U.S. Shale-catters to IPO Australian Shale Explorer on NYSE

U.S. shale-catters, chaired by the Haynesville and Eagle Ford shale discoveries’ co-leader Dick Stoneburner, have filed an S-1 for an IPO of Australian shale-gas explorer Tamboran Resources Corp.

The group plans to trade on the New York Stock Exchange as TBN, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. The S-1 did not include an estimate of the total funds to be raised or the price-per-share range.

Australia-listed Tamboran’s (ASX: TBN) largest shareholder is Bryan Sheffield, founder of Permian shale developer Parsley Energy Inc., which he sold to Pioneer Natural Resources in 2021 for $7.6 billion.

Pioneer was bought by Exxon Mobil Corp. last week for $59.5 billion in stock.

Stoneburner, a career geologist, co-led Petrohawk Energy Corp. in the early days of leasehold capture and delineating the shale-gas Haynesville play in northwestern Louisiana, beginning in late 2007.

In 2008, Petrohawk made the liquids-rich Eagle Ford discovery well.

Upon selling Petrohawk to BHP Billiton in 2012 for $15.1 billion, Stoneburner was president of BHP’s new North American shale division.

In addition to Sheffield, Tamboran investors include leading U.S. shale pressure-pumper Liberty Energy Inc., which sent one of its frac spreads to complete the most recent well, Shenandoah South #1H, in December.

The well had a 30-day IP of 3.2 MMcf/d from a 1,644-foot section of lateral that was completed with 10 stages. The 60-day flow was 3.0 MMcf/d; the 90-day flow, 2.9 MMcf/d, according to the S-1.

Normalized for a 10,000-foot lateral, the 30-day flow is equivalent to 19.5 MMcf/d, Tamboran reported in the S-1.

Another investor, Helmerich & Payne Inc., a leading U.S. shale driller, drilled the well with one of its newest FlexRigs, which are operated onsite as well as remotely from H&P’s Tulsa, Okla., headquarters.

Resembles Marcellus

Sydney-based Tamboran holds 4.7 million contiguous gross acres in the targeted Beetaloo Basin; net, 1.9 million acres, according to the S-1.

The Beetaloo is in north-central Australia and underlies some 7 million acres of outback flanked on its northwestern corner by Daly Waters, a town on Australia’s 1,900-mile Highway 1 that stretches from Darwin to Adelaide.

In several decades of exploration, including in 2015 by the late Chesapeake Energy Corp. co-founder Aubrey McClendon, explorers have invested more than $600 million in testing the Beetaloo’s Middle Velkerri B Formation that Tamboran has found to resemble the Marcellus Shale in its geophysical properties, according to the S-1.

The target is at more than 6,000 feet.

Tamboran has drilled six appraisal wells in the leasehold, including two early wells with a partner at the time, Santos Ltd.

Tamboran currently owns the six wells. They are shut in, awaiting gathering to connect to big pipe that travels alongside Highway 1, operated by Australia-based pipe and electric power company APA Group (not related to U.S.-based APA Corp., the owner of Apache Corp.).

Tamboran expects takeaway will be up to 2 Bcf/d from its leasehold upon full field development.

Including tests by others, 21 wells have been drilled through the Middle Velkerri Formation, according to the S-1.

In addition to Stoneburner, board members include Fred Barrett, co-founder and former CEO of U.S. tight-rock explorer Bill Barrett Corp.

Tamboran management includes Faron Thibodeaux, COO, who was Australia manager for Apache Corp. before Apache sold its Australian business in 2015.

Its CEO is Joel Riddle, who was previously with offshore explorer Cobalt International Energy.

Joint book-running managers for the IPO are BofA Securities, Citigroup and RBC Capital Markets. Co-managers are Johnson Rice & Co. and Piper Sandler.