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Titanium Exploration Partners
Titanium Exploration Partners, led by Bryan Moody and Chris Horgan, acquires and develops producing oil and gas assets in Texas and New Mexico.
Titanium Exploration Partners
Titanium Exploration Partners was formed in 2014 by Bryan Moody and Chris Horgan, both managing partners with prior careers in energy investment banking at JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs, respectively. The firm launched with a $350 million equity commitment from NGP Energy Capital Management, a storied natural resources backer based in Dallas. The founders structured Titanium as an acquisition-and-development vehicle targeting producing properties that larger operators were divesting during the oil price correction. Titanium's strategy centers on acquiring mature, producing oil and gas assets with established decline curves, then applying incremental drilling and operational improvements to extend field life. The firm focuses on conventional reservoirs rather than unconventional resource plays, a differentiator in a private equity landscape that often chases shale. Known transactions include the 2015 acquisition of Permian Basin assets from an undisclosed seller and the 2017 purchase of operated properties in the East Texas Basin from a major integrated producer. Its geographic footprint concentrates on Texas and New Mexico, with a secondary interest in the Rocky Mountain region. The firm operates with a lean team in Fort Worth, with investment and operating professionals combining financial engineering with subsurface technical expertise. Its founding vehicle, Titanium Acquisition Holdings, was purpose-built to align NGP's capital with the founding partners' deal-sourcing network. In June 2022, Titanium closed a bolt-on acquisition of producing properties in Lea County, New Mexico, expanding its Permian position (per Hart Energy, June 2022). The firm has not publicly raised a second fund, suggesting a potential project-finance or direct-investment structure for subsequent capital deployment. Titanium's structural edge lies in its narrow mandate: it competes for assets that are too small for public E&P companies to retain but too operationally intensive for generalist private equity. Its technical team includes reservoir engineers and landmen who can underwrite acquisitions faster than a commodity-focused credit fund, while the NGP relationship provides permanent capital backing that removes fund-life pressure from holding periods.
General information
Firm type
Private Equity
Year founded
—
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Fort Worth
Corporate office
Fort Worth, TX, United States
Principals
Bryan Moody
Managing Partner
Chris Horgan
Managing Partner
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at Titanium Exploration Partners?
Managing Partners Bryan Moody and Chris Horgan jointly lead the firm's investment strategy and underwriting. Both were energy investment bankers — Moody at JPMorgan and Horgan at Goldman Sachs — prior to founding Titanium in 2014. Their deal decisions combine financial structuring with subsurface technical evaluation, leveraging an in-house team of reservoir engineers.
How is Titanium Exploration Partners capitalized?
Titanium launched with a $350 million equity commitment from NGP Energy Capital Management, a Dallas-based natural resources investment firm. NGP has been the primary financial sponsor of Titanium since inception. The firm has not publicly announced a second fund, suggesting subsequent capital may come through direct co-investment structures alongside NGP.
What type of oil and gas assets does Titanium target?
Titanium focuses on mature, producing conventional oil and gas assets with established production histories, rather than frontier exploration or shale development. The firm seeks assets that larger operators divest to streamline portfolios. Its acquisitions have included Permian Basin and East Texas Basin properties.
Does Titanium Exploration Partners operate the assets it acquires?
Yes, Titanium operates the properties it acquires. The firm employs technical staff including engineers and landmen to manage day-to-day field operations and to plan incremental drilling programs that extend asset life. This operating capability allows Titanium to pursue deals that passive financial buyers cannot underwrite.
How does Titanium's approach differ from other energy private equity firms?
Unlike many energy PE firms that focus on unconventional shale plays requiring continuous drilling, Titanium targets conventional reservoirs with predictable decline curves. The firm also stands apart through its permanent capital backing from NGP, which removes the forced exit timeline that fund-structured peers face. This allows Titanium to hold assets through commodity cycles.
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