Environmental, Health and Safety Specialist - Safety

Diversified Energy announces $1.8 billion acquisition. Diversified Energy Company, the Alabama-based company with extensive holdings and operations throughout Oklahoma including a recent $1.1 billion acquisition in the state, announced its $1.8 billion acquisition of Birch Permian Holdings, Inc., an independent oil and gas producer headquartered in Houston, Texas. The acquisition from affiliates of Elliott Investment Management L.P. is considered a strategic expansion of Diversified's Permian footprint, adding a scaled, operated position of proved developed producing ("PDP") assets in the heart of America's most productive oil basin. Rusty Hutson, Jr., Chairman and CEO at Diversified called it an "important milestone" in the company's evolution and long-term growth strategy. "This $1.8 billion acquisition is our largest in the Company's 25-year history. Birch has assembled one of the highest-quality operated asset positions, combining a concentrated footprint in the core of the Permian, substantial production scale, integrated infrastructure, and a track record of delivering predictable, high-margin cash flows. These assets align exceptionally well with our disciplined approach to acquiring and optimizing long-life energy assets and provide a compelling platform for future value creation for our shareholders." He said the acquisition is expected to add about 68 Mboepd of production for the company and also create expanded commercial opportunities. "We believe Diversified's operational expertise, Smarter Asset Management, and Portfolio Optimization Program can further unlock value across this asset base while maintaining the disciplined capital allocation framework that has defined our success." What does it add to Diversified? About 46,000 net mineral acres of commercially attractive core Permian Basin leasehold, 500 gross operated wells of which 75% of wells with 2022 vintage or prior. Just about four months ago, Diversified made a $1.1 billion acquisition of more than 100,000 acres of oil and natural gas properties in Oklahoma's Anadarko basin. The drilling sites were acquired from Denver-based Camino Natural Resources and involved what Diversified called "a bolt-on portfolio of certain oil and natural gas properties." Diversified said the acquisition, in partnership with global investment firm Carlyle's Global Credit platform, provides an additional 100 high-quality undeveloped inventory locations in an active development area, with Diversified owning in excess of 450 locations in Oklahoma, pro forma for the acquisition. Camino will retain its ownership of the Chickasha development area. Diversified said the acquisition is especially notable for the state, as it signals large-scale institutional confidence in the longevity, value, and productivity of Oklahoma's energy assets and basins. It also further expands Diversified's growing operational footprint in the region. In announcing the Permian basin buy, Diversified said the acquired assets are expected to deliver strong, durable free cash flow and potential synergies from their contiguous location within Diversified's existing footprint. Importantly, the Acquisition establishes Diversified as a premier operator of Permian assets, creating a core, concentrated position for potential future consolidation of additional PDP assets as Permian Basin production continues to mature, representing a significant long-term opportunity for growth in PDP consolidation and operations. Diversified expects to become an increasingly significant operator and marketer of oil and natural gas in the United States. Pro forma gross volumes under Diversified Energy's operated control are expected to reach approximately 2.5 Bcfepd (~1.6 Bcfepd net). With the closing of the Acquisition, Diversified believes it will be well-positioned for meaningful commercial opportunities across commodity streams. Diversified explained the $1.8 billion acquisition is being primarily funded through an issuance of an Asset Backed Securitization ("ABS") of approximately $1.5 billion through its partnership with Carlyle's Asset-Backed Finance and Capital Markets teams ("Carlyle"), along with other customary financing sources, including available liquidity under Diversified's revolving credit facility. The Company expects to close the Acquisition during the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to customary closing conditions. Further, Carlyle and Diversified have agreed to expand the scale of their strategic partnership from the original $2 billion framework to a broader collaboration through which the parties may pursue up to $10 billion of potential PDP acquisition opportunities over time, subject to mutual agreement and transaction-specific approvals. Permian Transaction Rationale * Building a Scaled Permian PDP Consolidation Platform: The Acquisition creates a significant PDP asset base in the Permian Basin and establishes Diversified as a scaled operator within the basin. This enhanced operating presence is expected to provide an expanded platform for future consolidation as the Permian matures and an increasing inventory of long-life producing assets becomes available, well-suited to Diversified's PDP-focused acquisition strategy. * High-Quality, Low-Decline Assets with Integrated Infrastructure: Birch provides a geographically dense, mature, predictable production base of 480 net wells with lower decline characteristics, which closely align with Diversified's operating model. The concentrated acreage position is further supported by integrated production and water infrastructure, is expected to provide greater operational control, lower unit costs, and opportunities to capture margin across the value chain. * Accretive Acquisition with Durable, High-Margin Cash Flow: The Acquisition is expected to be immediately accretive on key per-share financial metrics and add approximately $548 million of annualized Adjusted EBITDA [b] from a high-margin asset base. The combination of vertical integration, low operating costs, ~80% EBITDA margins, and a mature production profile is expected to support durable free cash flow generation. * Increases Scale, Expands Commercial Opportunity: The Acquisition, Diversified's largest acquisition to date, will represent another significant expansion in Diversified's scale, increasing production [a] by ~35% and Adjusted EBITDA [b] by ~55%, while bringing pro-forma gross sales volumes from Diversified to ~2.5 Bcfepd. This increased scale will materially enhance Diversified's relevance as a producer and marketer of oil, natural gas, and NGLs, creating opportunities for the Company's in-house marketing organization to optimize pricing, transportation, market access, and commercial arrangements. * EOR Adds a New Lever for Portfolio Optimization and Upside: Birch's existing enhanced oil recovery ("EOR") capabilities provide Diversified with an additional avenue to extend asset lives, improve recoveries, and generate incremental returns from its producing asset base as part of the Company's Portfolio Optimization Program ("POP"). With more than 150 permitted EOR locations and encouraging results from initial pilot programs, Diversified believes these capabilities may provide meaningful upside potential beyond the value attributed to the assets' existing production and cash flows. Jerry Bohnen Jerry Bohnen is the founder and creator of OK Energy Today, which began in 2012. He is an Edward R. Murrow Investigative award winner and has been recognized by other national, regional and state institutions during his 50 years as a broadcast journalist. Contact Jerry at [email protected]

Diversified strikes $1.8bn deal for Permian operator Birch. With this acquisition, Diversified expects pro forma operated gross volumes of around 2.5bcfe/d, 1.6bcfe/d net. Diversified Energy has agreed to acquire Birch Permian and some affiliated companies (collectively "Birch") from Elliott Investment Management for around $1.8bn. Birch's assets are based in the Permian Basin and are expected to add a significant operated position of proved developed producing (PDP) oil and gas assets to Diversified's US onshore portfolio. The transaction is expected to close during the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. Diversified intends to fund the acquisition primarily through a privately rated asset-backed securitisation of around $1.5bn, in partnership with Carlyle's Asset-Backed Finance and Capital Markets teams. Additional funding will come from available liquidity under its revolving credit facility and other standard financing sources. The deal includes a $50m break fee. With this acquisition, Diversified expects its pro forma operated gross volumes to reach around 2.5 billion cubic feet equivalent per day (bcfe/d), of which around 1.6bcfe/d is net production. Birch currently produces roughly 68,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), with a mix consisting of 38% oil, 32% natural gas liquids (NGLs) and 30% natural gas. The portfolio includes around 480 net wells, mainly mature and low-decline, with proved reserves of approximately 1.17 trillion cubic feet equivalent and estimated annualised adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of $548m. Integrated infrastructure includes 46,000 net mineral acres of core Permian Basin leasehold, 12 central production facilities, nine gathering facilities and more than 60 miles of gathering pipeline, as well as water disposal and recycling assets. The company anticipates the acquisition will lead to an estimated 35% rise in production volume and a 55% increase in adjusted EBITDA. Diversified has also expanded its partnership with Carlyle, allowing both companies to potentially pursue up to $10bn in additional PDP asset acquisitions subject to agreement and approvals. Diversified chairman and CEO Rusty Hutson said: "I am thrilled to announce the acquisition of Birch, a premier Permian Basin operator that represents an important milestone in Diversified's evolution and long-term growth strategy. This $1.8bn acquisition is its largest in the company's 25-year history. "Birch has assembled one of the highest-quality operated asset positions, combining a concentrated footprint in the core of the Permian, substantial production scale, integrated infrastructure and a track record of delivering predictable, high-margin cash flows. "These assets align exceptionally well with our disciplined approach to acquiring and optimising long-life energy assets and provide a compelling platform for future value creation for our shareholders." The board of Diversified has determined that the transaction is in the best interests of its shareholders. Birch's assets are expected to align with Diversified's strategy of acquiring and operating mature, established production supported by comprehensive infrastructure. The portfolio offers opportunities for optimisation, including enhanced oil recovery at more than 150 permitted locations. Give your business an edge with its leading industry insights.