PDC Energy Closes On Sale Of Natural Gas Assets

Closed on the sale of its non-core Colorado natural gas assets.

PDC Energy Inc. (Nasdaq: PDCE) has sold its Piceance and other non-core Colorado holdings to Caerus Oil and Gas LLC for about $185 million.

The assets sold are about 99% natural gas in terms of reserves and include an estimated 85 billion cubic feet equivalent (Bcfe) of net proved developed producing reserves as of December 31, 2012. The assets produced approximately 40 million net cubic feet of natural gas equivalent per day in the first quarter of 2013.

The effective date for the transaction, which was initially announced in February, is Jan. 1.

James Trimble, president and chief executive of PDC Energy, said the transaction will enable the company to focus on more strategic areas.

"We … plan to redeploy the capital to develop our high-return, liquid-rich Wattenberg and Utica Shale horizontal drilling inventory. With the closing, we have completed another major milestone in our transition toward a more liquid-rich asset base. We expect our 2013 production mix to be approximately 54% liquids which is a significant change from 35% liquids in 2012. We expect to largely fund our 2013 capital program with the proceeds from the sale and internally generated cash flow," he said.

PDC Energy is an independent oil and gas company based in Denver. Its focus is on the liquids-rich areas of Wattenbeg Field in Colorado, including the Niobrara and Codell plays, the Utica shale in Ohio and the Marcellus shale in West Virginia. Privately-held Caerus Oil and Gas LLC is also based in Denver.