Valorem Energy LLC landed a capital investment from a Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP affiliate as the newly formed E&P works toward its targeted $1 billion for deals in the Rockies and Midcon.

Oklahoma City-based Valorem Energy said May 19 it received an initial $300 million equity commitment from the Kayne Private Energy Income Fund LP and members of the company's management team, which are also former executives of Continental Resources Corp. (NYSE: CLR).

Valorem is a private E&P formed in 2017 to deploy more than $1 billion of capital to acquire and operate large, producing onshore U.S. oil and gas assets, with an emphasis on the Rockies and Midcontinent regions. The company is led by co-founders—CEO Justin Cope and COO Heath Mireles.

Cope most recently led Continental’s Midcontinent operations as vice president of southern production and previously led the business development function as a vice president. He also worked in investment banking at Goldman Sachs and served as a captain in the U.S. Army prior to joining Continental.

Mireles previously served as Vice President of resource development at Continental. Prior to joining Continental, he began his career at BP Plc (NYSE: BP) where he served in various technical and operational roles throughout North America.