American Oil and Gas Reporter - February 2021 - 49
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SpecialReport: Operations America
ERIC JACOBSEN
Chief operating officer
BKV Corporation
Eric Jacobsen joined BKV Corporation as COO in February. He has 28 years of industry
experience, and before joining BKV's team, Jacobsen served 10 years at Noble Energy and
Extraction Oil & Gas in the Denver-Julesburg Basin, serving in such roles as director of
planning and development, director of exploration and production, and senior vice president.
Prior to that, he had worked for BP and its heritage companies in various national and international locations, both on- and offshore. Jacobsen holds a B.S. in environmental engineering
and an M.S. in petroleum engineering from the University of Montana.
Growth Agenda In Action
Q:
BKV Corporation was established in 2015,
and while the vast majority of its peers was
focusing on oil, it was quietly becoming one of the
top 20 U.S. natural gas producers. The company is
obviously a big believer in gas. What are the drivers
behind the corporate commitment to natural gas?
Since inception, the company has grown through a
series of seven acquisitions totaling $1.3 billion. Why
has it elected to build its operational base in the Marcellus and Barnett shales?
JACOBSEN: We share a belief at BKV that natural gas is
the fuel of the future. It is of critical importance today to
meeting the world's energy needs, and we see the demand for
natural gas building with glimmers of the world's emergence
from the COVID-19 devastation. Natural gas is abundant, affordable, reliable, safe to develop, and it transforms communities
and lifts people out of poverty. All these reasons, in addition to
natural gas being a clean and environmentally responsible
energy source, are why we believe that natural gas is the fuel of
choice and that demand for gas supplies will grow in the
coming years.
Our vision is to be a dominant U.S. unconventional natural
gas-weighted production company, delivering superior risk-adjusted returns to shareholders. Our approach is to scale, apply
technology and automation, optimize assets, operate at very
low cost and highly competitive margins, generate a lot of cash,
and be a distinct leader in the ESG space. Several unconventional
gas-weighted basins in North America enable us to meet all of
these criteria, and with our approach, will ultimately enable us
to deliver higher profit-per-molecule than peers in the industry.
The Barnett is the most mature of the U.S. unconventional
plays. The very low-decline, large producing base with well-established infrastructure and access to great markets are all
attractive aspects. We see ample opportunity to apply automation,
inject some innovative approaches and optimize the asset. There
are also some attractive, high-return development opportunities
in both our Barnett and Marcellus acreage when market conditions
are ripe.
Importantly, there is considerable opportunity to scale our
asset base in the Barnett as well as in the Marcellus, and we
will continue to seek acquiring high-quality, right-priced prospects
in both basins. On that note, regarding growth through mergers
and acquisitions, we are very pleased to have recently announced
an investment partnership with Oaktree alongside our principal
investor and foundational backer, Banpu North America Corporation. Oaktree is a highly reputable institutional investor, and
it has invested $100 million in BKV, with a commitment of
$600 million in additional funding toward mutually agreed
future opportunities.
Q:
On Oct. 1, BKV closed on a $570-million acquisition of Devon Energy Corp.'s Barnett
Shale assets, making it the largest producer in the
play. The Barnett is, of course, where the shale revolution began more than two decades ago. Why the
Barnett and why now? How does purchasing this
legacy position and its estimated 4 trillion cubic feet
equivalent of proved reserves complement BKV's portfolio and set it up for the future? How does the Barnett
formation's liquids-rich production stream enhance
production economics?
JACOBSEN: Our acquisition in the Barnett demonstrates
BKV's growth agenda in action and delivers on our core strategy
of becoming a dominant U.S. unconventional natural gasweighted operating company that delivers superior risk-adjusted
returns to investors while being a force of good to society. The
Barnett is where the shale revolution began. When we became
FEBRUARY 2021 49
American Oil and Gas Reporter - February 2021
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Oil and Gas Reporter - February 2021
Contents
American Oil and Gas Reporter - February 2021 - Intro
American Oil and Gas Reporter - February 2021 - Cover1
American Oil and Gas Reporter - February 2021 - Cover2
American Oil and Gas Reporter - February 2021 - Contents
American Oil and Gas Reporter - February 2021 - 4
American Oil and Gas Reporter - February 2021 - 5
American Oil and Gas Reporter - February 2021 - 6
American Oil and Gas Reporter - February 2021 - 7
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American Oil and Gas Reporter - February 2021 - Cover3
American Oil and Gas Reporter - February 2021 - Cover4
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