By Oil & Gas Financial Journal staff

New York-based Hess Corporation said Sept. 8 that it has acquired privately-held Marquette Exploration LLC and other leases in Ohio’s Utica Shale, boosting its acreage position by 85,000 net acres at a cost of approximately $750 million. Marquette, founded in 2006, is headquartered in Houston.

The acquisition looks to be a part of what appears to be a land grab in full force with operators jockeying for position, noted Global Hunter Securities (GHS) in a September 9 note to investors. "Expect more Utica deals to continue to be announced and acreage values to keep increasing as results become available leading up to 3Q earnings announcements," GHS analysts continued.

The leases, in which Hess will have a 100% working interest, are in Jefferson, Harrison, and Belmont counties. Appraisal activities on this acreage are planned to commence in the fourth quarter.

Hess’s latest Utica Shale acquisition comes on the heels of the company’s Sept. 7 announcement that it had formed a $593 million joint venture with CONSOL Energy in the Utica Shale formation. Together, the transactions provide Hess with approximately 185,000 net acres in the Utica Shale play.

“With these transactions, we have built a strategic acreage position in the Utica Shale, allowing us to strengthen our portfolio of unconventional resources in high quality assets, leverage our operating expertise and create significant potential for future growth in reserves and production,” said John Hess, chairman and CEO of Hess Corporation.