Riverbend Energy Group Wraps Up $1.8 Billion Sale of Nonop Shale Assets

Riverbend Energy Group recently completed the $1.8 billion sale of nonoperated portfolios, marking the successful monetization for Riverbend of three of Riverbend’s five active traditional energy portfolios.

“We have now successfully monetized seven separate funds since our founding in 2003, establishing a consistent and enviable track record of value creation that reflects the excellence of our various disciplines as well as the grit and determination of our team to unearth opportunities in a highly volatile and dynamic business environment,” Riverbend CEO Randy Newcomer Jr. commented in an Aug. 22 release.

The transaction, previously announced in June, included its equity interests in Riverbend Oil & Gas VI LLC, Riverbend Oil & Gas VI-B LLC and Riverbend Oil & Gas VIII LLC. The buyer wasn’t disclosed.

The divested portfolios represent a substantial, diversified asset base of nonoperated interests across the Bakken/Three Forks, Utica, Fayetteville and Haynesville. As of the effective date of May 1, these properties produced approximately 47,000 boe/d from over 11,000 wells, according to the release.

Based in Houston, Riverbend is multi-faceted investment firm, utilizing risk-weighted deal evaluation processes to deploy capital into a variety of investment theses in the U.S. energy sector. Since 2003, the firm has successfully acquired, developed, and managed over $5 billion of total enterprise value across 10 asset portfolios.

Following the recent sale, Riverbend continues to manage and grow funds VII and IX, which target operated Midland Basin properties (Riverbend VII) and mineral and royalty interests across leading shale plays (Riverbend IX).

“We have now successfully monetized seven separate funds since our founding in 2003, establishing a consistent and enviable track record of value creation that reflects the excellence of our various disciplines as well as the grit and determination of our team to unearth opportunities in a highly volatile and dynamic business environment.”—Randy Newcomer Jr., Riverbend Energy Group

Additionally, the company is pursuing nonoperated working interest acquisitions in the Midland, Delaware, and Williston oil basins and Barnett, Fayetteville, Haynesville and Marcellus/Utica natural gas basins (Riverbend XI and/or successors). Riverbend said these hydrocarbon asset focused prospects are complimented by the growing energy transition opportunities that Riverbend is actively evaluating (Riverbend X).

“We will continue to provide similar investment opportunities to institutional investors in the traditional energy business, alongside our rapidly expanding energy transition segment,” Newcomer added.

Riverbend Energy Group also announced in its Aug. 22 release the addition of Ritu Sachdeva to augment the energy transition business.

Sachdeva joined the Riverbend team in June 2022 as a Managing director in the energy transition practice. She has over 18 years of leadership experience in energy and transition investing and operations. Prior to joining Riverbend, she served as the chief strategy officer of Innowatts, a leading AI-enabled decarbonization SaaS platform, managing company strategy, fundraising, growth opportunities and partnerships. Prior to Innowatts, she served in multiple senior management positions for Fortune 500 and FTSE 100 energy companies for 13 years.

Sachdeva holds a BA in Economics and an MBA from University of Delhi and a Masters in Energy Finance from University of Texas at Austin.