Halcon Pledges to Work with Lordstown Landowners
LORDSTOWN, Ohio – Houston-based Halcon Resources Corp. says it has acquired an undisclosed amount of leased acres in the Lordstown area and is pledging to spend "hundreds of millions" of dollars to develop oil and gas exploration in the Utica shale.
In a statement issued Thursday, Halcon acknowledged it acquired the leases from an unidentified operator "that did not have the desire or ability to develop the deeper formations," but had the right to transfer the interests because gas and oil production was under way from shallower wells it owned.
Halcon said it intends to "spend hundreds of millions of dollars" and use its technical expertise to "create significant profit for itself and the landowners, who own the royalty interest."
Before the company can conduct horizontal drilling on the land, the leases in place must be modified. "Without these changes, the wells will never be drilled and profits to all will be lost," the company said.
Halcon said it plans to reach out to every landowner under lease "in an attempt to establish terms that are mutually beneficial and result in the best chance for successful wells."
Recently, Halcon also purchased the leasehold rights to land in portions of Trumbull County plus Mercer and Crawford counties in northwestern Pennsylvania, from Carrizo Oil and Gas.
Carrizo announced two months ago that it had sold its 50% stake in northeastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania – 19,000 acres in all -- for $43 million.
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio. CLICK HERE to subscribe to twice-monthly print edition.