The agreement included a provision that could have adjusted the price incrementally up to $14.5 million higher, if the price of West Texas Intermediate crude was higher than expected on the closing date.

“For several years now, we have stated that caution was needed with regard to further investment in the upstream space,” Ward said in the announcement.

“Stretched reserve valuations and cash being spent in excess were creating a situation that was untenable for the industry,” he continued, adding that the recent energy bust created jointly by the Russia-Saudi Arabia war to recapture lost market shares and the COVID-19 pandemic only exacerbated the industry’s predicament.

Earlier this year when Ward announced Mach Resources’ bid to acquire the assets, he described the situation as “a unique opportunity to acquire a sizable cash-flowing asset with the supporting midstream infrastructure, through a bankruptcy process, in an area of our team’s expertise.”