It's down to Aubrey, Gulfport and Rice

American Energy builds leading position in Utica Shale

By Jay F. Marks Modified: February 3, 2014 at 8:40 am •  Published: February 3, 2014

An affiliate of American Energy Partner LP has amassed an industry-leading 260,000 net acres in the southern Utica Shale, the Oklahoma City-based company announced Monday.

American Energy-Utica LLC’s has agreed to acquire about 130,000 acres from affiliates of Hess Corp., Exxon Mobil Corp. and privately held Paloma Partners LLC.

Terms of those deals were not disclosed, although Hess last week announced the sale of 74,000 net Utica acres to an unnamed buyer for $924 million.

American Energy’s holdings are centered in the core of the Utica, where it plans to drill 2,700 gross wells over the next decade.

American Energy was founded last year by Aubrey McClendon after he was forced out as CEO of Chesapeake Energy Corp. The company secured $1.7 billion in loans and equity commitments to acquire acreage in southern Ohio.

American Energy also announced last week it had secured another $500 million in equity commitments to buy oil and natural gas interests in other domestic plays.

Link:   http://newsok.com/american-energy-builds-leading-position-in-utica-...

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Permalink Reply by Renee E. Dorsey on February 4, 2014 at 2:48am

Another one:   http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-02-03/mcclendon-s-american-energ...

McClendon’s American Energy Acquires Utica Shale Acreage

American Energy Partners LP, founded by former Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK) Chief Executive Officer Aubrey McClendon, agreed to buy 56,000 acres of drilling leases from Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) and Paloma Partners LLC to become the dominant explorer in the southern Utica Shale.

Including the 74,000 Utica acres acquired from Hess Corp. (HES) last week for $924 million, American Energy now has about 260,000 net acres in the region, the Oklahoma City-based company said today in a statement. It didn’t disclose how much it paid for the Exxon and Paloma purchases.

The total holdings are more than double the target leasehold announced by American Energy in October after it raised about $1.7 billion and said it was targeting the Ohio formation. Drilling in the Utica has expanded fivefold in the past year as explorers sought to extract natural gas with high concentrations of valuable byproducts such as propane and ethane, according to data compiled by Bloomberg Industries.

“It’s obvious that Aubrey is going to get very active again,” T. Boone Pickens, whose investment company sold at about half a million shares in Chesapeake in 2012, said in an interview today. “We’ll see where we go from there.”

Utica Promise

As CEO of Chesapeake, which he built into the second-largest U.S. gas producer, McClendon led the charge into the Utica. While he declared in 2011 that the formation would rival the Eagle Ford Shale in south Texas, the Utica hasn’t lived up to the hype and explorers have narrowed their focus to a slim section where the pressure and byproducts content are high enough to yield profitable results.

American Energy plans to drill about 2,700 gross wells and 1,600 net wells during the next decade. Houston-based private-equity firm Energy & Minerals Group is lead investor with additional backing from First Reserve Corp. and management of the affiliate, American Energy - Utica LLC, involved in acquiring the acreage.

About 90 percent of American Energy’s acquired acreage is in the core of the southern Utica deposit, defined as southern Jefferson, Belmont, eastern Guernsey, Harrison, Monroe and Noble counties, according to today’s statement.

Exxon said in a statement today that McClendon’s company was the highest bidder for about 30,000 net acres operated by its XTO Energy subsidiary. XTO will continue to drill its own wells on 55,000 acres of drilling rights which it retained.

Separately, Exxon said it agreed to fund exploration of 34,000 acres in the Permian Basin of west Texas by Endeavor Energy Resources LP. Endeavor will continue drilling shallow wells while Exxon’s XTO probes deeper layers, according to the statement.

Hess Sale

Closely held Paloma Partners, based in Houston, anticipated drilling its first Utica well in June, according to its website.

Hess, the New York-based oil company that’s been selling assets and streamlining operations, announced the sale of dry gas acreage in the Utica on Jan. 29, without identifying the buyer. Charlie Rexford, a spokesman for American Energy, confirmed today it was the purchaser.

McClendon resigned from Chesapeake in April after a shareholder revolt led by Carl Icahn and Southeastern Asset Management Inc.’s O. Mason Hawkins. A board inquiry into McClendon’s use of personal stakes in company-owned wells to obtain more than $800 million in private loans cleared him of wrongdoing a year ago.

Permalink Reply by Bill Barnaby on February 5, 2014 at 9:34am

Folks who are HBP will have no choice until the oil companies say they have a choice.

Permalink Reply by Armstrong Land on February 6, 2014 at 8:26am

I wonder what Antero, Eclipse and CNX/Hess would think about this.

Permalink Reply by Renee E. Dorsey on February 6, 2014 at 9:34am

Dunno, don't care,  if that is the point of your snarky comment.  

CLARIFICATION:    Around my area, these are 3 that are left.   

Permalink Reply by Philip Brutz on February 6, 2014 at 10:47am

Renee, what county/ township are you in?

Permalink Reply by Renee E. Dorsey on February 6, 2014 at 11:09am

Belmont - Mead township 

Permalink Reply by Philip Brutz on February 6, 2014 at 1:16pm

My land is in Guernsey- Millwood township.  I am leased with Gulfport but surrounded by Rex and Eclipse.  The 2 companies have close to 80% of the leases in Millwood.

Permalink Reply by catt on February 6, 2014 at 4:42pm

Antero and Gulfport have some of the biggest producing wells in Ohio........ 

Permalink Reply by Renee E. Dorsey on February 7, 2014 at 10:24am

Yep - Gulfport rocks it;  I almost signed with them but they wouldn't budge as much on my lease after my attorney reviewed it.   I have nothing against them at all.   

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