Private equity-backed Casillas Petroleum Resource Partners LLC announced a $294 million deal late Monday with Continental Resources Inc. to buy up 30,000 net acres in the SCOOP (South Central Oklahoma Oil Province) of the Anadarko Basin.

The Tulsa, OK-based Casillas is a partnership of Casillas Petroleum Corp. and Kayne Anderson Energy Funds.

The acreage included in the deal spans Garvin, Grady and McClain counties in Oklahoma and is 90% held by production (HBP). The assets have a net production rate of roughly 550 boe/d, Casillas said.

In April, Casillas paid $106 million to Chesapeake Energy Corp. to buy up interest in 260 producing wells in the SCOOP operating on about 12,000 net acres in Garvin, Grady and McClain counties (see Shale Daily, April 22).

“This bolt-on acquisition is an excellent strategic fit for Casillas as we continue to build a highly contiguous, HBP and operated position in the SCOOP,” CEO Greg Casillas said. “Casillas’ footprint has grown to over 42,000 net acres, yielding immediate development potential in the Woodford and Springer shales with tremendous upside in multiple horizons that have produced vertically in the area for decades. With the integration of the Continental acquisition, we have built a premier asset in a high-margin repeatable resource play that can’t be replicated in the SCOOP.”

Continental said in August it planned to sell to an undisclosed buyer about 29,500 net acres of non-strategic leasehold in the SCOOP play in Oklahoma for $281 million. “Located primarily on the eastern side of SCOOP, the leasehold represents approximately 550 boe/d of net production,” the company said, adding that it would retain roughly 384,000 net acres in the SCOOP after the transaction was complete (see Shale Daily, Aug. 5).

Showcasing well results from the nearby STACK (the Sooner Trend of the Anadarko Basin, mostly in Canadian and Kingfisher counties), producers talked up the economic potential of the region’s stacked targets during second quarter earnings calls. Recent acquisition activity suggests that producers may be looking to the Anadarko Basin as one of the most viable producing regions in a lower-for-longer price environment.

For more on well results and producer outlook on the Anadarko Basin, check out NGI’s special report, The Sooner Boomer: How SCOOP, STACK and the OK Liquids Plays are Changing the Game in the Midcontinent.