Denbury Resources Inc., Dallas, (NYSE: DNR) has closed its acquisition of the Hastings Field complex in Texas near Houston from Venoco Inc., Denver, (NYSE: VQ) for $201 million.

The purchase price includes approximately $4.9 million for the sale of certain surface land, oilfield equipment and other assets scheduled to close later. Venoco retained a 2% override and a reversionary interest of approximately 25% following payout.

The assets include an average 90% working interest on approximately 4,600 net acres in Brazoria County, Texas, involving 374 wellbores with about 150 active. Production averaged approximately 2,500 barrels of oil equivalent per day net during 2008. Proved reserves are approximately 7.7 million barrels of oil equivalent based on year-end 2008 SEC prices. Venoco’s year-end 2007 reserves for Hastings were 14.4 million barrels equivalent.

Denbury does not plan to begin tertiary CO2 recovery until 2011, following completion of its Green pipeline currently under construction.

“We are quite pleased to complete this sale and the opportunity it affords us to reset our balance sheet,” says Tim Marquez, Venoco chairman and chief executive. The deal allows Venoco to reduce net debt by $200 million to approximately $600 million, he says.

Venoco chief financial officer Tim Ficker says, “As a result of the sale of the Hastings complex, we are well positioned from a liquidity perspective to face the challenging credit environment. Our resulting liquidity, along with our robust 2009 hedging program, which covers 100% of our production guidance, should allow us to fund our 2009 capital expenditures without having to draw down on the revolver.”

Venoco operates in California and Texas, including three offshore platforms in the Santa Barbara Channel, three nonoperated interests, four Southern California onshore properties, and extensive operations in Northern California's Sacramento Basin and 15 fields in Texas.

Denbury focuses on tertiary oil recovery in Mississippi, Alabama, the Barnett shale and southeastern Texas.