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The junior oil patch is consolidating through a four-way combination.

Charger Energy Corp., Seaview Energy Inc., Silverback Energy Ltd. and Sirius Energy Inc. are joining forces to create a streamlined junior explorer and producer that focuses on light oil in central and northwest Alberta.

Once complete, three of the existing management teams will head for the doors, and the assets left behind will be combined to create a company that aims to grow by acquiring both undeveloped land and drilling inventory. All together, the firms already have access to 350,000 net acres of land and are expected to produce between 4,600 and 5,100 barrels of oil equivalent in 2012.



The combined firm will be led by Charger's existing management team, making Tom Buchanan chairman and chief executive officer, Dan O'Byrne president and Mark Walker chief financial officer. All three were formerly with Provident Energy Trust before leaving in 2010, around the time that Provident combined its upstream business with Midnight Oil Exploration to create Pace Oil & Gas Ltd. Mr. Buchanan had been with Provident for many years, and was one of the men behind Founders Energy, which became Provident about a decade ago.

All four of the companies involved in the new deal are fresh-faced.

Seaview and Sirius are the oldest, having started in 2006, and Charger was formed only last year.

While Charger's management team will take the reins, the company will adopt Seaview's class A shares. That means Charger, Silverback and Sirius will exchange all of their shares for class A shares of Seaview, converting at a total cost of $138-million.

Canaccord Genuity, GMP Securities and National Bank Financial acted as financial advisers.

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