Petrohawk Energy Corp. said Monday it is partnering with Swift Energy Co. to develop Swift’s Eagle Ford Shale assets. Under the terms of the joint venture (JV), Petrohawk will pay Swift $26 million in cash up front and $13 million more to fund capital expenses (capex) for the first year.

An appraisal drilling program on Swift’s 26,000-acre leasehold in McMullen County, TX, is to be helmed by Petrohawk and is scheduled to begin before the end of this year. Petrohawk would serve as operator for drilling and completion, and Swift would operate the wells once they have begun to produce.

“We have found an excellent partner to jointly develop with us a portion of our highly prospective Eagle Ford shale acreage,” said Swift CEO Terry Swift. “Petrohawk is one of the leaders in developing natural gas from shale formations responsibly, efficiently and cost effectively. Their technical and commercial expertise has already produced strong operational results in the Eagle Ford Shale, making Petrohawk an excellent choice as a partner for this project.”

Petrohawk was a first mover in the emerging shale, where it has more than 100,000 net acres, and in September the independent said it would sell its Permian Basin properties to focus on the Eagle Ford and Haynesville shale assets (see Daily GPI, Sept. 22).

“Swift Energy’s position, geologically speaking, is in what we believe to be an ideal depositional location and contiguous to our rapidly growing program in Hawkville Field,” said Petrohawk CEO Floyd C. Wilson. “We will waste no time in bringing the experience derived from our established Eagle Ford drilling program, as well as our access to processing and transportation in the area, to this new acreage for the mutual benefit of our two companies.”

©Copyright 2009Intelligence Press Inc. All rights reserved. The preceding news reportmay not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, in anyform, without prior written consent of Intelligence Press, Inc.