Vantage Energy hits reset on IPO attempt
Vantage Energy Inc., a Colorado-based oil and gas company that says it is the largest leaseholder in Greene County, is trying to go public again, two years after it abandoned its first attempt.
Backed by several private equity firms, Vantage formed in 2007 and began operations in Texas’ Barnett Shale region the following year. In 2011, it started drilling in the Marcellus Shale in Greene County, where in 2012 it shifted its primary focus.
The company, which has an office in Washington, Pa., and had 63 employees at the end of last year, has filed documents for an initial public offering and said it intends to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “VEI.”
The initial amount of the public offering is listed as $100 million.
The last time Vantage Energy tried to go public, it was hoping to raise $400 million. But in September 2014, it decided to postpone the effort, citing low commodity prices.
Things haven’t improved in the market since then, but Vantage has kept a small drilling program going. It now has two rigs in Greene County tapping the Marcellus Shale and plans to add another by the end of the year.
It operates more than 80 wells in southwestern Pennsylvania and has an interest in about 89,000 acres in Greene County. Vantage also owns some gas gathering infrastructure here.
The company maintains a presence in the Barnett Shale, with 177 wells there and some 37,000 acres.
In June, Vantage added to its position in Greene County when it beat out Rice Energy for the oil and gas assets of bankrupt coal company Alpha Natural Resources. Vantage offered $339.5 million for those properties.
Low oil and gas prices have strained Vantage and other exploration and production firms, both
in terms of how much money they make and how much their assets are worth.
Vantage, its predecessor company and affiliated partnerships recorded impairments totaling $750 million over the past two years after their assets were reevaluated in light of current commodity prices.