When Calgary-based COPL (Canadian Overseas Petroleum Limited) isn’t busy developing crude oil assets in sub-Saharan Africa, it’s looking for the next big oil discovery in the Powder River Basin.

Reese Energy Consulting today is spotlighting producer COPL, whose entrance into the U.S., and particularly Converse County, Wyo., began with the December 2020 acquisition of Atomic Oil and Gas. The $54 million deal included two production units, a unitized exploration area, and a midstream company, PipeCo. The purchase also gave COPL 31.1 MMBOE of proved and probable reserves with a then-production rate of 1 MBPD.

In July 2022, the company snapped up Cuda Energy’s oil-producing assets for $19.1 million, which comprised three more producing units that increased COPL’s ownership interest to between 85% and 100%. Together, the two deals gave COPL 48,000 contiguous acres of federal leasehold with a 40+ year reserve life in Converse and Natrona Counties.

Now, here’s the interesting story in the time between the purchases: An independent report commissioned by COPL last January estimated 993.5 MMBbls of oil in a reservoir where the company’s leaseholds now overlie most of it. COPL was quick to publicly distinguish the difference between reserves and recoverable resources but expects to initially extract about 8-10% of that oil, along with a secondary recovery.