Shell Sells Gassy Appalachian Basin Acreage to Equity-Backed Partnership

摘要

Royal Dutch Shell has sold a package of undeveloped acreage in the Appalachian Basin to private-equity-backed Pin Oak Energy Partners as the international major looks to rationalize its large portfolio in the Marcellus and Utica Shale gas plays.Ohio-based Pin Oak bought 43,000 net acres in northwestern Pennsylvania from Shell for an undisclosed sum,the company said.The operated acreage includes rights to both the prolific Marcellus Shale as well as the deeper Utica Shale.All the acreage is held by production,the company said.”The fact that the majority of the acreage is HBP affords us time to more thoroughly evaluate the region as we high-grade locations for economic development,”Pin Oak business development head Mark van Tyne said.Pin Oak was founded in 2015 and has since built up a portfolio of more than 165,000 acres in Ohio and Pennsylvania primarily targeting the Utica.While a substantial amount of the acreage,the sales package is just one small part of Shell's Appalachian footprint.The company held 850,000 net acres in the basin,most of which is in Pennsylvania with some additional holdings in Ohio.