Backed with private equity funds, Casillas Petroleum Resource Partners LLC has scooped up some Chesapeake Energy Corp. acreage in the stacked reservoirs of Oklahoma for $106 million.

The partnership, a venture between privately held Casillas Petroleum Corp. (CPC) and equity giant Kayne Anderson Energy Funds, bought an interest in 260 producing wells in the South Central Oklahoma Oil Province (SCOOP) which are on about 12,000 net acres in Garvin, Grady and McClain counties. The acreage, 100% held by production (HBP), is considered to be in the heart of the SCOOP in the Woodford Shale of the Anadarko Basin, according to NGI‘s North American Shale & Resource Plays 2016 Factbook.

“This acquisition is a great foundation for Casillas to begin building a significant operated position in one of the top tier resource plays in the Lower 48,” CEO Greg Casillas said. “The HBP nature of the asset gives us optionality as we navigate through this commodity cycle; however, we are excited about the immediate development potential we see in the Woodford and Springer shales.”

He gave a nod to the private equity partner and said “Kayne’s expertise as a capital provider and their extensive knowledge of the industry will be an essential component to the successes of Casillas in the years to come.”

CPC management “has spent the vast majority of their careers operating and developing assets in the Midcontinent region and we believe this acquisition provides an excellent platform for the team to deploy their technical expertise and create value in this commodity price environment,” Kayne Managing Director David Habachy said.

Tulsa-based CPC, which is family owned, has worked in the energy industry since 1986. According to its website, its current assets “exceed 1,000 producing leases within five states” in the Midcontinent. Two years ago CPC partnered with GE Energy Financial Services to purchase reserves and more than 500 producing wells in southwestern Kansas from Cimarex Energy Co. (see Shale Daily, Aug. 5, 2014).

CPC nor Chesapeake provided details on current production from the SCOOP properties being sold. Chesapeake is actively developing more than two million net acres in Oklahoma’s Anadarko Basin, with operations in the Mississippian Lime, the Cleveland/Tonkawa tight sands, Colony Wash and Granite Wash.