DALLAS—Vine Oil & Gas LP,headquartered here, is teaming up with Blackstone EnergyPartners to acquire the Haynesville assets of SWEPI LP andShell Gulf of Mexico Inc., affiliates of Royal DutchShell plc, for $1.2 billion. The assets comprise more than107,000 net acres in North Louisiana in the core of the HaynesvilleShale natural gas shale basin, which spans Louisiana and easternTexas.

The deal follows similar moves by privateequity giants Apollo Global Managementand TPG Capital into the natural gas industry, andfollows other forays in the energy sector by the BlackstoneGroup. Vine Oil & Gas was itself formed by BlackstoneEnergy Partners and funds affiliated with Blackstone, with theintent of becoming a significant, independent shale exploration andproduction company.

Vine says it seeks to be the partner of choice, capitalizing on“the team's unique operational excellence, track record, andcapital resources, for companies seeking to accelerate drillingactivity and drive production growth, while lowering costs andmaintaining a strong HSE track record.” It's led by president andCEO Eric Marsh, formerly an EVP with Calgary-basedenergy producer Encana Corp.