for the deal is split between the New York firm's Warburg
Pincus Private Equity XI LP, a $11.2 billion 2011-vintage fund, and
Warburg Pincus Energy LP, a $4 billion 2013-vintage vehicle.
Independence plans to acquire and develop onshore oil and gas
properties in Anadarko and other producing basins primarily in the
Midcontinent and Rockies regions, it said in a news release.
The Houston company will focus on oil and gas plays with "low
recovery factors," where "advanced drilling and completion
techniques" will create attractive risk-adjusted returns. It will
"acquire a meaningful footprint in targeted plays" which it will
delineate and develop over time, it said in the release.
Independence is being led by Chief Executive Mike Van Horn,
whose career of nearly four decades included stints at such
companies as Newfield Exploration Co ., an oil and gas producer in
The Woodlands, Texas. Mr. Van Horn and the rest of the management
team previously had worked together at Enron Oil & Gas, now
known as EOG Resources Inc.
Private-equity firms have been circling the energy industry
since the oil-price slump. Some, such as Warburg and Lime Rock
Partners, focus on equity investments in the sector. Lime Rock, for
instance, backed Tulsa, Okla., oil and gas startup Capstone Natural
Resources II LLC in December with $100 million in equity
commitment.
Other firms, such as EIG Global Energy Partners, focus on
credit-related investments. EIG is investing $1 billion in debt and
preferred equity in publicly traded exploration and production
company Breitburn Energy Partners LP.
Write to Shasha Dai at asknewswires@wsj.com
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