Rex Energy Corp. on Monday increased its full-year guidance by 2 MMcfe/d, citing better than expected production results and greater certainty in its completion and sales schedule in Pennsylvania and Ohio.

The increase now has Rex forecasting 146-150 MMcfe/d rather than the 143-140 MMcfe/d guidance it had previously issued for this year. The company has recently been reporting more favorable results from its core areas in southeast Ohio and western Pennsylvania (see Shale Daily, March 28; Jan. 16). Earlier this month, it said second quarter production would be 128 MMcfe/d after it was able to tie-in 10 wells thanks to 100 MMcf/d of additional processing capacity that came online in May for its Butler Operated area in western Pennsylvania (see Shale Daily, July 7; June 2).

Natural gas from those wells, Rex said, caused pressure on its gathering system to spike and curtail production from some of its older low-pressure wells in the area. But it added that the problem was resolved last week with the installation of additional field compression (see Shale Daily, July 22).

Gross production in the Butler Operated area is currently 135 MMcf/d, an increase of 25 MMcf/d from the end of the second quarter. Rex also expects third quarter production to be 159-165 MMcfe/d.

Last year, Rex said it would begin completing certain pads with vertically stacked laterals, beginning with the six-well Baillie Trust pad in its Butler Operated area that would target the Upper Devonian and Marcellus shales. The company said Monday that after more than 200 days of production those wells are performing as expected and in line with the area type curve.

Rex also placed online the three-well Shipley pad, where the average lateral length of 7,000 feet is the longest the company has drilled in western Pennsylvania. The pad tested at an average five-day sales rate of 8.2 MMcfe/d, with 46% liquids assuming full ethane recovery.

Both the Baillie Trust and Shipley pads are testing 600-foot downspacing, and Rex reported that neither pad has shown signs of communication between wells thus far.