Drilling Commences at Magnum Hunter's First Utica Well

Magnum Hunter Resources Corporation announced the commencement of drilling its first Utica Shale well on the Farley Pad (4 Well Pad) located in northern Washington County, Ohio along the Noble County, Ohio border. Triad Hunter, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, is operating the well and owns 100 percent working interest in this drilling unit. The development plan is to first drill a vertical pilot hole for extensive logging and core analysis, and then to plug back and drill a 6,000+ foot lateral in the Point Pleasant portion of the Utica Shale. The well will then be fracture stimulated and tested this summer.

Triad Hunter has mineral rights on approximately 88,000 gross acres (79,000 net acres) of Utica potential in Ohio and West Virginia, with a significant portion of this mineral acreage held by existing production. Based on offset well results and industry analysis, we believe approximately one-half of our existing acreage position is located in the wet gas window of this emerging play.

Gary C. Evans, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Magnum Hunter Resources, commented, "While this new well currently drilling represents our first horizontal Utica Shale test in Ohio, we have three other horizontal wells already drilled in the Marcellus formation located nearby in Monroe County, two of which are waiting on fracture stimulation and new pipeline installation by our midstream affiliate, Eureka Hunter. Having the opportunity of possessing two significant production horizons at one location is unique in this region. The down hole log interpretations of these two new wells which indicate a very high liquids content is most encouraging. We believe our activities in Southeastern Ohio will have significant economic impact on our Company in the ensuing months. We continue to assemble mineral acreage in the region to increase our inventory and foothold position."

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Gulfport Energy Buys More Utica Shale Acres from Windsor Ohio

Gulfport Energy Corp. agreed to acquire another 22,000 net acres in the Utica Shale in Eastern Ohio from Windsor Ohio LLC for about $220 million as the oil-and-natural-gas producer continues to boost its presence in the shale basin.

The Utica Shale, which stretches through Ohio and Pennsylvania, is a relatively new and very promising shale basin that consists of a potentially significant liquids-rich gas source.

Gulfport paid about $300 million in December to take over 37,000 net acres in the Utica Shale from Windsor Ohio LLC, an affiliate of the Greenwich, Conn., hedge fund Wexford Capital LP.

Gulfport said the latest deal, which should close by the end of the month, will increase its working interest in the acreage to 93.8%.

The company also said it plans to fund the transaction with a public offering of 7.75 million common shares.

Gulfport reported in November its third-quarter profit slumped 98% as it logged a $15.5 million income-tax expense related to its oil and natural-gas interests in the Permian Basin.

Copyright (c) 2012 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

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Gulfport Energy Buys More Utica Shale Acres from Windsor Ohio

Gulfport Energy Corp. agreed to acquire another 22,000 net acres in the Utica Shale in Eastern Ohio from Windsor Ohio LLC for about $220 million as the oil-and-natural-gas producer continues to boost its presence in the shale basin.

The Utica Shale, which stretches through Ohio and Pennsylvania, is a relatively new and very promising shale basin that consists of a potentially significant liquids-rich gas source.

Gulfport paid about $300 million in December to take over 37,000 net acres in the Utica Shale from Windsor Ohio LLC, an affiliate of the Greenwich, Conn., hedge fund Wexford Capital LP.

Gulfport said the latest deal, which should close by the end of the month, will increase its working interest in the acreage to 93.8%.

The company also said it plans to fund the transaction with a public offering of 7.75 million common shares.

Gulfport reported in November its third-quarter profit slumped 98% as it logged a $15.5 million income-tax expense related to its oil and natural-gas interests in the Permian Basin.

Copyright (c) 2012 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

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Linde to Supply LNG to Utica, Marcellus Operations

Linde North America announced Monday that CONSOL Energy has contracted with Linde to supply LNG and related equipment and services for all of its operations in the Marcellus and Utica basins. This new agreement follows successful completion of a trial conducted by the two companies using Linde’s LNG to replace some of the diesel fuel used to power the diesel engines (gensets) that drive drilling rigs. Under the new agreement, Linde’s LNG solution will be used to power gas drilling for CONSOL and may also be expanded to applications such as hydraulic fracturing, mining and marine operations. The LNG-diesel dual-fuel solution lowers the cost of producing on-site power at gas and oil operations and burns more cleanly than diesel fuel alone.

Linde North America is a member of The Linde Group, a gases and engineering company. CONSOL Energy is a publicly owned Pittsburgh-based producer of coal and natural gas with active exploration and production operations in the Marcellus and Utica shales. It is the leading diversified energy producer in the Appalachian basin.

Jeff Boggs, vice president of drilling for CONSOL Energy, said, "The success of our initial collaboration with Linde to power our drilling operations with a hybrid fuel incorporating LNG gave us the confidence to expand our use of this economical, cleaner-burning fuel. Linde has been a great partner, working with CONSOL to safely and reliably implement the use of LNG in our drilling operations. We look forward to working with Linde as we expand our use of LNG to achieve the operational and environmental benefits of natural gas fueling throughout our operations."

"The successful test of our dual LNG-diesel fuel solution in partnership with CONSOL Energy is another demonstration of the safety, feasibility, and efficiency of making the transition to LNG as a primary power source,” said Earl Lawson, head of Energy Solutions for Linde North America. "We are very pleased that innovator CONSOL Energy has chosen Linde to supply LNG and related equipment and services for all of its operations."

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