PE Funds Said Pitching Oil Path Value Over Growth in Low-Price WTI Environment

Existing “bread and butter” portfolios are outshining new investments by private equity (PE), but the bigger focus is on reducing costs amid this year’s unprecedented oil market collapse.

Chief Investment Officer Dan Pickering, who launched Pickering Energy Partners (PEP) in 2004 as a predecessor to energy investment and merchant banking firm Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co., said despite being six years into a downturn, “the reality is, we still have too much of everything.”

Pickering, who currently serves as the portfolio manager of the PEP Energy Equity Opportunities Fund, said there is “too much oil, too many rigs, too much of essentially everything.” The longtime investor, researcher and analyst made the comments Tuesday at Hart Energy’s DUG Permian...