Company brought one West Texas well online but suspended further drilling in the area in response to the dramatic decline in oil prices during the second quarter of 2020. As of September 30, 2020, the Company was producing from eighteen wells over its approximate 16,200 gross operated (7,500 company net) acre position in West Texas, prospective for the Wolfcamp A, Wolfcamp B and Second Bone Spring formations.
During the fourth quarter of 2019, the Company closed on the acquisitions of certain producing assets and undeveloped acreage of Will Energy Corporation (“Will Energy”) and White Star Petroleum, LLC and certain of its affiliates (collectively, “White Star”), and established an additional core strategic area, located primarily in the Central Oklahoma and Western Anadarko basins. These acquisitions were transformative, as production from these acquisitions represented approximately 75% of the Company’s total net production for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020.
Management Services Agreement
On June 5, 2020, the Company announced the addition of a new corporate strategy that includes offering a property management service (or a “fee for service”) for oil and gas companies with distressed or stranded assets, or companies with a desire to reduce administrative costs by engaging a contract operator of its oil and gas assets. As part of this service offering, the Company entered into a Management Services Agreement (“MSA”) with Mid-Con (Nasdaq: MCEP), effective July 1, 2020, to provide operational services as operator of record on Mid-Con’s oil and gas properties, along with certain administrative and management services, in exchange for an annual services fee of $4 million, paid ratably over the twelve month period, plus reimbursement of certain costs and expenses, a deferred fee of $166,666 per month for each month that the agreement is in effect (not to exceed $2 million), to be paid in a lump sum upon termination of the agreement, and warrants to purchase a minority equity ownership in Mid-Con (with amount and terms of the warrants to be disclosed upon execution of the Warrant Agreement). Both the Company and Mid-Con and their employees have indemnification rights in this fee for service arrangement. As of June 4, 2020, John C. Goff, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Company, beneficially owned approximately 56% of the common units of Mid-Con, and Travis Goff, John C. Goff’s son and the President of Goff Capital, Inc., served on the board of directors of the general partner of Mid-Con. The Company recorded approximately $1.0 million in revenue during the three months ended September 30, 2020 related to this MSA with Mid-Con which is included in “Fee for services revenue” in its consolidated statements of operations.
Open Market Sale Agreement
On June 24, 2020, the Company entered into an Open Market Sale Agreement (the “Sale Agreement”) among the Company and Jefferies LLC (the “Sales Agent”). Pursuant to the terms of the Sale Agreement, the Company may sell, from time to time through the Sales Agent in the open market, shares of the Company’s common stock, having an aggregate public offering price of up to $100,000,000 (the “Shares”) (the “ATM Program”). The Company intends to use the net proceeds from any sales through the ATM Program, after deducting the Sales Agent’s commission and the Company’s offering expenses, to repay borrowings under its Credit Agreement (as defined below) and for general corporate purposes, including, but not limited to, acquisitions and exploratory drilling. Under the Sale Agreement, the Company sold 163,929 Shares during the nine months ended September 30, 2020 for net proceeds of $0.5 million.
Acquisition of Mid-Con and Increase in Borrowing Base
On October 25, 2020, the Company and Mid-Con entered into an agreement and plan of merger providing for the acquisition by the Company of Mid-Con in an all-stock merger transaction in which Mid-Con will become a direct, wholly owned subsidiary of Contango (the “Mid-Con Acquisition”). The Mid-Con Acquisition is expected to close in late 2020 or early 2021, at which time the MSA will be terminated. On October 30, 2020, the Company entered into the Third Amendment (the “Third Amendment”) to its revolving credit agreement with JPMorgan Chase Bank (the “Credit Agreement”) under which, among other things, the Company’s borrowing base will be increased from $75 million to $130 million, effective upon the closing of the Mid-Con Acquisition. See Note 13 – “Subsequent Events” for further details.
Private Placement Sale of Contango Common Stock
Concurrently with the announcement of the Mid-Con Acquisition, the Company announced the execution of an agreement with a select group of institutional and accredited investors to sell 26,451,988 common shares for gross proceeds of approximately $39.7 million. The immediate use of those proceeds was for the repayment of debt outstanding under the