Utica oil producer producer Infinity Natural Resources has priced its IPO at $20 a share, giving investors a first look at the public market’s valuation of the new oil play in Ohio.

With 60 million shares now outstanding and production of some 25,000 boe/d, the IPO’s pricing on Jan. 30 values the oily Utica play at $48,000 per flowing boe/d, according to Hart Energy calculations.

The offering gives a stock valuation on Infinity of $1.2 billion.

The production is 49% liquids and includes some Marcellus gas production in Pennsylvania.

Meaningful deal-price comps for the Utica oil window on a per-flowing-boe basis were not previously available as most operators’ entry has been through boots-on-the-ground leasing and acquisitions of mostly undeveloped property.

The largest Utica oil operator, Encino Energy, is privately held, backed by CPP Investments.

The other significant Utica oil producer is large-cap EOG Resources, which has significant holdings in multiple U.S. basins, including the Permian, Eagle Ford and Bakken.

Infinity’s offering on Jan. 30 was as estimated: 13.25 million shares. The $20 per share was within the estimated range of between $18 per share and $21 per share.

The stock is to begin trading on the NYSE as INR in the morning.

The over-allotment is up to 2 million shares, according to its S-1 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Barrels and acres

Backed by private-equity firms Pearl Energy Investments and NGP, Morgantown, West Virginia-based Infinity entered the Marcellus in 2018 in southwestern Pennsylvania.

In late 2021, it entered the Utica oil play, growing its horizontal well count from two to 131 by this past year-end.

Company-wide production was 25,000 boe/d, 49% liquids, at third-quarter-end. Of this, more than 7,000 bbl/d were Utica oil.

Among all operators in the oil-weighted Utica, new wells beginning in 2021 had first-90-day IPs averaging 902 bbl/d on a 15,000-ft-lateral basis among 208 wells that were online at least 90 days through this past September, Infinity reported in the S-1.

At year-end 2023, Infinity held 62,700 net acres for Utica oil in Ohio; 30,300 net for Marcellus gas in Pennsylvania; and 30,000 net for Utica gas in Pennsylvania.

It had an additional 12,600 net acres in the Marcellus in Ohio but does not have plans to develop this currently, it reported in the S-1.

Proved reserves are 141.6 MMboe, 48% proved developed, 22% oil, 18% NGL, 60% gas.

In the Ohio oil window, it had 118 operated producing wells at year-end 2023 and 158 future locations. In the Marcellus in Pennsylvania, it had 13 operated wells online at that time and 118 future locations.

Pearl, NGP

With the offering on Jan. 30, shares outstanding total 60 million. Pearl owns 49.3%; NGP owns 16.4%. Infinity CEO Zack Arnold and CFO David Sproule each own 3%.

Pre-IPO, Pearl held 63.5%; NGP, 21.2%; and Arnold and Sproule, each 3.8%.

Steve Gray, a director nominee, owns 233,149 shares. Gray was a co-founder and CEO of NGP-backed RSP Permian, which he sold to Concho Resources in 2018, and held a Concho board seat until selling it to ConocoPhillips in 2021.

Book-runners and co-managers for Infinity’s IPO totaled 14: Citigroup, Raymond James, RBC Capital Markets, BofA Securities, Capital One Securities, Truist Securities, Keybanc Capital Markets, Stephens Inc., Comerica Securities, Fifth Third Securities, First Citizens Capital Securities, BTIG, BOK Financial Securities and Zions Capital Markets.

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