Powder River Basin Gas Corp. (PRBG) said Tuesday that it has signed a definitive agreement to have a “majority percent” of its capital stock and management control acquired by Evansville, IN-based Imperial Petroleum Inc. The companies said they expect the deal to close on April 1.

“The acquisition and control of Powder River Basin Gas Corp. and its approximate 12,000 acres of leases in the Powder River Basin in Wyoming significantly enhances our natural gas reserve base and provides the company with additional acreage upon which to conduct new drilling operations within the framework of our recently announced Xavier Financial relationship, which was announced on the fourth of March,” said Jeffrey T. Wilson, president of Imperial. “We believe that we can bring significant new funding to Powder River to complete its drilling program in Wyoming and to develop the substantial natural gas reserves in place under its leases.”

PRBG said its decision to sell was based primarily on the current state of the markets, finances and difficulty raising money. The company noted that Imperial’s deep resources of capital and ability to raise money will greatly enhance PRBG’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 share price has been greatly depressed due to lack of funding, inability to raise new funding and the difficult market conditions of the last two years or so,” said Greg Smith, CEO of PRBG. “By allowing Imperial to buy control of Powder River, this will greatly increase the ability for Powder River to immediately complete drilling on the Zullig lease where there are two wells completed and 11 wells awaiting completion. With Imperial’s announcement of the fourth of March [transaction], the initial $4 million of funding will enable Powder River to move forward completing the remaining 11 wells on the Zullig lease. The ultimate goal is to enable Powder River to execute our business plan, which will greatly enhance shareholder value.”

PRBG is an exploration, development and production company historically engaged in the evaluation and development of coalbed methane reserves as well as shallow oil reserves within the Powder River Basin in Wyoming. The company is currently focused on finding undervalued proven properties in the Rocky Mountains, New Mexico and West Texas with long-life reserves and price stability.

In February, Imperial acquired oil and gas interests in the Bovina field of Mississippi operated by its affiliate, Double Eagle Petroleum Corp. The interests were acquired from working interest partners in the wells for a combination of cash and stock totaling approximately $175,000. The Bovina field produces oil and natural gas from the Hosston and Cotton Valley sands at depths from 12,500-17,000 feet.

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.

©Copyright 2003 Intelligence Press Inc. All rights reserved. The preceding news report may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, in any form, without prior written consent of Intelligence Press, Inc.