Buying assets can be faster than building them from scratch. For Gulf Coast Western, a series of carefully structured deals has expanded drilling rights, added technical data, and opened new territory since the Dallas company’s founding in 1970.
A 2021 CBN review of the firm highlighted two transactions from 2016 that show how this approach works in practice.
The Northcote Energy Deal
When Gulf Coast Western acquired Northcote Energy Ltd. in 2016, both sides came away with something useful. Northcote’s drilling program was accelerated and broadened. Gulf Coast Western, for its part, secured a 50% working interest in several key Northcote wells, plus related saltwater disposal resources. Disposal capacity matters in oil production because wells bring up large volumes of brine that must be handled safely.
Seismic Data from Orbit Energy Partners
A second deal arrived in January 2016. Orbit Gulf Coast Exploration LLC, a Gulf Coast Western subsidiary, announced it had purchased all assets belonging to Orbit Energy Partners LLC. The package included proprietary rights to 100 square miles of 3D seismic data covering the area around Lafayette, Louisiana.
Seismic surveys give geologists a three-dimensional picture of rock layers underground, helping them decide where a well is most likely to succeed. Owning that data outright gives the company an advantage when planning future drilling. Orbit Gulf Coast Exploration had already taken over Orbit Energy Partners’ production activity in October 2015, so the purchase completed a transition already underway. The deal turned an operating arrangement into full ownership of the assets.
Partnerships with Orbit Energy Inc. and Orbit Gulf Coast Exploration LLC have also widened the company’s territory and added operations hubs, according to the review.
Some of these working relationships have grown into longer-term joint ventures, with Gulf Coast Western serving as Managing Venturer. The profile credits this pattern of acquisitions and partnerships with the steady growth the company has posted over several decades, and with giving Gulf Coast Western access to the resources needed for continued exploration and drilling. Refer to this article to learn more.
More about Gulf Coast Western on https://www.bbb.org/us/tx/dallas/profile/oil-and-gas-exploration/gulf-coast-western-llc-0875-90242570