U.S. Energy Development Corporation (USEDC) announced the opening of a Houston office, and the appointment of Howard House as Senior Vice President and Chief Strategic Officer, in a release sent to Rigzone late Tuesday.
The company noted in the release that, “in his new role, House will focus on strategic initiatives and opportunities to ensure the company remains competitive while adapting to the evolving energy landscape”.
“In addition to these responsibilities, he will coordinate activities associated with opening and managing the new Houston office. He also will join USEDC’s investment committee,” the release added.
USEDC highlighted in its release that House has over 35 years of experience as an energy investment banker and “brings over $125 billion in transactional experience in the energy space, including approximately $60 billion of completed strategic advisory mandates including mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, takeover defense and restructurings”.
House has also raised over $65 billion in public and private capital markets transactions, the release added, noting that “his industry reputation and extensive oil and gas network will be key to facilitating the firm’s growth”.
“House will focus on strengthening industry relationships across the energy value chain as well as sourcing and evaluating strategic opportunities,” the release stated.
USEDC’s release pointed out that House’s career includes senior roles at Greenhill & Co, Raymond James & Associates, and Lehman Brothers. It also highlighted that he began his career in the energy industry as a petroleum engineer at Exxon Company USA.
In its release, USEDC said the decision to open a Houston office “reflects USEDC’s commitment to continued growth in Texas and beyond”.
“Houston is a global hub of the energy industry, and establishing an office here will allow the company to leverage existing and new relationships in order to enhance deal flow,” it added.
In the release, Jordan Jayson, CEO and Chairman of USEDC, said, “Howard brings exceptional depth of experience and strategic insight to U.S. Energy”.
“As we anticipate deploying $1 billion in capital over the next 12-18 months, M&A will be a central driver of our growth strategy,” he added.
“Howard’s track record in mergers and acquisitions is second to none – he understands Houston, he understands Texas, and he possesses extensive knowledge of the industry,” he continued.
“Just as important, he’s built trusted, long-standing relationships across the energy community. That rare combination of deal-making expertise and industry credibility is exactly what we need as we strengthen our footprint in Houston,” Jayson went on to state.
House said in the release, “I am very excited to join U.S. Energy as we establish our presence in Houston”.
“I have watched USEDC grow from an Appalachian focused enterprise into an active driller and acquirer of both operated and non-op interests across numerous basins. I look forward to playing a role in its future growth,” he added.
In a statement posted on its website back in April, USEDC announced the promotion of Nick White to director of business development and sales training manager.
“White, who joined the firm in 2012, brings more than a decade of experience supporting financial professionals through complex investment landscapes,” USEDC said in that statement.
“In his expanded role, White will continue to serve as a regional leader within the business development team while also contributing to the firm’s national sales training initiatives,” it added.
“He will help ensure USEDC’s growing team delivers a consistent, consultative experience to financial professionals across the country,” the company continued.
In a separate statement posted on its site during the same month, USEDC announced that it had acquired “~20,000 net acres in Reeves and Ward Counties, Texas”.
“The position includes a substantial proved producing component and multi-year drilling inventory to supplement the firm’s existing footprint in the area,” the company noted in that statement.
“This landmark transaction marks the largest single acquisition in the company’s 45-year history and significantly expands its total Permian Basin holdings,” it added.
USEDC said in that statement that it plans to run a dedicated drilling rig on the acquired acreage, “making this acquisition a key component of USEDC’s 2025 plan to invest up to $1 billion in U.S. oil and gas properties”.
“In 2024, the firm deployed about $850 million in operated and non-operated oil and gas projects in the basin, and the firm’s team continues to evaluate opportunities that align with its disciplined investment strategy and can deliver value to our partners,” the company said in that statement.
USEDC went on to highlight in that statement that, “concurrent with this acquisition, USEDC completed an increase in the borrowing base and commitments under its syndicated revolving credit facility led by Citibank, N.A. from $165 million to $300 million”.
“The upsized revolving credit facility provides USEDC with significant financial flexibility to support its continued growth and has a maximum credit amount of $500 million,” the company added.
In a statement posted on its site back in February this year, USEDC announced plans to deploy up to $1 billion during 2025, “primarily in the Permian Basin”.
“Our long-term acquisition and production strategies continue to generate solid performance across a portfolio of more than 2,000 wells,” Jayson said in that statement.
“Despite global price volatility and market uncertainty, the energy market remained relatively stable, and our reputation for completing deals resulted in a record flow of successful transactions and capital deployment in 2024,” he added.
USEDC describes itself on its site as a privately held exploration and production firm that manages assets for itself and its partners. The site shows that the business has an office in Fort Worth, Texas, and Buffalo, New York.
“U.S. Energy has invested in, operated and/or drilled approximately 4,000 wells in 13 states and Canada and deployed more than $3 billion on behalf of its partners,” the company’s site states.
To contact the author, email andreas.exarheas@rigzone.com
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