Capstone Natural Resources Announces Growth Capital Investment from Lime Rock Partners

TULSA, Okla., Feb. 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Capstone Natural Resources, LLC, a Tulsa, Oklahoma-based startup oil and gas producing company, today announces a $100 million growth equity commitment from Lime Rock Partners, a global energy-focused private equity firm.  The capital will fund potential acquisitions and initial drilling and completion expenditures in the Permian Basin.  Capstone will be particularly focused on oil opportunities in the Central Basin Platform of West Texas and Eastern New Mexico.

The senior leadership of Capstone brings to the company's growth strategy a wealth of experience pursuing a similar model as senior officers of Arena Resources, a publicly traded company that was sold to SandRidge Energy for $1.6 billion in 2010.  Capstone is led by Phil Terry, CEO and former CEO of Arena Resources, and David Ricks, President and COO and former VP of Operations at Arena Resources.  They lead a highly accomplished team that includes Pat McConn, VP of Geology; Tom Wahl, VP of Land; and Kim Nichols, Controller.

Phil Terry, CEO of Capstone, said, "We are thrilled to start working with the Lime Rock Partners team.  They not only have shown the confidence in us to make a large equity commitment, they have also made it clear that their investment in Capstone only starts with capital.  They will also bring an exceptional array of experience in the Permian Basin through their other investments and numerous important relationships in the oilfield service and technology sectors that will help us execute our strategy.   The entire Capstone team is ready to build again a successful company in the Permian Basin with Lime Rock as our partner."

Jeff Scofield, a Managing Director of the Lime Rock Partners team, added, "We are equally excited to have begun partnering with the Capstone team in their new venture.  We have found that specialist teams with deep experience in a particular basin are usually the greatest value creators in the E&P sector, and we are confident that the Capstone team will be able to apply their phenomenal success at Arena to a similar strategy at Capstone.  They bring a depth of talent across all disciplines, an impressive focus in their business plan, trusted relationships in the industry and among landowners, and a unique get-to-work attitude.  We look forward to working together for many years."

Established in 1998, Lime Rock manages $3.9 billion of private capital for investment in the energy industry through Lime Rock Partners, investors of growth capital in energy companies worldwide, and Lime Rock Resources, acquirers and operators of oil and gas properties in the United States. With $3.0 billion under management, Lime Rock Partners is a creative, value-adding, and long-term investor of growth capital in exploration and production, energy service, and oil service technology companies worldwide. It has offices in Houston Texas; Westport, Connecticut; Aberdeen, Scotland; London, England; and Dubai, UAE. 

For more information on Lime Rock, please visit www.lrpartners.com.

SOURCE Lime Rock Partners