Dominion expects to close the amended agreement on September 30, 2008. The amount assigned is reduced from $552 million for 205,000 acres because of Antero’s difficulty in obtaining follow-on financing in the current market turmoil.
Dominion will still receive a 7.5% royalty interest on future natural gas production from the assigned acreage. Dominion will retain the drilling rights in traditional formations both above and below the Marcellus Shale interval and will continue its conventional drilling program on the acreage. Dominion has drilling rights on 600,000 to 800,000 acres in the Marcellus Shale formation.
The remaining acreage that was in the original agreement with Antero will now be included in the company’s effort to market additional Marcellus Shale acreage.
