Ken From had three goals when he left his job as senior vice-president of gas supply with SaskEnergy to form Prairie Hunter Energy Corp. in 2007.
"The first thing we wanted to do was prove this idea, this belief, that many parts of this province deserve a second look," From said, referring to the company's strategy of exploring previously explored areas using new technology, geological data and economics.
"Secondly, we believed we could make a very successful oil company. And the third thing we wanted to do was provide head office jobs -- high-tech geoscience and engineering jobs -- in Regina."
Prairie Hunter achieved the first two goals hands down, building a junior resource company from scratch to a 600-barrels-per-day of oil production in less than two years. Moreover, Prairie Hunter went from zero to nearly $20 million worth of assets during the same period.
As for achieving the third goal, building a junior oil company headquartered in Regina, well, not so much.
As befalls many juniors, Prairie Hunter was purchased last week by Renegade Petroleum Ltd. of Calgary for about $19 million.
"Junior oil companies are started basically to sell at some time point in time," From said. "That's the only way investors can realize a gain (on their investment)."
Renegade, a fairly recent start-up company itself, saw Prairie Hunter as a good fit with its own Saskatchewan production and made a bid for the company earlier this year. The transaction closed May 12 with all Prairie Hunter shareholders tendering their shares to the bid.
"If you look at it from a Prairie Hunter shareholder perspective, this is an opportunity for liquidity, so they can get some or all of their investment back, with a nice return, if they so choose," From added.