"King of the Marcellus Shale" feeling aggressive

Range Resources Corp., recently dubbed the “King of the Marcellus Shale” in a Forbes article, is expressing a desire for “seizing opportunities” in the Marcellus Shale natural gas field.

Range plans plans an additional $210 million in capital expenditures in the Appalachian shales this year.

With the spending boost, the Fort Worth-based natural gas and oil producer said it expects to double its net production in the field, from the equivalent of 200 million to 210 million cubic feet of natural gas per day by year’s end to 400 million to 420 million cubic feet by the end of 2011.

The updated projection, for the Marcellus Shale alone, would approach nearly 90 percent of Range’s production from all its operations during the most recent quarter, which was a company record.

Range also said it will spend $40 million to expand its Marcellus lease holdings, “allowing us to continue to block up acreage in our core areas.”

In addition, Range said it will spend $25 million as part of a joint venture in Pennsylvania with Talisman Energy.

Range said it hopes to wring greater financial gains from its Marcellus lease holdings of 1.3 million net acres by drilling into the Upper Devonian Shale, above the Marcellus, and into the Utica Shale below. While those zones aren’t expected to produce nearly as much gas as the Marcellus, Range can tap into them cheaply from existing pad sites.

Range said its Marcellus Shale team plans two additional Upper Devonian test wells this year to further evaluate that shale and to start a Utica Shale well in early 2011.

Source: Fort Worth Star-Telegram

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Posted by admin on July 30th, 2010. Filed under Marcellus Shale, Shale Basins. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry