Marcellus Shale

Newfield Exploration Purchases Marcellus Shale Acreage

Newfield Exploration Company (NFX) reported the acquisition of leasehold acreage in the Appalachian Basin that is prospective for the Marcellus Shale. 

Newfield Exploration Company is purchasing 50,000 net acres of leasehold from EOG Resources (EOG) for $405 million.  The acreage is located mostly in the Bradford County, Pennsylvania.

Newfield Exploration Company said that the acreage being purchased has production of 7 million cubic feet per day of natural gas from five producing wells.  The company said that there are eleven wells waiting on completion, and Newfield Exploration Company plans to drill two additional wells in 2010.

Newfield Exploration Company estimates that there are 400 gross well locations on the acreage and a net unrisked reserve potential from 1.5 to 2 trillion cubic feet equivalent.  The company will spend $100 million in 2011 to convert its newly acquired acreage to held by production.

Newfield Exploration - Marcellus Shale - Conference Call Comments

Newfield Exploration Company (NFX) held a conference call on July 23, 2010, to talk about additional details on the company’s earnings report for the second quarter of 2010. The company also reported further details on its activities in the Marcellus Shale.

“Our plan in the Marcellus we’ve been very clear. We built a team. It’s a quality team. We see the Marcellus as a substantially significant long-term source of supply in North America. We believe we need to be represented there but we’re going to be very judicious and diligent in terms our efforts and we expect it to be a multi-year effort to build the business in Appalachia.”

“So we haven’t changed our position relative to our thoughts on the Marcellus and the team continues to evaluate opportunities each and every day.”

Source: Seeking Alpha

Hess Corp Updates Marcellus Shale Operations

Hess Corp (HES) reported earnings for the first quarter of 2010, and held a conference call on April 28, 2010, to discuss the quarter. The company updated its operations in the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania.

The company is continuing to build its position in the Marcellus Shale, and has a total of 80,000 net acres in its own portfolio and in a joint venture with Newfield Exploration (NFX)

Hess Corp disclosed that the majority of its acreage is in Wayne County, Pennsylvania, in the extreme northeast corner of the state where there has been very little drilling activity so far.

“We’re continuing to build our position in the Marcellus. We're at about 80,000 net acres now in the Marcellus, primarily in Wayne County, Pennsylvania. About 50,000 of that is Hess operated and the balance is part of this joint venture we have with Newfield. Our plan this year are to drill five to 10 wells during the second half of 2010 in order to evaluate the resource potential on the acreage.”

Source: Seeking Alpha