Nickel Road Operating Announces Partnership With Vortus Investments

DENVER, April 16, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Nickel Road Operating LLC ("Nickel Road") of Denver, Colorado announces it has partnered with private equity firm Vortus Investment Advisors, LLC of Fort Worth, Texas.  The partnership will focus on further acquiring, leasing, and developing oil and natural gas assets in the Denver-Julesburg (DJ) Basin.

Nickel Road was recently formed by Andrew Haney and Kit Tincher following an acreage contribution by Cobalt Oil & Gas, LLC ("Cobalt") and Prelude Petroleum, LLC ("Prelude"). Cobalt and Prelude have been active in the DJ Basin since 2014 under the leadership of Jackie Haney and Ahna Mee.  The company will continue to capture accretive opportunities in the basin for additional development.

Jeffrey Miller and Brian Crumley, the Managing Partners at Vortus commented, "We are excited to have partnered with Nickel Road in building and developing this tremendous asset base in one of the high-return areas of the country. Nickel Road has built an impressive team with a successful track record operating in the DJ Basin. We are excited about the future for this partnership and to begin development of this low-cost asset that offers attractive returns in today's environment."

The Nickel Road team has finalized its 2018 development plan, with an expectation of commencing drilling and completion operations by mid-year.  Nickel Road has made recent additions to their management team.  Dana Johnson and Dan Brugeman bring a wealth of operational and leadership experience in the Rockies region to a seasoned management team that has collectively drilled and completed over 100 horizontal wells in the Niobrara and Codell.  Combining a top-tier operating team with a proven asset base, Nickel Road is well positioned to deliver significant value and production growth in the near term.

Andrew Haney and Dana Johnson, Co-Presidents of Nickel Road, stated, "Nickel Road is very excited to partner with Vortus and to create a significant position in the DJ Basin.  As proven operators in the State of Colorado, we plan to employ our expertise to maximize asset value leveraging our culture of safety, continuous improvement, and responsible development."  

Nickel Road was advised by Jack Luellen from Dickie McCamey.

Vortus was advised by Stephen Szalkowski, Jeff Munoz, Lauren Anderson and Alice Parker from Latham & Watkins LLP.

About Nickel Road Operating

Nickel Road Operating LLC is a Denver-based oil and gas acquisition and development company focused in the DJ Basin. Nickel Road is led by Andrew Haney (Co-President), Dana Johnson (Co-President), Kit Tincher (Vice President of Development & Geology), and Dan Brugeman (Operations Manager).  Jackie Haney and Ahna Mee provide strategic advisory services to Nickel Road and serve on the Management Committee.

For additional information please visit www.nickelroadoperating.com.

About Vortus Investments

Vortus Investment Advisors, LLC is a Fort Worth-based private equity firm focused on the lower to middle market upstream energy industry in North America.  Vortus' asset-based investment strategy provides acquisition and development capital in partnership with successful owner/operators in the North American onshore upstream industry.   Vortus targets privately negotiated transactions in the lower to middle market requiring approximately $25 million to $75 million of equity capital.

For additional information: www.vortus.com.

SOURCE Nickel Road Operating LLC