CPPIB and Texas firm in $1.25B venture to acquire ‘large, high-quality' U.S oil assets

CPPIB, which invests on behalf of the Canada Pension Plan, says its partner, Encino Energy, LLC, has pledged US$25 million to the partnership

TORONTO — The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board says it will commit up to $1 billion to a partnership with a Texas company which will buy oil and gas producing assets in the United States.

CPPIB, which invests on behalf of the Canada Pension Plan, says its partner, Encino Energy, LLC, has pledged US$25 million to the partnership.

It says the resulting company, dubbed Encino Acquisition Partners, will buy “large, high-quality assets” that have established production in mature basins throughout the lower 48 U.S. states.

New technologies that have opened development of shale oil and gas formations have allowed the U.S. to boost oil production from four million barrels per day in 2008 to more than nine million bpd, while natural gas production has jumped from 64 million cubic feet per day to over 89 million cf/d, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Avik Dey, head of natural resources for the CPPIB, says it partnered with Encino because of its operational experience and proven track record of acquiring U.S. assets.

The private company was founded in 2011, according to its website, and is concentrated mainly on the Anadarko Basin of Texas and Oklahoma.

The Canadian Press