Ecoark Holdings Forms Joint Drilling Venture With BlackBrush Oil & Gas
Ecoark Holdings (OTC: ZEST) announced a joint drilling venture with BlackBrush Oil & Gas on October 9, 2020. Ecoark’s subsidiary, White River SPV 3 LLC, purchased two oil and gas mineral leases for $2.1 million in total. Ecoark will fund 100% of the drilling costs for a planned deep horizontal well in the Austin Chalk formation, expected to begin by January 2021. BlackBrush will provide expertise and seismic data, contributing to a risk-mitigated venture. This partnership aims to enhance Ecoark's oil and gas development strategy.
- Joint drilling venture with established player BlackBrush Oil & Gas reduces risk.
- Acquisition of two mineral leases for a total of $2.1 million expands operational capacity.
- BlackBrush's expertise in drilling and seismic data enhances project viability.
- Ecoark is fully responsible for drilling costs, increasing financial exposure.
- Potential risks associated with oil well drilling include dry holes and market fluctuations.
FRISCO, Texas, Oct. 14, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ecoark Holdings, Inc. ("Ecoark") (OTC: ZEST), announced that on October 9, 2020, it entered into a material definitive agreement with BlackBrush Oil & Gas, L.P. (“BlackBrush”) and an unnamed and unrelated third party for a joint drilling venture in the Austin Chalk formation.
Pursuant to the agreement, Ecoark’s subsidiary, White River SPV 3 LLC (“White River”) completed the all cash-purchase of two contiguous oil and gas mineral leases in an undisclosed area of the Austin Chalk formation, including shallow and deep drilling rights. The first lease was assigned to White River on September 4, 2020 for total consideration of
Under the terms of the venture, Ecoark will fund
“We are excited to be partnering with an established industry player the caliber of BlackBrush,” said Randy May, Chief Executive Officer of Ecoark. “BlackBrush has successfully drilled and participated in more than 500 wells in recent years, a majority of which have been horizontal and unconventional completions. This experience and expertise, combined with our strategic joint drilling venture structure, significantly de-risks our investment as we continue to advance Ecoark’s oil and gas development and growth strategy. We are excited to form this partnership with BlackBrush and look forward to expanding our relationship over time.”
“BlackBrush is looking forward to drilling the Joint Venture with Ecoark, and hopefully a future of drilling several Austin Chalk wells in the area and expanding to other formations in years to come,” said Mark Norville, President of BlackBrush.
About Ecoark Holdings, Inc.
Founded in 2011, Ecoark is a diversified holding company. The company has three wholly owned subsidiaries: Zest Labs, Inc. (“Zest Labs”), Banner Midstream Corp (“Banner Midstream”) and Trend Discovery Holdings, Inc. (“Trend Discovery”). Zest Labs, offers the Zest Fresh™ solution, a breakthrough approach to quality management of fresh food, is specifically designed to help substantially reduce the amount of food loss the U.S. experiences each year. Banner Midstream is engaged in oil and gas exploration, production, and drilling operations on over 20,000 cumulative acres of active mineral leases in Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Banner Midstream also provides transportation and logistics services to oilfield transportation services contractors. Trend Discovery invests in a select number of early stage startups as part of the fund’s venture capital strategy; we are open-minded investors with a founder-first mentality.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements related to the joint venture with BlackBrush and anticipated drilling. The words "believe," "may," "estimate," "continue," "anticipate," "intend," "should," "plan," "could," "target," "potential," "is likely," "will," "expect" and similar expressions, as they relate to us, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements are based on management's current expectations and beliefs, as well as a number of assumptions concerning future events. Such forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions, and other important factors, many of which are outside management's control. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ from those in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the general risks arising from oil well drilling including dry holes, fluctuations in oil and gas prices, and the possibility of adverse economic, business, and/or competitive factors, the need to complete a financing, and the condition of the capital markets in general and for microcap securities in particular. Additional risks and uncertainties are identified and discussed in Ecoark’s filings with the SEC, including our prospectus dated July 28, 2020. Any forward-looking statement made by us herein speaks only as of the date on which it is made. Additional factors or events that could cause our actual results to differ may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all of them. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as may be required by law.
Contact:
Investor Relations:
John Mills
ICR
646-277-1254
John.Mills@icrinc.com
FAQ
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