PE Makes Another Bet on Natural Gas Fields

DALLAS—Vine Oil & Gas LP, headquartered here, is teaming up with Blackstone Energy Partners to acquire the Haynesville assets of SWEPI LP and Shell Gulf of Mexico Inc., affiliates of Royal Dutch Shell plc, for $1.2 billion. The assets comprise more than 107,000 net acres in North Louisiana in the core of the Haynesville Shale natural gas shale basin, which spans Louisiana and eastern Texas.

The deal follows similar moves by private equity giants Apollo Global Management and TPG Capital into the natural gas industry, and follows other forays in the energy sector by the Blackstone Group. Vine Oil & Gas was itself formed by Blackstone Energy Partners and funds affiliated with Blackstone, with the intent of becoming a significant, independent shale exploration and production company.