Equitable Resources completed the previously announcedacquisition of the Appalachian production assets of Statoil Energyfor $630 million. The deal makes Equitable by far the largestproducer in the Appalachian basin with 2.2 Tcf of proven reservesand 12,600 gas and oil wells. Equitable said the acquisition wouldbe immediately accretive to earnings. “The addition of these assetsand resources to Equitable’s Appalachian business represent ahigh-value, low-risk opportunity for improving the overall qualityand efficiency of our production assets,” said Murry S. Gerber,Equitable’s president and CEO. “The benefits of this acquisition gobeyond making Equitable the leading gas supplier in the Appalachianbasin. We now have a dual platform for growth and increasedprofitability by ‘high-grading’ our total Appalachian portfolio.”Statoil’s production assets are contiguous to Equitable’sAppalachian properties and consist of 1.2 Tcf of proven gasreserves and 6,500 natural gas wells in West Virginia, Kentucky,Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

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