Fort Worth startup led by former Range exec buys Permian acreage

A Fort Worth startup, Chisholm Energy Holdings, announced its first asset acquisition Tuesday in the New Mexico region of the Permian’s Delaware Basin.

Formed in May 2016 and led by former Range Resources executive Mark Whitley, Chisholm is buying land is in Eddy and Lea counties, including a substantial amount of undeveloped acreage in the Bone and Wolfcamp formations.

Chisholm is focused on the northern Delaware Basin, backed by $500 million from the Warburg Pincus private equity firm, according to a company press release. Terms of the transaction, including the amount of acreage, were not released.

“We are excited to be building a new enterprise focused on the Delaware Basin of New Mexico, where we continue to see many untapped and compelling opportunities,” Whitley said in a statement. “We are pleased to have partnered with Warburg Pincus and to have their support behind our ongoing efforts.”

Whitley has served as an adviser to Warburg Pincus for two years. Before that, he worked at Fort Worth-based Range, which was a major player in the Barnett Shale before it sold its North Texas assets to concentrate on the Marcellus Shale play on the east coast. Whitley helped the company assemble a 100,000-net-acre hold in the Barnett.

Chisholm will concentrate on pursuing unconventional resource assets in the Delaware Basin, where the executive team has operating experience, the company statement said.

“Having known Mark for several years, we are highly confident in his and the entire Chisholm team’s ability to create value through their considerable drilling and completions expertise, “ James Levy, managing director of Warburg Pincus, said in a statement.

This story was originally published May 16, 2017 at 11:32 AM with the headline "Fort Worth startup led by former Range exec buys Permian acreage."