Even the Multiple Sclerosis Society Is Cashing In on Texas Oil

(Bloomberg) -- There’s money to be made in the world’s largest oilfield -- even for charity.

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society is seeking a buyer for mineral rights on 192 net acres in the oil-rich Permian Basin of West Texas, according to an online posting Wednesday. The assets, expected to generate about $62,000 in net cash flow for May, include 9 producing wells and three drilled but uncompleted horizontal wells in the “Prolific Tier 1” Wolfcamp and Spraberry plays.

The Permian Basin has taken over from Saudi Arabia’s Ghawar as the world’s largest oilfield, with a forecast that it will produce 4.17 million barrels of oil a day in April, according to the Energy Information Administration. West Texas Intermediate crude oil prices, the U.S. benchmark, just reported the biggest quarterly gain in a decade.

The New York-based nonprofit said it received the mineral rights as a beneficiary of a trust.

“As we are in the business of helping the nearly 1 million people in the U.S. living with multiple sclerosis, and not the oil business, it is in our best interest to sell our share of the mineral rights,” Tami Caesar, chief financial and operations officer of the group, said in an email. “Also, it is our policy to sell assets that are donated to us so we can fund more MS research and provide programs and services to people living with this disease.”

‘‘Their goal ultimately is to receive the highest price they can for these minerals and it’s a very active area,’’ Matt Meagher, president of Meagher Energy Advisors, which is assisting in the sale, said in a telephone interview.

To contact the reporter on this story: Caleb Mutua in New York at dmutua@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Simon Casey at scasey4@bloomberg.net, Tina Davis, Carlos Caminada

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