On September 6, Persist Oil and Gas announced that it had merged with Dienerian Resources in an all-stock deal. According to Dienerian’s website, the deal closed on June 27. The press release provided few details, so our team decided to dig a little deeper in order to provide some context on this deal for our readers. The story of the merger is that Persist, until now focused predominantly in the Mannville formation in Southern Alberta, appear to view this merger as a gateway to accessing the Montney formation in addition to consolidating its land position in the Mannville. In total, 126.3 sections have changed hands.
Persist Crown Mineral Rights as of September 7, 2023 (Rights Transferred from Dienerian in red, All Other Rights in blue)
The acquired acreage is at the southern tip of industry Montney activity. In the map below, you can see all industry Montney spuds since the beginning of 2018 relative to the recently acquired mineral rights.
Dienerian also transferred 6 well licences to Persist, which accounted for just over 309 BOE/d in gross licensed production in June 2023. Given Persist’s gross licensed production in June 2023 was 4,345 BOE/d, the transferred wells represent around a 7.1% increase to the company’s total production. Having said that, the company noted that Dienerian’s holdings provide significant drilling inventory and, with the company also receiving $40 million in equity financing as part of the deal, we may see activity from the company in its newly acquired assets. It’s also worth mentioning that these rights are in close proximity to the Placid Montney assets that Cygnet Energy recently acquired from Murphy Oil and Athabasca Oil, although both AER licence transfers are pending approval from the AER. With these recent acquisitions taking place in this area, it’s definitely a spot to watch in the coming year.
Crown Mineral Right and Well Licence Transfers to Persist (in orange and purple respectively) and AER Asset Transfers from Murphy Oil and Athabasca Oil to Cygnet Energy (in green)
Persist’s Gross Licensed Production, 2018-2023
While the small number of active wells associated with the transferred rights makes it hard to gauge the production potential of this asset, Persist will brush shoulders with some of Canada’s largest producers. CNRL, Tourmaline, and Paramount all have rights that neighbour those held by Dienerian, and there are more than 70 wells in the area that produced more than 100 BOE/d in May 2023. Wells in this region appear to predominantly target the Spirit River, the Notikewin, and the Bluesky formations among others, although there are a handful of producing Montney wells in the vicinity.
Crown Mineral Rights Around Those Transferred to Persist (CNRL in black, Paramount in purple, Persist in red, Tourmaline in blue)
To keep track of all the latest happenings in Canadian oil and gas, check out BOE Intel. Our tools enable you to track the latest financial and production data from producers across the industry, and we are continuously adding new functionality. To find out more or arrange a demo, don’t hesitate to contact us.