Crescent Energy buys EP Energy’s Uinta oil and gas assets for $815 million

(Reuters) – Oil and gas producer Crescent Energy said on Wednesday it would buy around 145,000 net acres of oil- and gas-producing assets in the Uinta Basin of Utah from privately owned Verdun Oil Co for $815 million.

Verdun’s owner, the buyout firm EnCap Investments LP, had agreed to take over rival EP Energy’s assets in the Eagle Ford and Uinta basins around August last year in a $1.5 billion deal.

However, Reuters reported on Tuesday that U.S. antitrust regulators, in a rare move, threatened to block EnCap’s takeover of the EP Energy assets, citing concerns about the buyout firm’s dominance in the Uinta shale play.

To resolve the regulator’s concerns and avoid a legal challenge, EP Energy put the oil-producing acreage in Utah for sale again, according to the report.

Crescent said on Wednesday its acquisition of the assets will immediately add to its cash flow. The company plans to operate two rigs in the basin for the rest of the year after the deal closes, which is expected in the first half of 2022.

Houston, Texas-based Crescent Energy was formed last year by a merger between buyout firm KKR’s Independence Energy and Contango Oil & Gas Co.

(Reporting by Rithika Krishna in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)