Friday, February 28, 2025, 7:34AM |  38°
MENU
Advertisement
A rig at a PennEnergy Resources well site in Clinton Township, Butler County.
1
MORE

PennEnergy offers $600M for bankrupt shale driller Rex Energy

Courtesy of PennEnergy

PennEnergy offers $600M for bankrupt shale driller Rex Energy

After rescheduling its bankruptcy auction four times in a week, Rex Energy Corp. called off the event all together and declared PennEnergy Resources LLC the winning bidder.

Moon-based PennEnergy has agreed to pay $600.5 million for Rex, a State College-based shale driller that filed for bankruptcy protection in May.

The acquisition must still gain the approval of the bankruptcy judge. A hearing on the sale agreement is scheduled for Thursday.

Advertisement

PennEnergy’s CEO Rich Weber said Rex’s acreage, mostly in Butler County, is contiguous to his company’s assets “and we’re very familiar with it.”

The sale agreement, filed publicly on Monday, also contemplates a settlement with several landowners groups that are suing Rex for allegedly shirking its payment obligations in more than 100 oil and gas leases. The various plaintiffs would get about $1 million to split.

Rex, whose regional headquarters is in Cranberry, went public in 2007. Like others in the industry, it has struggled with low natural gas prices and had tried to restructure out of court to no avail before defaulting on debt payments and filing for bankruptcy.

In addition to its wells in Butler County, it also has interests in properties in a dozen Western Pennsylvania counties and in several counties in Ohio.

Advertisement

Would-be buyer PennEnergy started in 2011 as the brainchild of former Atlas Energy executives Mr. Weber and Greg Muse and with a $300 million investment from private equity firm EnCap Investments.

It now has around 70 employees, Mr. Weber said. The same management group also operates a midstream company started in December 2016.

Having started with a slice of Beaver County where shale gas is rich with natural gas liquids, PennEnergy has expanded to a second focus area that includes eastern Butler County and western Armstrong County where gas is dry.

The acquisition of Rex would more than double PennEnergy’s gas and liquids production, according to data from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

Anya Litvak: alitvak@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1455.

First Published: August 28, 2018, 11:30 a.m.
Updated: August 28, 2018, 11:37 a.m.

RELATED
Comments Disabled For This Story
Partners
Advertisement
Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic takes a timeout during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Washington Capitals in Pittsburgh, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025.
1
sports
Penguins rally after Alex Nedeljkovic’s outburst, beat the Flyers in overtime
Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney II, left, and general manager Omar Khan stand on the field before an NFL football game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New York Giants, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024, in Pittsburgh.
2
sports
2025 NFL salary cap will rise to $279 million. Here's what that means for the Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers coach Arthur Smith walks off the field after losing to the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium on Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025, in Baltimore, Maryland. The Baltimore Ravens won 28-14.
3
sports
Joe Starkey: Was Steelers GM Omar Khan kidding with his Arthur Smith comments?
An example of a Real ID-compliant non-commercial driver's license in Pennsylvania.
4
news
The Real ID deadline is approaching. Here's what Pennsylvanians should know.
Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Bubba Chandler delivers in the third inning of a spring training baseball game against the Minnesota Twins in Fort Myers, Fla., Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025.
5
sports
3 takeaways from Pirates’ lopsided spring training victory over Twins
A rig at a PennEnergy Resources well site in Clinton Township, Butler County.  (Courtesy of PennEnergy)
Courtesy of PennEnergy
Advertisement
LATEST business
Advertisement
TOP
Email a Story