Endurance will use more manpower than Encana
Endurace to purchase the Encana office and refuelling facilities
Minutes of a Special Regional Council meeting Wednesday, April 24th
The Northern Rockies Regional District Board met with representatives of Encana Corporation, Mike Forgo, Vice President Business Services and Stakeholder Relations; Angela White, Surface Landman; and Endurance Energy, Dennis Lawrence.
Under the community charter the meeting was a closed one.
Afterwards the In-Camera meeting was reported:
It was announced that as of April 23rd, 2013, Encana had sold its assets in the Jean Marie Basin to Endurance Energy. Mr. Forgo confirmed that Encana will continue to have a presence in the Northern Rockies, but that there will now be a new player in the region, putting additional funding into natural gas development.
This change in ownership was good news for the Northern Rockies, as Endurance had a different view on the developing the assets compared to Encana.
Following an initial transition process, more active development is planned for these assets with increased drilling operations. It was confirmed that all Encana operational staff will continue to be employed by Endurance.
The local Encana office and fuelling station will be transferred to the new company, and Encana will retain its Horn River presence. There has been no official press release on the sale.
Regional Councillor Danny Soles asked how long the company expected to be operating in the Jean Marie. Lawrence said the company is looking for long-term business in the play noting that the financial backer is a very patient investor.
He said Endurance has a long-term focus in the company and is six to eight times more labour-intensive than Encana was. It proposes to generate many new wells with massive job opportunities.
Mayor Bill Streeper gave a detailed history of gas activity in the Jean Marie play, noting it was very different, and more labour-intensive, than modern shale gas development.
Lawrence said there have been improvements in technology in conventional drilling that are more efficient than they have been historically, but the planned conventional drilling operations would employee more labour than hydraulic fracturing.
Streeper reminded the delegates that Fort Nelson has an extremely skilled service sector and he encouraged the new company to hire as many local companies as possible. He was assured that if the capability and expertise is present locally, this will be used where possible.
The company specialises in shallow gas operations, and staff has experience in northeastern B.C. through a project it did at Tommy Lakes under Focus Energy Trust.
About the companies:
CALGARY – Endurance Energy Ltd., an early-stage exploration and production company focussed on the acquisition and development of shallow natural gas assets in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin, announced that it has recapitalised the company with an investment from Warburg Pincus, a leading global private equity firm focussed on growth investing.
Warburg Pincus now owns a majority stake in the company and has agreed to the terms under which it would make additional investments of up to $155 million to support its growth. Several of the existing shareholders of Endurance, including management and select board members, have agreed to make additional investments into the recapitalised company in addition to rolling over their existing shares.
Founded in 2008, Calgary-based Endurance operates in southern Alberta. Endurance’s management team, led by Chairman Derek Evans and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dennis Lawrence, has extensive experience and success in this part of the basin at several other exploration and production companies including Focus Energy Trust and Renaissance Energy Ltd.
“The recapitalisation of Endurance marks the next step in the development and growth of the Company,” said Dennis Lawrence, Endurance’s CEO. “Partnering with an investor the calibre of Warburg Pincus, with its deep industry experience and financial resources, gives us an even greater ability to execute our business plan and grow through the acquisition and development of shallow natural gas assets in the WCSB.”
“We are pleased to be partnering with Dennis and the rest of the Endurance team and look forward to working closely with them to support the Company’s growth plans,” said David Krieger, a Warburg Pincus Managing Director and Director of Endurance. “We believe the Company is well-positioned to economically acquire and develop shallow gas assets in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin over the coming years.”
Warburg Pincus’ investment in Endurance brings to six the total number of Canadian energy companies currently in its portfolio, which also includes Black Swan Energy, Canbriam Energy, MEG Energy, Osum Oil Sands, and Velvet Energy.
Founded in 2008, Calgary-based Endurance Energy is an early-stage exploration and production company focussed on the acquisition and development of natural gas assets in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. Specifically, Endurance’s area of focus is southern Alberta and Saskatchewan where the Company’s use of horizontal drilling and completion techniques and strong operational discipline are expected to deliver an attractive risk/reward profile.
Warburg Pincus LLC is a leading global private equity firm focussed on growth investing.
The firm has more than $35 billion in assets under management. Its active portfolio of more than 130 companies is highly diversified by stage, sector and geography. Warburg Pincus is an experienced partner to management teams seeking to build durable companies with sustainable value. Founded in 1966, Warburg Pincus has raised 13 private equity funds which have invested more than $40 billion in over 650 companies in more than 30 countries.
For more than two decades, the firm’s energy group has provided over $6 billion of equity for companies around the world involved in oil and gas exploration and production, midstream, power generation, oilfield technology and related-services, and alternative energy development.
Warburg Pincus has been the lead investor in several dozen energy companies including Antero Resources, Bill Barrett Corporation, Encore Acquisition Company, ElectroMagnetic GeoServices, Fairfield Energy, Kosmos Energy, Laredo Petroleum, Newfield Exploration, Spinnaker Exploration and Targa Resources.
The firm is headquartered in New York with offices in Amsterdam, Beijing, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, London, Luxembourg, Mauritius, Mumbai, San Francisco, São Paulo, and Shanghai.
For more information, please visit www.warburgpincus.com.
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