Quantum Capital Group has completed the acquisition of Caerus Oil and Gas in a deal valued at nearly $1.8 billion, including debt and other liabilities.
The transaction will see Denver, Colorado-based Caerus, a privately held operator, transfer its assets in the Uinta and Piceance Basins to two of Quantum Capital’s portfolio companies.
QB Energy, a newly formed portfolio company, will take over the upstream and midstream facilities across 600,000 net acres in Colorado’s Piceance Basin. Meanwhile, KODA Resources will assume control of the upstream and midstream assets spanning 160,000 net acres in Utah’s Uinta Basin.
Caerus reports on its website that it operates more than 7,400 producing wells and holds over 5,300 untapped drilling locations. Founded in 2009, Caerus expanded its position in the Piceance Basin through a 2017 acquisition of Encana’s acreage and further strengthened its portfolio with the purchase of Occidental Petroleum’s Uinta assets in 2020. The company’s daily production is approximately 600 MMcfe/D.
“This transaction represents a unique opportunity for Quantum to invest in substantial natural gas production alongside large, contiguous acreage positions containing sizable hydrocarbon resources with significant value creation potential. We believe that KODA and QB Energy are well positioned to steward the next phase of development and operation of the assets to serve responsibly natural gas demand centers in the western US while generating attractive returns for our investors,” Tom Field, partner at Quantum, said in a statement.
The announcement also highlights that Caerus was a pioneer in using sandless hydraulic fracturing in Colorado and Utah, having applied the technique to more than 500 wells. This approach has reportedly reduced the company's reliance on trucking and rail, alongside achieving record productivity results, although specific details were not provided. Additionally, Caerus constructed a facility to use 100% recycled water in its well stimulations.
The deal follows a $3 billion acquisition led by Quantum Capital earlier in August to purchase Cogentrix Energy. Cogentrix operates 11 natural-gas-fired power plants in the US, with a combined capacity of 5.3 GW.
