Southwestern agrees to second Marcellus acquisition this month
Southwestern Energy Co., Houston, has agreed to acquire 20% of the Marcellus shale assets belonging to Statoil ASA for $394 million.
The assets encompass an additional 30,000 net acres producing 29 MMcfed of natural gas as of October in West Virginia and southwest Pennsylvania. The deal increases Southwestern's overall working interest in the assets by 5.8% to 73% and decreases Statoil's interest by 6% to 23%.
The transaction, expected to close in first-quarter 2015, comes a day after Southwestern closed on its deal with Chesapeake Energy Corp. to acquire 413,000 net acres, 1,500 wells, and related property, plant, and equipment in the Marcellus and Utica shales for an adjusted purchase price of $4.975 billion (OGJ Online, Oct. 14, 2014). That built upon an earlier purchase of 162,000 net acres in the Marcellus, including Susquehanna County acreage, from Chesapeake (OGJ Online, Apr. 30, 2013).
Combined with the acreage acquired from Chesapeake, Southwestern will hold 443,000 net acres in the play. Earlier this month, the company acquired 46,700 net acres in northeast Pennsylvania from WPX Energy Inc. (OGJ Online, Dec. 3, 2014).
John Knight, Statoil executive vice-president for global strategy and business development, commented from his company's perspective, "I am delighted that we have concluded this important transaction with Southwestern despite the turbulence in today's energy markets."
Statoil entered US shale in 2008 by forming a Marcellus joint venture with Chesapeake, and since 2011 has been transitioning from a non-operator to an established unconventional operator.
Statoil entered the Eagle Ford in 2010 (OGJ Online, Oct. 11, 2010); entered the Bakken in 2011 (OGJ Online, Oct. 17, 2011); and acquired operated acreage in the Marcellus in 2012 (OGJ Online, Dec. 19, 2012).
