By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Nov. 30 -- Chesapeake Energy Corp. agreed to pay $200 million to Australian independent Antares Energy Ltd. and its partner for rights to drill on 23,180 acres in the South Texas Eagle Ford shale, which is primarily a liquids play, Antares said.
Chesapeake paid $8,628/acre for the position in McMullen County, Tex., Antares reported in a statement posted on its web site. Chesapeake did not put out a news release.
Raymond James & Associates Inc. analyst John Freeman said the price was “near the lower range of recent transactions seen in the play, particularly in the condensate window, but still represents a slight premium to the average value of all transactions done in the play to-date, which is closer to $7,000/acre.”
“The land grabs continue” for Chesapeake, which has more than 625,000 net acres in the Eagle Ford, Freeman said in a Nov. 30 industry brief.
Meanwhile, Marathon Oil on Nov. 29 announced a $10 million deal with Denali Oil & Gas Inc., a private company, marking Marathon’s entry into the Eagle Ford (OGJ Online, Nov. 29, 2010).