Wapiti Closes On Purchase of Texas Assets

Closed on its purchase of producing oil and gas properties.

An affiliate of Wapiti Energy LLC has closed on its purchase of producing oil and gas properties, primarily in Texas, from Layline Petroleum LLC for $375 million.

Collectively, the assets contain about 23.2 million barrels of oil equivalent (BOE) in proved reserves.

Bart Agree, Wapiti’s president and chief executive said the transaction was an important step forward for the company. “Wapiti has demonstrated the ability to source and close high quality opportunities not being marketed. We see this as a great asset base and believe that our team will continue to successfully develop the assets and create substantial value for our investors.”

Funding for the acquisition was provided by Wells Fargo Bank NA and Scotiabank, which co-led a senior revolving line of credit, and by the Carlyle Energy Mezzanine Opportunities Fund, L.P., which provided subordinated financing.

Layline was formed by Chris Lewis and Dr. Mukul Sharma to deploy modern technologies on legacy oil fields and substantially increase their productive capacity. Chris Lewis said, “This transaction marks the conclusion of six years of rapid expansion, with the financial support of a Union Bank-led credit facility, for the benefit of our investors including funds managed by Goldman Sachs Investment Partners.”

Both Layline and Wapiti are privately-held oil and as companies based in Houston. Wapiti has closed over $1 billion of oil and gas property transactions since its formation in 2000.