Denver-based Gasco Energy Inc. said Thursday it had successfully completed a strategic exchange of certain properties located in the gas-rich Uinta Basin with El Paso Corp. In the transaction, Gasco received 2,571 net acres located in its Uinta Basin Riverbend Project in exchange for the contractual right to earn Wasatch rights on 10,850 gross Uinta Basin acres (2,713 net acres).

Gasco said it had substantially increased its working interest, essentially making the deal a one-for-one exchange on a net-acreage basis. The acreage Gasco received contains four well bores, two of which are producing, and three of which have recompletion opportunities. More than 99 Mesaverde wells have been drilled and completed in and around Gasco’s Riverbend holdings in the Uinta Basin during the past two years, with only one dry hole.

“This strategic asset swap facilitates our continued efforts to consolidate and upgrade our acreage position,” said Gasco COO Mike Decker. “The transaction nets Gasco a 100% working interest in the Wasatch, Mesaverde, Mancos and deeper formations, a significant improvement from our original contractual right to earn a 25% working interest in the Wasatch. Additionally, Gasco acquires numerous potential drilling locations, complemented by recompletion opportunities that may yield near-term cash flow.”

Gasco, which focuses on natural gas prospects in the Rocky Mountain region, currently holds interests in more than 140,000 gross acres in Utah and has two Areas of Mutual Interest agreements covering nearly 330,000 acres in Wyoming’s Greater Green River Basin.

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