EQT Corp., one of the largest producers of natural gas in the United States with operations in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio, signed an agreement with Norway’s Equinor, which will acquire additional non-operated interest in the Northern Marcellus formation.
Equinor, which has a portfolio of projects encompassing oil and gas, renewables, and low-carbon solutions, said Tuesday it will pay $1.25 billion to EQT in the transaction to acquire 100 percent of EQT’s remaining working interest in Northern Marcellus gas units primarily operated by Expand Energy.
The transaction will increase cash flow from the international portfolio by adding natural gas volumes with low-carbon intensity emissions from production, according to Equinor, which said the acquisition covers the same acreage included in the swap agreement it made with EQT earlier this year.
Additionally, the transaction will allow Equinor to increase its average working interest in the Northern Marcellus asset from 25.7 percent to 40.7 percent, and will add about 80,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) to Equinor’s U.S. production in the near-term.
“We continue to high-grade Equinor’s international portfolio in line with our strategy, improving robustness by adding more natural gas volumes in a core market where we produce with low break-evens and low-intensity upstream emissions,” said Philippe Mathieu, executive vice president for Exploration and Production International at Equinor. “We are well positioned in this premium acreage to capitalize on positive long-term demand indicators in the U.S. gas market.”
Closing of the transaction will, among other things, be dependent on approval by relevant authorities, Equinor said.
“The U.S. is a core country for Equinor, where we have shaped a robust onshore and offshore oil and gas portfolio, alongside our activities in offshore wind, battery storage, and low-carbon value chains,” Mathieu added.