Statoil acquires major acreage in Marcellus area, US

Norway-based oil and gas company Statoil has acquired 70,000 operated net acres in central Marcellus area in Ohio, US, for $590m.

In its current initial stage of development, the liquid rich area holds about 300 million to 500 million barrels of oil, while current equity production is about 5,000 barrels of oil equivalents per day.

In 2008, Statoil moved into Marcellus as part of an alliance formed with Chesapeake Energy, and gradually expanded its US onshore holdings and increased operational and organizational capacity.

Statoil bought acreage in the liquid-rich Eagle Ford Shale in Texas in 2010.

In 2011, the company adopted ownership and operatorship for leases in the Bakken and Three Forks formations in North Dakota and Montana by acquiring Brigham Exploration.

Under an agreement signed with Talisman Energy in 2010, Statoil will get 50% operator rights in the Eagle Ford acreage in 2013.

Statoil US onshore senior vice president, Torstein Hole, said that US unconventional plays comprises significant amount of resource base, which will play a key role in the 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," Hole added.

"We are already operator in Bakken, we are on schedule to become operator in Eagle Ford next year and with this transaction Statoil will become operator also in Marcellus. We will then be operator in all of our significant US shale plays."

The latest deal was completed on 18 December 2012, with 1 September as the effective date.

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Image: Torstein Hole (left), senior vice president for US onshore in Statoil and Andy Winkle, Statoil’s vice president for the Marcellus asset, at a well pad in the Marcellus area. Photo: courtesy of Statoil.