TMCnet News
Ecoark Holdings Forms Joint Drilling Venture With BlackBrush Oil & GasFRISCO, 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 $1.5 million, and the second lease was assigned to Ecoark on October 12, 2020 for total consideration of approximately $0.6 million. Under the terms of the venture, Ecoark will fund 100% of the costs associated with the drilling and completion of a deep horizontal well in the Austin Chalk formation. BlackBrush will own a minority interest in the venture and will contribute its proprietary 3D seismic data on the leased properties, as well as provide operational expertise as an advisor on the program planning and drilling and completion of the well. Drilling and completion is anticipated in the December 2020 to January 2021 timeframe, and planning for the project is already underway. “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 growt 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 Contact: Investor Relations: |