Vitol has agreed to sell its US upstream company, VTX Energy Partners, LLC (VTX) to Verde Operating Company, LLC (Verde) for an undisclosed sum, subject to certain customary conditions precedent.

VTX was created in 2022 by Vitol and the former ATX management team, led by Gene Shepherd and Erik Hoover. Today, VTX is a successful operation, producing 60,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day in the southern Delaware Basin, spanning Reeves and Pecos counties, Texas.

Ben Marshall, head of Americas, Vitol said: “VTX’s success demonstrates what a committed and expert team can deliver. Their professionalism and capital discipline has been exemplary. It has been a pleasure to work with Gene, Erik and the team and we wish them every success in the future.”

Gene Shepherd said: “I would like to thank Vitol for the opportunity of building VTX into the successful business it is today. It is a great time for US energy and I am really excited by the next chapter for VTX with Verde.”

Verde will fund the acquisition utilizing equity commitments from funds managed by Carnelian Energy Capital Management, L.P. and EnCap Investments L.P., together with additional equity investments from Chief Capital, HF Capital, Formentera Partners, management and a group of other co-investors.

Vitol was advised by Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and Kirkland & Ellis LLP as financial and legal advisors, respectively.

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP served as legal advisor to Verde. Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC served as lead financial advisor, with TPH&Co., the energy business of Perella Weinberg Partners, also acting as financial advisor to Verde on the acquisition of VTX. Wells Fargo Securities, LLC and BofA Securities, Inc. will lead the syndication of a new reserves-based credit facility to support the transaction.

About Vitol

Vitol is a leader in the energy sector with a presence across the spectrum: from oil through to power, renewables and carbon. It trades 7.4 million barrels per day of crude oil and products, and charters circa 6,000 sea voyages every year.
Vitol’s clients include national oil companies, multinationals, leading industrial companies and utilities.
Founded in Rotterdam in 1966, today Vitol serves clients from some 40 offices worldwide and is invested in energy assets globally including: 17 m m3 of storage globally, circa 500 k b/d of refining capacity, over 7,000 service stations and a growing portfolio of transitional and renewable energy assets.