Marcellus Shale

Enerplus Adds To Position In Marcellus Shale

Enerplus Resources Fund (ERF) recently added to its position in the Marcellus Shale through the purchase of 58,500 net acres in Preston County, West Virginia and Garret County, Maryland. The company will have an average working interest of 90% on this acreage position.

Enerplus Resources Fund has allocated $150 million to add to its leasehold in the Marcellus Shale in 2010. The company has 70,000 net operated acres and 127,000 net non-operated acres.

The company estimates that the acreage has original gas in place of approximately 50 to 60 billion cubic feet per 640 acres. The company plans to shoot seismic and obtain permits in anticipation of drilling in 2011.

Marcellus Shale Drilling Reaches Maryland

In December 2009, Samson Resources applied for the first permits to drill to the Marcellus Shale in Maryland. The company wants to drill three wells in Garrett County and a fourth well in Allegany County, according to the Maryland Department of the Environment.

Samson Resources is a privately owned oil and gas company based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. If the initial wells are successful, the company plans to drill several hundred wells on 70,000 acres in the area over the next ten years.