PEDEVCO Announces Entry into Joint Development Agreement with Large Private Equity-Backed D-J Basin E&P Company

Rhea-AI Summary

PEDEVCO (NYSE:PED) has entered into a joint development agreement with a major private equity-backed D-J Basin E&P operator in Denver, Colorado. The agreement involves the expansion and development of PEDEVCO's Roth and Amber DSUs in Weld County, Colorado.

Key terms include:

• Operator to pay PEDEVCO approximately $1.7 million
• DSU sizes to increase from ~1,280 acres to ~1,600 acres
• Operatorship transfer to the new partner
• PEDEVCO to maintain minimum 40% working interest in Roth DSU
• Five new horizontal wells planned for Roth DSU in Q3 2025, with completion in Q4 2025

Upon completion of the Roth DSU wells (by June 30, 2026), the Operator has the option to acquire up to 50% of PEDEVCO's Amber DSU leasehold interest, resulting in each party holding ~45% working interest in the Amber DSU.

Positive

• Immediate cash injection of $1.7 million
• Partnership with experienced D-J Basin operator with continuous rig operations
• Expected cost savings through economies of scale
• Maintains significant working interest (40%+) in both DSUs
• Five new wells to be drilled in Q3-Q4 2025

Negative

• Reduction in operational control through transfer of operatorship
• Potential dilution of Amber DSU interest from current level to ~45%

Insights

Financial Analyst

PEDEVCO's new joint development agreement represents a strategically important capital-efficient expansion for this small-cap E&P company. The deal brings $1.7 million in immediate capital—approximately 2.6% of PEDEVCO's $65.8 million market cap—while maintaining significant economic exposure through a minimum 40% working interest in the Roth DSU development.

The agreement's structure is particularly clever for a company of PEDEVCO's size. By transferring operatorship to a larger, well-capitalized partner with continuous rig operations in the area, PEDEVCO gains access to operational efficiencies and economies of scale without shouldering the full capital burden of development. The 25% expansion of both DSUs from ~1,280 to ~1,600 acres significantly increases the company's development footprint.

The milestone-based structure—with five wells in the Roth DSU serving as a gateway to potential Amber DSU development—creates a performance-contingent expansion path while maintaining PEDEVCO's risk protection through operational takeover rights if timelines aren't met. This arrangement accelerates PEDEVCO's development timeline while preserving capital flexibility—a important consideration for smaller E&Ps operating in capital-intensive basins.

For investors, this agreement demonstrates management's ability to structure creative development partnerships that balance growth ambitions with financial discipline—a particularly valuable trait in the volatile energy sector.

Energy Industry Expert

This joint development agreement showcases a well-structured approach to D-J Basin asset development leveraging partner expertise and capital efficiency. The Weld County location is significant—this northeastern Colorado county represents the heart of the D-J Basin's productive capacity, particularly for horizontal drilling programs targeting the Niobrara and Codell formations.

The operational arrangement is particularly noteworthy. By securing a partner with continuous rig operations in the area, PEDEVCO gains access to drilling and completion efficiencies that would be challenging to achieve independently at its scale. The timing of development (Q3-Q4 2025) aligns with typical development schedules in the basin, allowing for proper permitting and planning.

PEDEVCO's retention of operational takeover rights demonstrates prudent risk management while the structured option for expanded development creates performance-based decision points. The expansion of DSU sizes from ~1,280 to ~1,600 acres requires regulatory approval from Colorado's Energy and Carbon Management Commission—an important regulatory consideration in Colorado's increasingly complex oil and gas regulatory environment.

The company's reference to "exceptional offset well performance" in the area suggests promising geology, though specific production expectations aren't quantified. Their history of previous successful collaborations with this operator reduces execution risk significantly. This agreement represents a pragmatic approach to D-J Basin development that aligns with industry best practices for smaller operators seeking to maximize asset value while managing capital constraints.

HOUSTON, TX / ACCESS Newswire / March 3, 2025 / PEDEVCO Corp. (NYSE American:PED) ("PEDEVCO") today announced that it has entered into a joint development agreement ("Agreement") with a large, Denver, Colorado-based private equity-backed D-J Basin E&P Company with extensive operational experience ("Operator"), pursuant to which the companies have agreed to jointly participate in the expansion and development of the Company's Roth and Amber DSUs located in Weld County, Colorado. Pursuant to the Agreement, in exchange for the Operator's payment to the Company of approximately $1.7 million, the Company agreed to submit to the Colorado Energy and Carbon Management Commission (the "ECMC") spacing applications to amend the Company's existing Roth and Amber DSUs to increase each of their sizes from ~1,280 acres to ~1,600 acres, transfer operatorship of the DSUs to the Operator, and jointly participate in the development of the Roth DSU with each party having not less than a 40% working interest. The parties further agreed that the Operator shall commence the drilling of five new horizontal wells in the Roth DSU in Q3 2025, with completion estimated to occur in Q4 2025. PEDEVCO retained the right to assume operations in the event the wells are not timely commenced.

Upon the timely completion of the five Roth DSU wells, but no later than June 30, 2026, the Operator shall have the option to acquire up to 50% of the Company's leasehold interest in the Amber DSU, resulting in each of the Company and the Operator holding up to ~45% of the working interests in the Amber DSU.

J. Douglas Schick, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, stated, "We are excited to announce this new joint development agreement with one of the top operators in the D-J Basin to develop our Roth DSU in 2025. The Operator has a continuous rig running in the area, which should result in PEDEVCO realizing economies of scale and cost savings from this collaboration. PEDEVCO has worked closely with the Operator and has participated in several highly economic projects with the Operator over the past several years, which gives PEDEVCO a high degree of confidence in their operatorship of these DSUs. We look forward to seeing similar strong results from our Roth DSU as it is in an area with exceptional offset well performance."

About PEDEVCO Corp.

PEDEVCO is a publicly-traded energy company engaged in the acquisition and development of strategic, high growth energy projects in the United States. The Company's principal assets are its San Andres Asset located in the Northwest Shelf of the Permian Basin in eastern New Mexico, and its D-J Basin Asset located in the D-J Basin in Weld and Morgan Counties, Colorado and Southeastern Wyoming. PEDEVCO is headquartered in Houston, Texas. More information about PEDEVCO can be found at www.pedevco.com.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Statements

This press release may contain forward-looking statements, including information about management's view of PEDEVCO's future expectations, plans and prospects, within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including the safe harbor provisions under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the "Act"). In particular, when used in the preceding discussion, the words "may," "could," "expect," "intend," "plan," "seek," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "potential," "continue," "likely," "will," "would" and variations of these terms and similar expressions, or the negative of these terms or similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Act and such laws, and are subject to the safe harbor created by the Act and applicable laws. Any statements made in this news release other than those of historical fact, about an action, event or development, are forward-looking statements. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the results of PEDEVCO and its subsidiaries to be materially different than those expressed or implied in such statements. The forward-looking statements include projections and estimates of the Company's corporate strategies, future operations, development plans and programs, including the costs thereof, drilling locations, estimated oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids production, price realizations, projected operating, general and administrative and other costs, projected capital expenditures, efficiency and cost reduction initiative outcomes, statements regarding future production, costs and cash flows, liquidity and our capital structure. We have based these forward-looking statements on our current expectations and assumptions and analyses made by us in light of our experience and our perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors we believe are appropriate under the circumstances. However, whether actual results and developments will conform with our expectations and predictions is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including the volatility of oil and natural gas prices, our success in discovering, estimating, developing and replacing oil and natural gas reserves, risks of our operations not being profitable or generating sufficient cash flow to meet our obligations; risks relating to the future price of oil, natural gas and NGLs; risks related to the status and availability of oil and natural gas gathering, transportation, and storage facilities; risks related to changes in the legal and regulatory environment governing the oil and gas industry, and new or amended environmental legislation and regulatory initiatives; risks relating to crude oil production quotas or other actions that might be imposed by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and other producing countries; technological advancements; changing economic, regulatory and political environments in the markets in which the Company operates; general domestic and international economic, market and political conditions, including the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the global response to such conflict; actions of competitors or regulators; the potential disruption or interruption of the Company's operations due to war, accidents, political events, severe weather, cyber threats, terrorist acts, or other natural or human causes beyond the Company's control; risks related to the need for additional capital to complete future acquisitions, conduct our operations, and fund our business on favorable terms, if at all, the availability of such funding and the costs thereof; risks related to the limited control over activities on properties we do not operate and the speculative nature of oil and gas operations in general; risks associated with the uncertainty of drilling, completion and enhanced recovery operations; risks associated with illiquidity and volatility of our common stock, dependence upon present management, the fact that Dr. Simon G. Kukes, our Executive Chairman and member of the Board, beneficially owns a majority of our common stock; our ability to maintain the listing of our common stock on the NYSE American; pandemics, governmental responses thereto, economic downturns and possible recessions caused thereby; inflationary risks and recent increased interest rates, and the risks of recessions and economic downturns caused thereby or by efforts to reduce inflation; risks related to military conflicts in oil producing countries; changes in economic conditions; limitations in the availability of, and costs of, supplies, materials, contractors and services that may delay the drilling or completion of wells or make such wells more expensive; the amount and timing of future development costs; the availability and demand for alternative energy sources; regulatory changes, including those related to carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions; and others that are included from time to time in filings made by PEDEVCO with the Securities and Exchange Commission, many of which are beyond our control, including, but not limited to, in the "Risk Factors" and "Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements" sections of its Form 10-Ks and Form 10-Qs and in its Form 8-Ks, which it has filed, and files from time to time, with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including, but not limited to its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 and its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2024. These reports are available at www.sec.gov.

The Company cautions that the foregoing list of important factors is not complete. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to the Company or any person acting on behalf of the Company are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements referenced above. Other unknown or unpredictable factors also could have material adverse effects on PEDEVCO's future results and/or could cause our actual results and financial condition to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements included in this press release are made only as of the date hereof. PEDEVCO cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update publicly any of these forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, new information or future events, changes in assumptions or changes in other factors affecting forward-looking statements, except to the extent required by applicable laws. If we update one or more forward-looking statements, no inference should be drawn that we will make additional updates with respect to those or other forward-looking statements.

CONTACT:

PEDEVCO Corp.
(713) 221-1768
PR@pedevco.com

SOURCE: PEDEVCO Corp.

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire

FAQ

What is the value of PEDEVCO's new joint development agreement in the D-J Basin?

The agreement brings PEDEVCO approximately $1.7 million in payment from the operator partner.

How many new wells will be drilled in PEDEVCO's Roth DSU development?

Five new horizontal wells will be drilled in Q3 2025, with completion expected in Q4 2025.

What working interest will PED retain in the Roth DSU development?

PEDEVCO will maintain not less than a 40% working interest in the Roth DSU.

How will the Amber DSU ownership structure change under the new agreement?

Upon completion of Roth DSU wells, the operator can acquire up to 50% of PEDEVCO's Amber DSU interest, resulting in each party holding ~45% working interest.

What is the timeline for the expansion of PED's Roth and Amber DSUs?

The DSUs will expand from ~1,280 acres to ~1,600 acres, with Roth DSU development starting Q3 2025 and completion by June 30, 2026.