Mdu resources announces sale of certain mountrail county, north dakota, production assets

Bismarck, n.d.--(business wire)--mdu resources group, inc. (nyse:mdu) announced today that its indirect wholly owned subsidiary, fidelity exploration & production company, signed a purchase and sale agreement for the sale of certain oil and natural gas production assets in mountrail county, north dakota, with an effective date of may 1, 2014. the sale price is $200 million plus customary closing adjustments with closing expected by sept. 30. the assets sold consist of approximately 4,363 net acres with net daily production of approximately 2,000 barrels of oil per day from 81 gross wells, 49 of which are operated by fidelity. the company will continue to hold 12,000 net acres in mountrail county. “the sale represents continued success with fidelity’s growth strategy of acquiring carefully targeted assets, developing them over time, capturing that growth through monetization, and redeploying the capital to repeat the growth cycle,” said kent wells, ceo of fidelity exploration & production company. “fidelity has operated in mountrail county since 2007 and we have been pleased with our results there,” said david goodin, president and ceo of mdu resources. “this sale is an opportunity to monetize a portion of our success, but mountrail county and our other bakken assets will continue to be an important part of fidelity’s strategy.” fidelity’s exploration and production strategy is focused on three top-tier oil plays. in addition to the bakken, fidelity holds approximately 130,000 net acres in the paradox basin in utah and 24,500 net acres in the southern powder river basin in wyoming that were acquired in march for approximately $200 million. the company plans to update its 2014 guidance with the second quarter earnings news report scheduled for release after market close aug. 4. forward-looking statements the information in this release includes certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of section 21e of the securities exchange act of 1934. the forward-looking statements contained in this release, including statements by the president and chief executive officer of mdu resources and the ceo of fidelity exploration & production company, are expressed in good faith and are believed by the company to have a reasonable basis. nonetheless, actual results may differ materially from the projected results expressed in the forward-looking statements. important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include the satisfaction of closing conditions; fluctuations in crude oil and natural gas prices; fluctuations in commodity price basis differentials; drilling successes in oil and natural gas operations; the timely receipt of necessary permits and approvals; the ability to contract for or to secure necessary drilling rig contracts and to retain employees to drill for and develop reserves; other risks incidental to the operation of oil and natural gas wells; and the effects on operations of extensive environmental laws and regulations. for a discussion of other important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements, refer to item 1a – risk factors in mdu resources’ most recent form 10-k and form 10-q. about mdu resources mdu resources group, inc., a member of the s&p midcap 400 index, provides value-added natural resource products and related services that are essential to energy and transportation infrastructure, including regulated utilities and pipelines, exploration and production, and construction materials and services. for more information about mdu resources, see the company's website at www.mdu.com or contact the investor relations department at investor@mduresources.com.
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