EQT makes deals for additional territory

Acquires wells in Pa., W.Va.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

EQT Corp. announced several deals Tuesday that would add more territory to its portfolio in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, and make it the parent of a publicly-traded oil and gas firm in West Virginia.

The Downtown-based company said it has reached agreements to acquire 42,600 acres and 42 Marcellus wells from Trans Energy Inc., a West Virginia firm focused on the wet portion of the Marcellus Shale in Marshall, Wetzel and Marion counties, and its joint venture partner Republic Energy, based in Texas.

The deal is valued at $513 million and will be consummated through EQT's offer to buy all outstanding shares of Trans Energy at $3.58 per share in cash. Once completed, Trans Energy will be a wholly-owned subsidiary of EQT.

In a separate deal, EQT will pay $170 million to an undisclosed seller of 17,000 acres and two Marcellus wells in southwestern Pennsylvania, with the majority of leases covering Washington County.

Because these acquisitions add to EQT's existing holdings, they will allow the company to extend the length of the horizontal wells it drills on some 190 locations, more than doubling the distance that would be covered by each lateral.

This is part of EQT’s consolidation strategy, the company said in a statement, that focuses its leasing and development efforts on a core area in southwestern Pennsylvania and northern West Virginia. In May, the company announced a $407 million deal with Statoil USA Onshore Properties Inc. that included 62,500 acres in West Virginia.

At the time, CEO Dave Porges told analysts that the company was focused on relatively small acquisitions to bolt on to its current portfolio.

EQT is scheduled to report third-quarter earnings on Thursday.