Houston-based Falcon Seaboard Resources LLC, helmed by former Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, on Monday launched a fund that plans to target small Permian Basin investments.

The $145 million Falcon Seaboard Permian Fund I LP is the first time that Dewhurst, CEO of Falcon Seaboard Diversified Inc., is accepting outside investments.

“We believe the economics of strategically targeting and aligning with great operators and purchasing great acreage at attractive prices in the best basin in the country will be a very successful strategy,” he said.

The fund was created to aggregate acquisitions across the Permian by purchasing acreage, as well as investing/partnering in other exploration and production companies developing oil and natural as leases, drilling lower-risk projects and acquiring/exploiting established reserves.

“Throughout our history, we have self-funded our investments,” Dewhurst said. “But over the years, we have been approached by friends and other third parties about investing alongside us. This fund creates an ideal opportunity for investors to participate in privately negotiated equity and equity-related purchases of Permian Basin acreage, focusing on smaller, niche acquisitions that the larger private equity funds, independents and major oil companies typically do not pursue.”

Falcon Seaboard Diversified was founded in 1996 and has a history of pursuing oil and gas, electric power, midstream pipelines and gathering companies, storage, enhanced oil recovery and other energy and infrastructure opportunities. It has used its experience and assets as a platform to supply natural gas; develop, build and operate gas-fired cogeneration plants throughout the United States and to develop projects in Europe, South America and Asia. It also has developed power projects with associated natural gas pipelines, industrial steam hosts and long-term power offtake agreements.

Dewhurst is majority owner of Falcon Seaboard Resources and Falcon Seaboard Diversified. He served as lieutenant governor of Texas from 2003 to 2015 and headed the Texas General Land Office from 1999 to 2003.