Swift Energy Co. agreed to sell its interests in six fields in South Louisiana, two in Texas and one in Alabama to an undisclosed private oil and gas company for $53.5 million. Swift said it would use the proceeds to fund a portion its 2011 capital expenditures. Production attributable to the fields being sold averaged 10.6 MMcfe/d during 1Q2011 with aggregate proved reserves of 92.2 Bcfe (19% proved developed producing and 65% natural gas) at year-end 2010. The sale is expected to close within the next two months.

Bill Barrett Corp. completed the purchase of some properties in the Denver-Julesburg Basin from an affiliate of Texas American Resources Co. The acquisition includes a preliminary estimate of 7 million boe net proved reserves, around 650 boe/d net production and close to 28,000 net acres of mineral leasehold, primarily on fee lands. The acquired properties currently have producing wells in the Wattenberg Field with production from the Codell, Niobrara and J Sands formations. Most of the acquired exploration acreage is in the Chalk Bluffs area north of the Wyoming-Colorado border, where the company intends to target oil in the Niobrara formation.