Lime Rock Adds Austin Chalk, Upper Eagle Ford Prospects to Lower 48 Portfolio

Houston-based Lime Rock Resources said it recently spent $271.3 million to pick up a bundle of oil and gas prospects in the Austin Chalk formation and Upper Eagle Ford Shale. 

The deal with an undisclosed seller coincided with an $87.3 milion acquisition of Williston Basin assets from Abraxas Petroleum Corp., management said. In the past four months, the private equity-backed company said it has spent more than $850 million on oil and gas acquisitions.

“We have been patient, acquiring only one small overriding royalty interest in the two years before this past October,” CEO Eric Mullins said. “We believe that the nearly $1 billion of acquisitions in the last several months testifies to changing market dynamics, a robust opportunity set, and our ability to work with sellers...