NGP commits $400 M to launch of Prairie Storm Energy

Natural Gas Partners, through its affiliate, NGP Natural Resources XI, L.P has made a $400 million equity commitment to Prairie Storm Energy, a firm focused on oil and gas assets in western Canada.

Prairie Storm Energy will be led by Hugh Ross as President & CEO, Ketan Panchmatia as VP Finance & CFO, Greg Groten as VP Exploration, Rob Morrison as VP Operations and Julian Din as VP Business Development.

Prairie Storm is focused on acquiring, developing and exploiting industry leading, large scale oil and gas assets in select regions of Western Canada. With a significant capital base to draw upon, the company will apply a measured and disciplined approach to establishing compelling positions in regions providing pre-eminent operating efficiencies and superior long-term rates of return.

Craig Glick, Senior Managing Director of NGP, commented,

“The Prairie Storm team is well-equipped to benefit from the volatility that currently exists in today’s marketplace and the opportunities we see developing in Western Canada. Our confidence in management’s financial and technical capabilities is reflected in the significant equity commitment we are making to the Company.”

The Board of Directors will initially be comprised of Messrs. Ross and Din, Craig Glick and Christopher Ray who both serve as Senior Managing Directors of NGP, Brian Minnehan a Managing Director of NGP, Bruce G. Waterman and R. Keith MacLeod.

Mr. Waterman was most recently an Executive Vice President of Agrium Inc., and has also served as Chief Financial Officer. Prior to Agrium, he was Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Talisman Energy Inc. Mr. Waterman currently serves as a Director of Encana Corporation, Enbridge Income Fund Holdings Inc. and Irving Oil Limited.

Mr. MacLeod most recently held the position of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Sproule Associates Ltd., one of North America’s foremost engineering consulting firms. He currently serves as a Director of Trilogy Energy Corp. and Manitok Energy Inc.

Mr. John W. Swendsen, Vice-Chairman of Corporate and Investment Banking for the National Bank of Canada has also been appointed as a Special Advisor to the Board of Directors of the company. Mr. Swendsen has been actively involved in building the National Bank of Canada into an industry leader in banking the junior oil and gas market in Canada.