ExxonMobil buys local Marcellus firm for $1.69 billion

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ExxonMobil Corp. has bolstered its position in the Marcellus Shale play with a billion-dollar acquisition, paying $1.69 billion for Warrendale-based Philips Resources and TWP Inc.

The acquisitions add 317,000 acres to the Texas-based company's Marcellus portfolio. The energy company had paid $41 billion in December 2009 for Houston-based XTO Energy for an initial foray into the natural gas reserve that underlies much of Western Pennsylvania.

Philips Resources and TWP Inc. have around 200 employees and have participated in the drilling of more than 50 Marcellus wells.

The acquisition is yet another example of major energy companies entering the Marcellus play through major acquisitions. In May 2010, Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Europe's largest oil company, paid $4.7 billion for East Resources, a Marshall-based energy producer. And in February, Chevron of San Ramon, Calif., paid $4.3 billion for Atlas Energy of Moon.

More details in tomorrow's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

First published on June 9, 2011 at 10:08 am