Acquisitions

Marathon Oil Corp. has agreed to pay $3.5 billion to acquire the Eagle Ford Shale assets of Hilcorp Resources Holdings LP. Along with other transactions expected to close by the end of this year, Marathon’s Eagle Ford position is expected to more than double to 285,000 net acres, the company said.

The total value of U.S. natural gas and oil and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the first three months of this year was up 69% from the same period a year ago and the rest of 2011 promises to be strong, according to a survey by PwC US.

The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) Office of Oil and Gas (OOG) has ordered Antero Resources Appalachian Corp. and Bronco Drilling Corp. to cease operations at an Antero well pad in Harrison County, WV, following a March 21 incident in which drill cuttings were washed into a nearby stream, OOG said.

Recovery Energy Inc. announced Monday that it has closed on a $12.3 million cash-and-stock deal to acquire oil and gas leases on 8,060 net acres from Houston-based Wapiti Oil & Gas LLC. The leasehold is located primarily northwest of the prolific Silo field in Laramie County, WY. The Wapiti sale follows Denver-based Recovery’s acquisition last month of approximately 1,700 acres in Weld County, CO and about 6,600 net acres in Goshen County, WY from various private individuals for $1.9 million in cash and stock. The combined acquisitions bring Recovery’s holdings in the Denver-Julesburg Basin to 148,000 gross acres (134,000 net acres).

Two big-ticket acquisitions in the Fayetteville Shale by BHP Billiton Petroleum and XTO Energy Inc. suggest that the pace of development in the play will be accelerating, acknowledged Steve Mueller, CEO of Fayetteville veteran Southwestern Energy Co. But his company can hold its own, having locked in some of its costs and beaten down drilling times, Mueller said.

Two big-ticket acquisitions in the Fayetteville Shale by BHP Billiton Petroleum and XTO Energy Inc. suggest that the pace of development in the play will be accelerating, acknowledged Steve Mueller, CEO of Fayetteville veteran Southwestern Energy Co. But his company can hold its own, having locked in some of its costs and beaten down drilling times, Mueller said.

Incremental acquisitions in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) weren’t enough to lift McMoRan Exploration Co.’s earnings or production in 2010, but there are signs of a turnaround in 2011, the New Orleans-based operator said last week.

Incremental acquisitions in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) weren’t enough to lift McMoRan Exploration Co.’s earnings or production in 2010, but there are signs of a turnaround in 2011, the New Orleans-based operator said Tuesday.

Williams Cos. and separately, Williams Partners LP, on Tuesday completed acquisitions that build their portfolios in the Marcellus and Bakken shales.