XTO Energy announces Fayetteville Shale leasehold acquisition
  by: OilOnline
  Thursday, April 03, 2008

XTO Energy Inc. has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire producing properties, leasehold acreage and gathering infrastructure from Southwestern Energy Companyfor about $520 million. The purchase includes 55,631 net acres of Fayetteville Shale leasehold and expands XTO's position in the shale play to more than 300,000 net acres.

"XTO's shale play strategy is focused on growing our acreage positions in the right geographic and geological locations across the premier shale basins.

This acquisition expands our visible growth potential in the Fayetteville Shale," stated Keith A. Hutton, President. "Given our engineering assessment, we expect the acreage, which is contiguous to our core development footprint, to hold resource potential in excess of 1 Tcfe. With the pipeline infrastructure already in place, our immediate plans include using four drilling rigs in 2008 and at least six rigs in 2009. We expect proved reserves attributable to this acquisition to grow to 160 Bcfe this year and at least 325 Bcfe by year-end 2009. Overall, our operational teams are dedicated to making XTO a top producer and value creator in the Fayetteville Shale."

The acquisition is scheduled to close on or before May 5, 2008. Funding is expected to be provided through a combination of cash flow and commercial paper borrowings. The final closing price is subject to typical closing and post-closing adjustments.

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