Whiting Petroleum Corp said on Monday its proven reserves of oil equivalent have jumped nearly a third over the past year, thanks largely to its buyout earlier this month of rival Kodiak Oil & Gas. The deal, which made Whiting the largest North Dakota oil producer, lifted the company’s proven reserves to 780 million barrels of oil equivalent, more than two-thirds of which is comprised of crude oil. The numbers for both years factor in Kodiak’s reserves, Whiting said in a statement. As part of the deal, Whiting acquired Kodiak’s proven reserves of roughly 167 million barrels of oil equivalent for $23.77 per barrel. That is far below the current benchmark price for American crude oil, about $56 per barrel, boosting the economics of the deal. Whiting also boosted a revolving credit facility to $3.5 billion from $2.5 billion. The increase is likely designed to […]