CALGARY — Enerplus Corp. is increasing its bets on the Bakken light oil region in North Dakota through the purchase of a private rival for US$465 million.

The Calgary-based company says it has agreed to buy Bruin E&P HoldCo, LLC, which has current production of about 24,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

Enerplus says it will fund the purchase with a new US$400-million term loan and a C$115-million equity financing. It says it will not assume any of Bruin's debt.

It says most of Bruin's production and development prospects are located in the Fort Berthold area near Enerplus's main property.

Enerplus reported fourth-quarter production of 86,200 boepd and said that is expected to rise to an average of about 106,000 boepd in 2021 on capital spending of between C$335 million and C$385 million if the Bruin deal goes through by early March as expected.

Enerplus produces oil in Canada, but most of its production comes from the U.S., with oil and gas wells in North Dakota and Montana and natural gas in the northeastern United States.

“With immediately adjacent acreage offering strong operational synergies, Bruin’s assets are highly complementary to our existing tier 1 position in the Bakken and will enable us to accelerate free cash flow growth and further support our focus on providing long term sustainable shareholder returns," said Enerplus CEO Ian Dundas.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 26, 2021.

Companies in this story: (TSX:ERF.TO)