Kelly Hoffman and Daniel Wilson’s names probably ring a bell in the Permian Basin. Once executives at Ring Energy, the two Texas oilmen are laying the groundwork for an IPO of their Permian Basin E&P startup, Rise Oil & Gas. If successful, it would be the fifth energy IPO this year.
Hoffman was CEO of the Midland, Texas-based Ring Energy from 2013 to 2020 when he was succeeded by Ring’s current CEO Paul McKinney. Wilson was Ring’s executive vice president and COO while Hoffman was CEO.
Incorporated in June 2021, Rise is an upstart with no revenues, wells or proven reserves, according to Securities and Exchange Commission records. Its initial IPO filing said Hoffman and Wilson, have “decades of experience in the oil and natural gas industry” and have “arranged and raised over a billion in financing for oil and gas projects and development.”
Preliminary regulatory filings from June 30 do not yet list a price per share or the amount the company intends to raise.
The filings say that in 2022 the company acquired 2,480 contiguous undeveloped leasehold acres in the Texas portion of the Permian Basin. In March 31, 2023, Rise acquired an additional 1,859 gross undeveloped leasehold acres in the same area. The company anticipates drilling one or two wells on its acreage by the end of the year.
As of March 31, Rise had $1.7 million in cash and cash equivalents and $3.2 million in total capitalization. The company switched from a Texas corporation to a Nevada corporation in March but lists Austin as its headquarters.
Four other energy companies have launched IPOs this year: TXO Energy Partners LP—formerly known as MorningStar Partners—led by Bob Simpson; Israel’s Enlight Renewable Energy; Atlas Energy Solutions, formerly Atlas Sand of Austin, Texas; and Kodiak Gas Services, the Montgomery, Texas-based oilfield service provider that successfully launched an IPO in June.