KKR has held the final closing of KKR Energy Income and Growth Fund I (EIGF), a USD2bn strategy focused primarily on investing behind the development of North American unconventional oil and gas resources.
The fund seeks to generate current income and capital appreciation while seeking to provide inflation protection through commodity exposure.
The EIGF strategy received strong backing from a diverse group of new and existing KKR investors globally, including pensions, sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies, foundations, endowments, private banking platforms, family offices and individual investors.
Marc Lipschultz, KKR's global head of energy & infrastructure, says: "The energy revolution has created an unprecedented opportunity set, and we are seeing many ways to partner with companies to help develop these important resources. Pursuing asset-level and structured investments, we intend to deploy creative and flexible structures that seek to best meet the needs of our partners while delivering benefits associated with real asset ownership. We appreciate the diversity and support of new and existing KKR investors."
The strategy is focused on making joint venture drilling investments, acquiring minerals and royalties, acquiring legacy producing assets and pursuing opportunistic investments associated with oil and gas resources. To date, the EIGF strategy has deployed over USD350m of equity in eight investments.
KKR has invested or committed approximately USD4.3bn to oil and gas investments since 2009 through its investment funds and vehicles spanning buy-outs, minority equity investments, joint-ventures, and various asset-level and structured investments. In 2009, KKR made its first investment in unconventional natural gas assets through its investment in East Resources, a resource owner in the Marcellus Shale. In 2010, KKR made its first investment in unconventional crude oil assets through its partnership with Hilcorp Energy in the Eagle Ford Shale.
