Equinor to acquire additional Pennsylvania Marcellus natural gas interests for $1.25 billion

Equinor, through Equinor USA Onshore Properties Inc. and Equinor Natural Gas LLC, will add to its US natural gas portfolio through a $1.25-billion signed deal with EQT Corp. for non-operated interest in the northern Marcellus formation.

With the deal, Equinor is acquiring 100% of EQT’s remaining working interest in the northeast Pennsylvania gas assets, which are primarily operated by Expand Energy (formerly Chesapeake Energy), the operator said in a release Oct. 29 (OGJ Online, Sept. 26, 2024).

The acquisition covers the same acreage included in the swap agreement with EQT announced earlier this year, the operator said in a release Oct. 29 (OGJ Online, Apr. 15, 2024).

Through the most-recent deal, Equinor is increasing its average working interest in the northern Marcellus asset to 40.7% from 25.7%. The assets represent about 350 MMcfd of forecasted 2025 net production, EQT Corp. said about the deal as part of its third-quarter earnings release Oct. 29.

“We continue to high-grade Equinor’s international portfolio in line with our strategy, improving robustness by adding more natural gas volumes in a core market where we produce with low break-evens and low intensity upstream emissions. We are well positioned in this premium acreage to capitalize on positive long-term demand indicators in the US gas market,” said Philippe Mathieu, executive vice-president for exploration and production international at Equinor.

The deal has an effective date of Dec. 31, 2024, and is expected to close in this year’s fourth quarter, subject to required regulatory approvals and clearances.