By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, July 28 -- CNX Gas Corp., Pittsburgh, leased nearly 40,000 acres with Marcellus shale gas potential in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, bringing its total Marcellus position to 230,000 acres.
In one transaction, CNX leased 20,000 largely contiguous acres from NiSource Energy Ventures LLC, a subsidiary of Columbia Energy Group, in Washington and Greene counties, Pennsylvania, and Marshall County, West Virginia.
In a second deal, CNX leased 20,000 acres from its majority owner, CONSOL Energy Inc. These acres, though not contiguous, are generally located in and around CONSOL’s coal operations in Washington and Greene counties, Pennsylvania, and Marshall, Monongalia, and Wetzel counties, West Virginia. CONSOL acquired the lands in connection with its mining operations, after the sale of CNX common stock in 2005.
The acreage in the two transactions have the potential to provide CNX with hundreds of Marcellus shale drillsites in an area where the company has averaged 3.5 bcf/well recoverable at its first eight horizontal wells.
Results of microseismic data analysis have enabled CNX to begin using 40-acre well spacing for the horizontal Marcellus shale program. It will be able to accelerate drilling once gas prices rebound.
Photo from Odfjell Drilling.
