NP Resources, LLC Announces Acquisition of Bakken Assets in North Dakota's Williston Basin

DENVER, Jan. 14, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- NP Resources, LLC ("NPR"), a venture between NPR Management Holdings, LLC ("NPM") of Denver, Colorado and Vortus Investments of Fort Worth, Texas has acquired certain assets from an undisclosed seller in Billings, Golden Valley, and McKenzie Counties, North Dakota.

Williston Basin Acquisition Highlights

• 89,500 net acres, 81.5% average working interest
• 72,250 net acres HBP for development and 17,339 undeveloped net acres
• 53 operated and 7 non-operated wells, 85% average net revenue interest
• 1,050 BOEPD net production from the Bakken/Three Forks
• 173 high quality undeveloped drilling locations

NP Resources, LLC is a newly formed company organized and managed by the principals, founders and management of North Plains Energy, LLC entities along with its private equity partner, Vortus Investment Advisors, LLC ("Vortus").  "This marks our group's latest acquisition in the current low price environment and provides NPR the opportunity to bring the latest enhanced horizontal drilling and completion techniques to this relatively undeveloped area of the Williston Basin. The held-by-production nature of the assets will give us time to organize a well-planned development program that maximizes the return on invested capital as the industry evolves," says Steve Mercer, CEO of NPR.  Clayton Miller, President and COO, noted, "This acquisition will build on our successful model of efficient drilling and production operations in North Dakota that will deliver top tier development and lifting costs." 

Jeff Miller and Brian Crumley, the Co-Founding Partners of Vortus, commented, "The NPM team has many years of experience in the Williston Basin Bakken play.  Having successfully worked with the management team in prior ventures, this gives us another exciting opportunity capitalizing on the current market conditions for the benefit of Vortus' partners."

About NPR Management Holdings, LLC
NPR Management Holdings, LLC is a privately held company headquartered in Denver, Colorado formed by the founders, principals, and management of North Plains Energy, LLC ("NPE").  NPE's history dates back to 2007 where it set about to acquire and develop 60,000 net acres in Williams, McKenzie, Divide, and Dunn counties in the early stages of development and de-risking the western side of the Nesson Anticline.   NPE sold its prior joint venture holdings and wholly owned leasehold including production and net undeveloped acreage in 2012 for over $700 million.   As a result of the team's collective experience and knowledge in the basin, NP Resources, LLC is now capitalized and positioned to seek out "off market" opportunities that it sees as having considerable economic upside with a nominal increase in oil prices during this current price environment.

About Vortus Investments
Vortus Investments was founded by Jeffrey W. Miller and Brian C. Crumley and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. Vortus is an energy private equity firm focused on partnering with successful owner/operators to provide development capital in the lower middle market onshore U.S. upstream sector.  NP Resources, LLC represents Vortus' fourth investment in the upstream sector and its first investment in the Williston Basin.   For more information, visit www.vortus.com.

SOURCE NP Resources, LLC