Parsley Energy Inc. (NYSE: PE) started off September by adding 5,600 premium net acres in the Permian Basin that could have a value of roughly $200 million—through trades.
The company is not alone in doing smaller, tidying deals or adding small amounts of acreage. Other companies have launched efforts to make small-scale transactions in the Permian.
In August, the company decided to hit the pause button on A&D after a buying spree in 2017 in which the company closed about $3.4 billion in deals. That included its $2.8 billion deal to purchase 71,000 net acres from Double Eagle Energy Permian LLC.
Scott Hanold, an analyst with RBC Capital Markets, said management—including Parsley president and COO Matt Gallagher—is more intent on executing on its inventory after acquiring a total of 231,000 net acres in the Midland and Delaware basins.
Instead, the company said it would go for swaps with “cost-less land deals,” Hanold said. Parsley said it had identified at least 13 opportunities that could equate to $1 billion in acquisitions.
On Sept. 1, Parsley said in an investor presentation that it had traded out of scattered and nonoperated properties with 25% average working interests and into concentrated, operated properties with 85% average working interest.
“Recent trades added more than 500,000 net lateral feet to horizontal drilling inventory, on top of 900,000 net lateral feet previously added following the Double Eagle acquisitions,” the company said. Post Double Eagle trades are “akin to adding 5,600 premium net acres with four target intervals.”
Parsley paid roughly $36,000 per acre for its Double Eagle transaction, giving the traded acreage a ballpark value of $202 million.
Parsley said the acreage assumes 32 wells per drilling spacing unit (DSU) and 7,500 ft lateral wells.
In an area Parsley calls the “four corners” because it overlaps Midland, Glasscock, Upton and Reagan counties, Texas, the company traded 24 net nonoperated locations with an average working interest of 21%. In exchange, Parsley added 56 net operated locations with an average 85% working interest.
Parsley said the trade effectively adds 31 net operated locations “near the front” of its drilling inventory at no cost. The company sees the potential for subsequent fill-in trades to further increase inventory.
Parsley is not alone as it and other companies routinely make micro deals in the ever-expensive Permian.
In June, Enduro Royalty Trust (NYSE: NDRO) said it planned to sell about 5,078 net acres in Texas and New Mexico for $50.4 million. The acreage was divvied up through eight agreements or an average $6.3 million per deal.
On Aug. 30, Enduro Royalty said its unitholders had approved sales to Parsley; Chisholm Energy Holdings; OXY USA; Forge Energy; Summit West Resources; DE Midland III; Tracker Resource Development III; and QEP Energy Co. The divestitures are expected to close by Sept. 30.
Darren Barbee can be reached at dbarbee@hartenergy.com.
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