Enerplus Increases Bakken Holdings

Purchase of additional working interest in Sleeping Giant Area in Elm Coulee field.

Enerplus Corp. (NYSE: ERF) has closed on its acquisition of additional working interests in the Sleeping Giant area in the Elm Coulee field in Richland County, Montana from an undisclosed seller for $119 million.

This acquisition includes approximately 6.2 million barrels of oil equivalent (BOE) of proved plus probable reserves, incremental daily production of approximately 1,550 BOE per day, and increases its working interest to approximately 90% in these operated leases. Total current production including the acquisition is approximately 7,300 BOE per day net to Enerplus.

Enerplus has also closed the sale of crude oil assets in Manitoba to an undisclosed buyer for $216 million. These assets were producing approximately 1,600 BOE per day of crude oil under waterflood and had an estimated 8.4 million barrels of estimated proved plus probable reserves associated with them.

Enerplus said the sale in Manitoba and the purchase in Montana are consistent with its strategy of focusing its portfolio by selling non-core assets and consolidating them in core areas.

“By reinvesting approximately half of the proceeds from the sale of our Manitoba assets, we have replaced the sold production, improved the concentration of our asset base and improved our operating metrics,” said Gordon Kerr, president and chief executive of Enerplus.

Calgary-based Enerplus focuses on low-decline oil and gas assets complemented by growth assets in resource plays with superior economics.