Leor Energy was a company engaged in

hydrocarbon exploration Hydrocarbon exploration (or oil and gas exploration) is the search by petroleum geologists and geophysicists for deposits of hydrocarbons, particularly petroleum and natural gas, in the Earth using petroleum geology. Exploration methods Vis ...

, primarily in

East Texas East Texas is a broadly defined cultural, geographic, and ecological region in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Texas that comprises most of 41 counties. It is primarily divided into Northeast and Southeast Texas. Most of the region consi ...

. It was based in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

. It sold most of its assets to Encana (now

Ovintiv Ovintiv Inc. is a hydrocarbon exploration and production company organized in Delaware and headquartered in Denver, United States. It was founded and headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, under its previous name Encana. It was the largest energy co ...

) in November 2007 for $2.55 billion and, in September 2015, the company was acquired by Comancheria Energy Resources.

History

Thomas Kaplan Thomas Scott Kaplan (born September 14, 1962) is an American billionaire businessman, philanthropist and art collector. Kaplan is the world's largest private collector of Rembrandt's works. Kaplan is the chairman and chief investment officer of ...

and

Guma Aguiar Guma Leandro Aguiar (May 31, 1977 – disappeared June 19, 2012; declared legally dead January 29, 2015) was a Brazilian-born American energy industrialist and millionaire businessman who split his time between the United States and Israel. Agui ...

founded Leor in 2003. Kaplan, Aguiar's uncle, took the role of

Chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

. He was formerly the chairman of Apex Silver Mines. While Aguiar did not have experience in the

petroleum industry The petroleum industry, also known as the oil industry or the oil patch, includes the global processes of exploration, extraction, refining, transportation (often by oil tankers and pipelines), and marketing of petroleum products. The larges ...

, he met with geologist John Amoruso and acquired 30,000 acres of leasehold interests in East Texas in 2003. In July 2005, Leor and EnCana (now

) entered into an agreement to explore and develop Leor's Amoruso Prospect in Robertson County, Texas whereby Encana acquired a 30% interest in the joint venture, increased to 50% in June 2006. In November 2005, Leor closed a $30.0 million senior secured note financing from

Amaranth Advisors Amaranth Advisors LLC was an American multi-strategy hedge fund founded by Nicholas M. Maounis and headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut. At its peak, the firm had up to $9.2 billion in assets under management before collapsing in September 20 ...

. In January 2006, Leor closed a $45.0 million

private placement Private placement (or non-public offering) is a funding round of securities which are sold not through a public offering, but rather through a private offering, mostly to a small number of chosen investors. Generally, these investors include friend ...

of equity securities with

Goldman Sachs Goldman Sachs () is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered at 200 West Street in Lower Manhattan, with regional headquarters in London, Warsaw, Bangalore, H ...

. In July 2006, Leor sold approximately net in its holdings in the Amoruso Prospect to EnCana (now

), for $242.9 million. The transaction resulted in Leor and EnCana each having a 50% stake in the prospect. After the transaction Leor held a net position in the prospect. In January 2007, Leor closed a $150.0 million private placement of equity securities with

Merrill Lynch Merrill (officially Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated), previously branded Merrill Lynch, is an American investment management and wealth management division of Bank of America. Along with BofA Securities, the investment bank ...

to fund additional drilling. In April 2007, gross gas production from the Amoruso Field and the company's other properties in

Robertson County, Texas Robertson County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 16,757. Its county seat is Franklin. The county was created in 1837 and organized the following year. It is named for Sterling C. Robertson, an ...

, reached per day. In May 2007, Leor increased its footprint in the Deep Bossier by making an equity investment in Navasota Resources Ltd., LLP for over $100.0 million. Navasota held a two-thirds working interest in approximately gross of Deep Bossier land in Robertson County, Texas. Navasota's land is adjacent to Leor's Amoruso Prospect. In November 2007, Leor sold its Deep Bossier natural gas and land interests (including its 50% stake in the Amoruso Field) to EnCana (now

) for $2.55 billion. This was Leor's first exploration program in the Deep Bossier during which time, in 24 months, production from the Amoruso Field grew from zero to more than 240 million gross cubic feet per day. Aguiar was recognized by ''Oil and Gas Investor'' magazine as its 2007 Executive of the Year. In 2012, Aguilar disappeared at sea off the coast of

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. In September 2015, the company was acquired by Comancheria Energy Resources.

References

{{Reflist 2003 establishments in Texas 2015 disestablishments in Texas American companies disestablished in 2015 American companies established in 2003 Defunct energy companies of the United States Energy companies disestablished in 2015 Energy companies established in 2003 Non-renewable resource companies established in 2003