Commodities trader Gunvor on Wednesday told Reuters it has provided financial backing to a team of energy industry executives for efforts to amass natural gas-producing assets across top U.S. shale basins. A Gunvor spokesperson confirmed that the company has backed Western Natural Resources, a private oil and gas producer based in Oklahoma City which has previously developed energy production projects in partnership with asset manager KKR. The financial backing for Western raises Gunvor’s exposure to U.S. natural gas production in a bet that it will provide a long-term benefit to the commodity trader’s portfolio. Global demand for the fossil fuel is expected to grow exponentially as energy-hungry data centers powering the artificial intelligence revolution come online and industrial electrification efforts intensify. U.S. natural gas has also become more desirable as the Iran war forces importers to rethink their supplier mix.
“The U.S. is a terrific place to invest right now,” the Gunvor spokesperson said. “This deal builds upon Gunvor’s existing investments in the U.S. energy sector and will help contribute to the expansion of domestic energy supply,” they said. Reuters first reported in November that Gunvor was in active talks to back newly formed private companies in buying U.S. natural gas assets on its behalf. Gunvor previously disclosed its entry into U.S. upstream gas production in its annual results for 2024.
LONG-TERM GAS BET
While the Gunvor spokesperson declined to offer further details of the tie-up, four sources familiar with the matter said it has already begun investing in assets through the Western venture. Gunvor last month provided capital to supporta roughly $300 million acquisition by Western of natural gas producing assets in the Haynesville shale basin of Texas and Louisiana, two of the sources said. The assets were acquired from Nadel and Gussman NV and Quantent Energy Partners, both portfolio companies of private equity firm Post Oak Capital, the sources said. While Post Oak announced the sale on May 27, one of four exits agreed by the energy-focused money manager in the last month, the identity of the buyer and Gunvor’s involvement in the deal have not been previously reported. The sources requested anonymity to discuss confidential details. Post Oak declined to comment. Gunvor will continue to back Western in future acquisition efforts to build a portfolio of U.S. shale gas producing assets, the four sources said. Western is in active talks for such deals in the Haynesville and other top U.S. shale basins connected to export infrastructure, hoping to capitalize on a wave of asset sales by companies offloading excess acreage and buyout firms selling long-held investments, three of the sources said.
The exact amount Gunvor has invested in Western so far, or plans to invest going forward, could not be learned immediately.
“Gunvor looks forward to further investments in the U.S. power and gas space, both directly and with partners,” the Gunvor spokesperson said.
(Reporting by Shariq Khan and David French in New York; Editing by David Gregorio)