Joint development planned for Louisiana Austin Chalk

(iStock)

Two Texas firms have agreed to jointly develop properties contributed by both companies in the emerging Austin Chalk play in Louisiana.

The combined development of Upstream portfolio company Prime Rock Resources of Midland and privately held oil and gas exploration and production firm New Dawn Energy of Houston comprise approximately 120,000 net acres in Allen, Avoyelles, Beauregard, Rapides and Vernon Parishes, primarily in the legacy Masters Creek Field.

As part of the agreement, Prime Rock and New Dawn have established an area of mutual interest in which the companies will work together to jointly acquire additional acreage. The parties expect initial development under the agreement to begin during the fourth quarter of 2019.

“Prime Rock is pleased to partner with New Dawn in Masters Creek,” Prime Rock Resources President and CEO Manny Sirgo said in making the announcement. “We are excited about the potential benefits of applying modern drilling and completion technology in one of the most prolific legacy Austin Chalk fields in the entire trend. We look forward to working closely with New Dawn to jointly develop these assets.” Prime Rock has acquired more than 100,000 net acres in central Louisiana targeting the Cretaceous play.

New Dawn Energy Executive Vice President Ghasem Bayat says the companies believe theĀ  strategic combination of their respective acreage positions “creates one of the premiere positions in the entire trend.”

Read the announcement.