Hilcorp and Carlyle Form Partnership to Acquire North American Oil and Gas Properties

Houston, TX – Hilcorp Energy Company ("Hilcorp"), a privately owned oil and gas exploration and development company based in Houston, Texas, today announced the establishment of a newly formed partnership, Hilcorp Energy Development, L.P. (the "Company"), which seeks to acquire, operate and develop onshore oil and natural gas properties and related assets in North America.  In conjunction with the establishment of the Company, the Carlyle Energy Mezzanine Opportunities Fund, L.P. and Carlyle Energy Mezzanine Opportunities Fund II, L.P. ("Carlyle"), funds controlled by The Carlyle Group, have entered into a definitive agreement to invest up to $1.24 billion in the newly formed partnership.

The Company actively seeks to leverage the expertise of Hilcorp's management and technical staff to exploit attractive opportunities in the North American energy sector.  “Hilcorp is one of the preeminent oil and gas developers and operators in the United States,” said David Albert, Managing Director at The Carlyle Group and Co-Head of the Carlyle Energy Mezzanine Opportunities Group.  “Hilcorp’s superior ability to reduce costs and improve production and offtake efficiencies is impressive, and in large part, has enabled it to build a successful multi-decade track record of value creation.  We are thrilled to be partnered with Hilcorp.”

“Carlyle is an outstanding partner that understands our business and has the capacity to grow with us at a time in the oil and gas industry when we believe there will be significant opportunity,” said Jason Rebrook, Executive Vice President at Hilcorp.  “We are particularly excited to be partnered with the Carlyle energy credit team and look forward to growing Hilcorp Energy Development together.“

* * * * *

About Hilcorp
Hilcorp, founded in 1989, is one of the largest privately-held independent oil and natural gas exploration and production companies in the United States. Hilcorp is consistently ranked as one of the top places to work in America by multiple regional and national publications.  Headquartered in Houston, TX, with over 1300 employees, Hilcorp has operations across the United States including the Texas, Louisiana, Northeast US and Alaska.

About Carlyle
The Carlyle Energy Mezzanine Opportunities Group has 20 investment professionals based in New York and Houston and is dedicated to providing growth and refinancing capital to projects and companies in the energy sector through its two funds Carlyle Energy Mezzanine Opportunities Fund, L.P. and Carlyle Energy Mezzanine Opportunities Fund II, L.P., which have combined assets of approximately $4 billion.

The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) is a global alternative asset manager with $188 billion of assets under management across 126 funds and 160 fund of funds vehicles as of September 30, 2015. Carlyle’s purpose is to invest wisely and create value on behalf of its investors, many of whom are public pensions. Carlyle invests across four segments – Corporate Private Equity, Real Assets, Global Market Strategies and Investment Solutions – in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, North America and South America. Carlyle has expertise in various industries, including: aerospace, defense & government services, consumer & retail, energy, financial services, healthcare, industrial, real estate, technology & business services, telecommunications & media and transportation. The Carlyle Group employs more than 1,700 people in 35 offices across six continents.

# # #