Closing on its previously announced acquisition, Evansville, IN-based Imperial Petroleum Inc. said Tuesday it has completed the acquisition of approximately 63.3% of the capital stock of Powder River Basin Gas Corp. in exchange for 2.65 million shares of Imperial common stock and a note payable for $200,000.

As a result of the deal, Powder River is now a subsidiary of Imperial and the prior board and management of Powder River was replaced by Imperial President Jeffrey T. Wilson, who becomes the subsidiary’s president as well. “We’re excited about establishing a presence in the shallow gas play in Wyoming and expect to seek a financial partner to assist in the development of Powder River and its natural gas reserves,” Wilson said.

The deal, which was first announced in early March (see Daily GPI, March 12), was originally expected to close on April 1.

Powder River said its decision to sell was based primarily on the current state of the markets, finances and difficulty raising money. The company added that Imperial ‘s deep resources of capital and its ability to raise money are expected to greatly enhance Powder River’s ability to complete a number of current drilling projects, while giving the company the ability to begin new drilling and exploration projects.

Powder River’s core business is the evaluation and development of coalbed methane reserves as well as shallow oil reserves within the Powder River Basin in Wyoming. The company is also currently focused on finding undervalued proven properties in the Rocky Mountains, New Mexico and West Texas with long-life reserves and price stability. Imperial is active in crude oil and natural gas production, gold and platinum mining. The company presently manages the business of Warrior Resources Inc., the parent company of Double Eagle Petroleum, which operates some 28 oil and gas wells in Texas and Mississippi capable of producing approximately 2,200 Mcf/d of gas and 80 b/d of oil in net production.

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