Petro River Oil purchases Vernon County oil and gas assets

Nevada Daily Mail

Recent stock transactions are expected to boost the presence of the oil and gas industry in Vernon County and the surrounding area.

On Dec. 12, Petro River Oil Corp., an oil and gas producer based out of Houston, Texas, closed a private placement of common stock at $0.08 per share for total gross proceeds of $6.5 million.

In addition, the company issued a warrant to purchase additional common stock at a strike price of $0.1356 prior to Dec. 12, 2015.

According to a press release from the company, the entire offering was purchased by Petrol Lakes Holding Limited, a newly formed investment group based in China with strategic ties to the country's oil and gas industry.

The proceeds will be used to fund development of Petro River's extensive portfolio including more than 115,000 net acres of oil and gas assets in Kansas, Missouri and Kentucky.

Petrol Lakes is working with Petro River towards a potential joint venture with a strategic partner in China in the company's 85,000 net acres in the Mississippian Lime play in Kansas.

The company is also reviewing acquisition opportunities in the Mississippi Lime play in Kansas and Oklahoma.

Petro River has formed a wholly owned subsidiary named Petro Spring LLC to acquire and develop technologies with a focus on enhanced oil recovery, continued the press release.

"Petro Spring brings together a team of world class technologists with extensive experience applying technology to increase efficiency of oil production."

"With this capital infusion, I believe this will directly impact your area," said Gary Williky, the company's business development director in a follow-up email to the Daily Mail.

"We currently have two production fields in the area, Marmaton and Grassy Creek."

While noting it was hard to forecast at this point, he said he expected to see an impact from these actions in 2014.

"I will have a better handle after we get through the winter, although I believe that the initial impact in the second quarter, if plans go through, will be five to 10 (new) jobs, with a significant work over and technology upgrade.

"Our production fields combined in the region are in the range of 20,000 acres. We have in the range of 100 wells so far," Williky said of the company's footprint in this part of the region.

Williky said the partnership with the Chinese company would provide a needed boost to growing that footprint.

"The Chinese are oil and gas production and servicing. We are very fortunate to have developed this relationship.

"China is a nation that has a significant amount of technology waiting to be deployed. We saw synergy and opportunity with this deal."