Statoil acquires Marcellus acreage

Statoil has acquired 70,000 acres of liquid rich shale acreage in the Marcellus shale area for a total cost of US$ 590 million.

Statoil entered the Marcellus in 2008 through a partnership with Chesapeake Energy Corporation. Since then the company has pursued a targeted and stepwise growth strategy, to expand its US onshore holdings and develop operational and organizational capacity.

In 2010 Statoil acquired acreage in the liquid rich Eagle Ford Shale in Texas and in 2011 the company took over ownership and operatorship for leases in the Bakken and Three Forks formations in North Dakota and Montana through the acquisition of Brigham Exploration.

In 2013, Statoil will become operator for 50% of the Eagle Ford acreage, in line with the agreement with Talisman Energy Inc. from 2010.

A majority of the net acres in this transaction are located in the liquid rich part of the Marcellus. The market for these products is substantially better paying than the current market for dry gas in the US.

At this early stage of development the risked resource base is estimated at 300 – 500 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe), equity. Current equity production is approximately 5000 barrels of oil equivalents per day.

"The US unconventional plays hold a substantial resource base and represent an increasingly important part of future energy supplies. Statoil is further strengthening its US onshore portfolio by acquiring additional acreage in the valuable liquid rich parts of the Marcellus shale in Ohio and West Virginia", says Torstein Hole, Senior Vice President for US Onshore in Statoil.

Adapted form press release by Peter Farrell.

Read the article online at: https://www.worldpipelines.com/business-news/19122012/statoil-acquires-marcellus-acreage_37/