Range Resources Corp. and Denbury Resources Inc. in separate announcements Thursday said they would sell some onshore natural gas properties to focus on their core businesses. Range is selling tight gas assets in Ohio, while Denbury is selling the rest of its Barnett Shale assets.

Range, headquartered in Fort Worth, TX, is selling some Ohio properties that include around 3,500 producing wells that currently produce 25 MMcfe/d net. The properties, which are 70% weighted to gas, include 418,000 net acres of leasehold and about 1,600 miles of pipeline and gathering system infrastructure.

Range, whose core operations are the Barnett and Marcellus shales and the Nora Field in southwestern Virginia, retained an adviser to assist in the sales process and it plans to open a data room in early January. Assuming a suitable bid is received, Range expects to close the sale before the end of March.

“Our Ohio properties have long-life reserves and encompass more than 2,000 potential drilling locations, as well as a highly qualified management and technical team,” said Range CEO John Pinkerton. “Assuming we complete a sale, we will direct the proceeds into our core projects.”

Dallas-based Denbury, which now focuses on carbon dioxide tertiary recovery projects in the onshore, agreed to sell its remaining Barnett Shale stake for $210 million to Talon Oil & Gas LLC, a privately held producer. Talon earlier this year purchased a 60% stake in the properties (see Daily GPI, May 14). The sale is expected to be completed by the end of this month.

Production from the Barnett assets now being sold to Talon averaged about 4,596 boe/d in 3Q2009, Denbury said.

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