Exco Resources to buy some shale assets from Southwestern Energy for $355 million

Exco Resources Inc., an oil and natural gas exploration company said yesterday that it will buy the East Texas oil and natural-gas shale assets and equipments from Southwestern Energy for about $355 million.

The assets to be acquired include producing assets, gathering lines and acreage in Shelby, San Augustine and Nacogdoches counties, Texas and are located within the area of its existing East Texas / North Louisiana joint venture with BG Group, plc.

Exco, based in Dallas, Texas said that BG Group will have the option to buy 50 per cent of this acquisition.

The sale includes only the producing rights to the Haynesville and middle Bossier Shale intervals in approximately 20,063 net acres, Exco said in a statement, while Houston-based Southwestern Energy has retained drilling and producing rights covering all other depths in the acreage, including its current James Lime and Pettet drilling programs.

Exco is an oil and natural gas exploration, exploitation, development and production company with principal operations in East Texas, North Louisiana, Appalachia, and West Texas.

The acquisition will increase Exco's interest in over 900 drilling locations. The assets include producing properties with current gross production of more than 51 million cubic feet per day from 9 producing wells and approximately 20,000 net acres prospective for the Haynesville and Bossier shales.

Assuming BG Group participates in the acquisition, Exco and BG Group will each double their working and net revenue interests in much of the common acreage.

Exco said that the acreage is well situated in a highly productive area in the Shelby Trough. The Shelby Trough runs from the southeast corner Louisiana through southern Shelby, northern San Augustine and eastern Nacogdoches counties, Texas.