Silver Hill Energy Partners announced it has closed the acquisition of 100% of 1776 Energy’s interest in oil and gas properties, rights, and related assets in South Texas, primarily in Karnes and Gonzales Counties, Texas.
The package includes roughly 17,500 net acres and an estimated 550 gross drilling locations across the Eagle Ford and Austin Chalk formations, providing Silver Hill with what it described as a sizable inventory of undrilled opportunities in a mature, highly competitive core area.
Financial terms were not disclosed. Silver Hill said it funded the transaction using equity from Silver Hill Energy Partners IV, LP, and another Silver Hill-sponsored partnership, along with debt from a reserve-based credit facility arranged and led by Wells Fargo Securities, LLC.
Silver Hill said it plans to use the transaction as a platform to rebuild and expand its South Texas presence through additional bolt-on acquisitions and related investments spanning upstream, midstream, minerals and royalties.
Silver Hill, founded in 2011 and based in Dallas, said it has raised about $3.2 billion of institutional equity capital across five partnerships and currently operates in the Bakken, Haynesville and Eagle Ford. The company said its operated position spans approximately 186,000 net acres and 1,350 gross drilling locations, with reported production of about 380 mmcf/d of natural gas and 10,500 bbl/d of oil, alongside three midstream businesses.
1776 Energy is a privately held Houston-based oil and gas operator founded by William R. Huff, focused on drilling in the Eagle Ford Shale play of South Texas.
Support: Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP served as legal counsel to Silver Hill. Evercore acted as financial advisor, and Haynes and Boone, LLP served as legal counsel to 1776 Energy.
KEY QUOTES:
“We’re thrilled to re-establish a presence in South Texas following our successful exit from Webb County in 2023. Blank space in the core of the Eagle Ford is essentially non-existent and this acquisition uniquely provides us with a very substantial inventory of low-risk, high-rate-of-return undrilled locations.”
“The 1776 team has been a wonderful steward of the assets under the leadership of William R. Huff over the past 15 years, and we are excited to pick up where they left off. We view this as an outstanding opportunity to expand our South Texas operating footprint, and our team looks forward to applying its technical expertise and operational discipline as we develop and grow the asset alongside our sizeable Haynesville and Bakken businesses.”
Kyle D. Miller, Founder and CEO, Silver Hill Energy Partners
