Private equity funding continues to support energy startups in the Lower 48, with deep-pocketed NGP laying out $100 million to back Wing Resources IV LLC, another of its Permian Basin-focused mineral and royalty acquisition companies.

The investment comes from NGP Natural Resources XII LP, the most recent equity fund focused on natural resources.

NGP sponsors Wing Resources LLC, a Permian-focused mineral and royalty acquisition company, whose assets cover more than 200,000 gross acres and include 4,000 wells throughout the Midland and Delaware sub-basins.

In June, coal producer Alliance Resource Partners LP agreed to pay $145 million to acquire around 9,000 net royalty acres in the Midland from Wing Resources and Wing Resources II LLC.

Wing Resources CEO Nick Varel will lead Wing IV.

“The Wing IV team believes our mineral and royalty expertise, along with strong equity backing and market relationships, will enable us to continue creating value in today’s dynamic environment,” he said.

NGP partner James Wallis said the firm respected the Wing executive team’s “dynamic culture, entrepreneurial instincts and market vision,” which he said poised the business for success.

In July, Dallas-based Switchback Energy Acquisition Corp., sponsored in part by the NGP XII fund, highlighted plans to create another Lower 48 oil and gas operator. Former RSP Permian Inc. executives and NGP in early July submitted a Form S-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission to advance their vision.

In addition to NGP’s deep pockets, other private equity players have remained a major source of funding for exploration and production startups.

In July, former WildHorse Resource Development Corp. executives landed more than $1 billion in private equity from Warburg Pincus LLC and Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP to form Houston-based explorer WildFire Energy I LLC. Earlier this month a fund managed by Kayne Anderson also provided $100 million to Houston-based Indianola Energy LLC, which plans to help producers earn more from undeveloped acreage across North America.