Alta To Sell Lease Holdings In The Marcellus (PA)

According to the Wall Street Journal/Dow Jones Newswires, Alta is reportedly about to sell approximately 42,000 acres in the Pennsylvania Marcellus Shale to Williams (WMB) for $501 million. Williams will also purchase a 5% overriding royalty interest on the acreage for $84 million, which will lower its royalty burden. The Pennsylvania acreage represents about 1.2 trillion cu. ft. in potential natural gas reserves. After the deal is complete, Williams will hold about 94,000 acres in the area. Williams said Tuesday, it plans to spend an additional $55 million for drilling and other activities in the region this year, growing to $100 million to $200 million by 2012 as operations expand.