RAM Energy Resources Inc. has sold its North Texas Barnett Shale and Boonsville properties to Milagro Producing LLC for $43.7 million in cash, prior to adjustments.

The deal, which closed Wednesday, is the first asset sale to be completed following the company’s announcement that it would cut debt through asset sales divestitures, RAM said.

Proceeds of $16 million will applied to the balance on the company’s revolving credit facility, which stood at $133.5 million as of Sept. 30. The rest will be applied to a term loan, which had a balance of $113.3 million as of Sept. 30.

Because the sale reduces the company’s collateral, lenders reset its borrowing base from $165 million to $145 million. “However, as a result of the sale and application of proceeds, RAM’s effective liquidity has improved by approximately $12.1 million and covenant ratios have improved as well,” the company said.

RAM said its remaining mix of production and revenue improves as well as a result of the transaction. The company’s actual production of crude and natural gas liquids (NGL) as a percent of total barrels of oil equivalent production (BOE) reported in the third quarter ended Sept. 30, 2010 was 63%.

“Assuming production from the sale of these substantially nonoperated natural gas producing properties were absent for the entire third quarter, the proportion of crude and liquids would have risen to 64% of total [barrel of oil equivalent] produced in that period. Similarly the percent of total revenues represented by oil and NGLs would have been 83% versus the actual 81% reported in the third quarter 2010,” the company said.

RAM is active in Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana. Since the company was formed in 1987 it has completed more than 24 acquisitions of producing oil and gas properties and related assets for an aggregate purchase price in excess of $735 million.