DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jonah Energy LLC (Jonah Energy) today announced that it has completed the acquisition of the Jonah field operations located in Sublette County, Wyoming, from Encana Oil & Gas (USA) Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Encana Corporation (Encana) (TSX, NYSE: ECA) for a purchase price of approximately US$1.8 billion effective December 1, 2013, subject to customary purchase price adjustments. The Jonah field acquisition was originally announced on March 31, 2014.
This is the first acquisition by Jonah Energy, which was formed by TPG, a global private investment firm, to acquire and operate North American onshore oil & gas properties. The properties acquired by Jonah Energy comprise a total productive area of about 24,000 acres and over 1,500 active wells in the Jonah field and over 100,000 undeveloped acres adjacent to Jonah known as the Normally Pressured Lance (NPL) area. Year-end 2013 proved reserves totaled 1.5 trillion cubic feet equivalent (Tcfe) with Q1 2014 net production of 311 Mmcfe/d.
Jonah Energy is led by Tom Hart, Chief Executive Officer, and Craig Manaugh, President and Chief Operating Officer. The company’s board includes Dan Allen Hughes, Jr., President and CEO of the Dan A. Hughes Company, and TPG Partners Michael MacDougall and Christopher Ortega, in addition to Mssrs. Hart and Manaugh.
“We are very pleased to close this acquisition and to announce the name of our new company,” said Hart. “We believe the name Jonah Energy will resonate in our industry, as it honors the people who discovered and developed this great asset and reflects our dedication to growing our company with Jonah field as our foundation.”
Manaugh said, “We are excited to move forward under our new name as we underscore our commitment to the Jonah field employees and the surrounding communities that have been an integral part of the field’s success. With a world-class gas field, long reserve life and future drilling potential, we believe the new Jonah Energy holds much promise and opportunity.”
TPG has been an active energy investor for nearly two decades and has completed 18 energy transactions, most recently including Petro Harvester Oil & Gas, the Cleveland/Tonkawa subsidiary of Chesapeake Energy, Axip Energy Services (formerly Valerus Compression), Copano Energy, Northern Tier Energy, Alinta Energy and Beta Renewables, among others.
“The Jonah field has proven to be one of the country’s highest quality natural gas fields, and natural gas will play an increasingly important role in meeting America’s energy needs over the coming decades,” said Ortega. “We are looking forward to working with our partners in Jonah Energy as we invest in and grow this prime asset.”
Jonah Energy plans to retain the employees currently working in connection with the Jonah field and also plans to continue investment in the field and adjacent acreage.
About Jonah Energy LLC
Headquartered in Denver, Colorado, Jonah Energy LLC is the new name of the Jonah field operations located in Sublette County, Wyoming. Jonah Energy LLC was formed by TPG in early 2014 to acquire and operate the Jonah field operations and it will also serve as a platform to own and operate additional producing onshore oil & gas properties in North America. For more information, please visit www.jonahenergy.com.
About TPG
TPG is a leading global private investment firm founded in 1992 with over $59 billion of assets under management, and offices in San Francisco, Fort Worth, Houston, Austin, Beijing, Chongqing, Hong Kong, London, Luxembourg, Melbourne, Moscow, Mumbai, New York, Paris, São Paulo, Shanghai, Singapore and Tokyo. TPG has extensive experience with global public and private investments executed through leveraged buyouts, recapitalizations, spinouts, growth investments, joint ventures and restructurings, and with complex carve-out transactions, including Northern Tier Energy; Ashland Distribution to form Nexeo Solutions; Texas Genco from CenterPoint Energy; Burger King from Diageo; Lenovo’s acquisition of IBM’s PC business; and HealthSouth’s Surgery Division to form Surgical Care Affiliates, among others. For more information, visit www.tpg.com.
