PDC Energy Inc. said Monday it agreed to buy Denver-Julesburg (DJ) Basin operator Great Western Petroleum LLC in a $1.3 billion cash-and-stock deal that would “materially” boost its holdings in Colorado’s Wattenberg field.

pdc rig

The Denver-based PDC said the deal, which includes $500 million in net debt, would be financed by issuing about four million shares of common stock to existing Great Western shareholders and $543 million of cash.

The transaction, expected to close in the second quarter, would give PDC an additional 55,000 boe/d in the DJ’s Wattenberg field – 42% crude oil and the 58% weighted to liquids. The oil and natural gas producer operates primarily in the Wattenberg field but has holdings in the Permian Basin’s Delaware sub-basin.

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