en.Wedoany.com Reported - Denver-based Antero Resources Corp. has completed a $315 million acquisition in the core Marcellus Basin, adding 15 net drilling locations. The acquired assets, located in West Virginia, currently produce 125 million cubic feet equivalent per day (125 MMcfed) of natural gas and cover 3,500 net undeveloped acres.
The deal comes roughly five months after Antero completed its $2.8 billion acquisition of HG Energy II LLC. The HG transaction expanded Antero's footprint by approximately 385,000 net acres, with the land situated near the East Side Express, the company's first dry-gas regional pipeline currently under construction.
President and Chief Executive Officer Michael Kennedy said that both the operation of HG assets and the new acquisition are expected to help the company further reduce operating costs. In the second quarter, Antero also acquired approximately 5,000 net acres for $29 million, equivalent to 20 net drilling locations. Along with the second-quarter results, management lowered its 2026 cash production expense forecast by 5 cents per thousand cubic feet equivalent, to between $2.20 and $2.30 per thousand cubic feet equivalent.
Antero's long-term goal is to reduce these costs by 25% from 2025 levels by the end of 2028. As the product slate expands beyond liquids to other areas and sales markets extend beyond the production basin, Kennedy said during a July 30 conference call that this strategic shift increases the company's exposure to dry gas and in-basin sales, supported by a surge in new regional demand. He said the company is transitioning from a producer-driven era to a demand-pull era, positioning it uniquely to review every flow path and select the highest-margin sales points and supply contracts for natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGL).
In the second quarter, Antero brought 26 wells online, one of which featured a lateral length of 24,000 feet, setting a record for the longest lateral in company history. Total production for the quarter exceeded 4.1 billion cubic feet equivalent per day (4.1 bcfed), generating net income of nearly $279 million on total revenue of $1.56 billion, with results driven by the HG transaction.
On July 30, Antero (ticker: AR) shares edged up to $35.30, up approximately 2% year-to-date, with a market capitalization of about $11 billion.
