Parallel Petroleum seeks unparalleled success by exploring for and producing oil and natural gas. The company operates primarily in the Permian Basin of West Texas and New Mexico. Parallel Petroleum sells directly on a month-to-month basis to other oil and gas companies. In 2009 global investment firm Apollo Global Management acquired Parallel Petroleum for about $483 million. Samsung acquired the business in 2012 for about $780 million. Founded in 1979, Parallel Petroleum originally focused on acquiring relatively unproven high-risk, high-cost properties before shifting its strategy to exploiting less risky properties.