Parsley Energy, LLC (Parsley) is pleased to announce that it has closed on a $65 million preferred equity investment by Natural Gas Partners (NGP).

Parsley is a Midland, Texas-based company that was founded by its CEO Bryan Sheffield in 2008. With 9 rigs running, Parsley is one of the most active operators in the prolific Midland Basin. Since its inception, Parsley has drilled over 270 wells and is currently producing over 17,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day ('Boepd') on a gross operated basis and over 5,000 Boepd on a net basis. With over 73,000 net acres and 60 employees Parsley is well positioned to continue executing on its high growth business plan. Parsley will continue to focus on vertical development in the Wolfberry play and will also begin its horizontal drilling program in the fourth quarter of 2013.

'Parsley is very excited about our new partnership with NGP. When the company was founded in 2008, we were financed through development packages with individual working interest owners. As we continued to grow, we obtained debt financing and tactical support from our partners Western National Bank and Chambers Energy Capital. We believe that this equity investment by NGP is a milestone in the next phase of our growth and is representative of the maturation of our business. NGP demonstrated considerable creativity and flexibility to find an investment structure that fit with Parsley's goals, and already, NGP has proven to be a valuable resource for strategic advice and industry knowledge,' said Bryan Sheffield, CEO of Parsley. 'Importantly, our management team will continue to own the majority of the equity of Parsley as we focus on long-term value creation.'

'We are thrilled to partner with Bryan and the high quality management team he has assembled at Parsley. The Parsley team has done an outstanding job of building a sizeable and dynamic independent oil and gas company in a short period of time, and we believe the company is well positioned to create significant value in the years ahead. We have been very impressed with the Parsley management team and are excited to support their continued growth,' said Tony Weber, Senior Managing Director at NGP. 'Parsley has been a leader in the evolving Wolfberry play, and we expect that the company's operational expertise will continue to create value as the basin shifts toward more horizontal development.'

About Natural Gas Partners

Founded in 1988, Natural Gas Partners (NGP) is a family of private equity investment funds organized to make investments in the natural resources sector with approximately $10.5 billion in cumulative committed capital since inception. NGP is part of the investment platform of NGP Energy Capital Management, a premier investment franchise in the natural resources industry, which together with its affiliates has managed $13 billion in cumulative committed capital since inception.