Targeted Strategies for Today's Evolving Markets

MissionIR Blog

Dutton Associates Featured Company: Gastar Exploration, Ltd. (GST)

Gastar Exploration Ltd. (AMEX: GST) is an independent energy company engaged in the exploration, development, and production of natural gas and oil in the United States and Australia. The company focuses their efforts on identifying, acquiring, and exploring possible natural gas and oil properties that show the potential to produce significant product. Their emphasis rests on prospective deep structures identified through seismic and other analytical techniques, as well as unconventional natural gas reserves, such as coal bed methane (CBM).

The company’s primary coal bed methane properties are found in the Powder River Basin in Wyoming and Montana, and in the Gunnedah and Gippsland Basins of Australia. Their drilling activities are focused on exploiting their multi-year inventory of drilling locations in the Deep Bossier Sands and Knowles Limestone plays in the Hilltop area of East Texas, as well as the emerging Marcellus Shale play in Appalachia.

Gastar has successfully completed drilling procedures in 16 of 17 Bossier wells. Currently, the company plans on continuing their active drilling program in the lower and middle Bossier sands, which underlay a large portion of Gastar’s leasehold. By utilizing their advanced drilling, fracturing and well-completion technologies, Gastar can increase production and recovery rates and reduce drilling and completion costs.

Gastar and their partners control approximately 33,000 gross (15, 350 net) acres located in east Texas, which is one of the most active areas in the United States for deep natural gas exploration and development. Lying above the Bossier formation is Knowles Limestone. Gastar has recently begun exploring and developing natural gas reserves in the shallower formation, and has successfully completed drilling five out of five Knowles wells to date.

The company’s additional efforts are focused in Australia, where they are well-positioned in the growing natural gas markets in southeastern Australia through their coal bed methane development program. The program has commenced on approximately 6 million acres in New South Wales. Multiple core-hole drilling and pilot productions are currently in activity, and the first commercial sales of gas from Australia’s Gunnedah Basin are expected by early 2009.

Let us hear your thoughts: Gastar Exploration, Ltd Message Board

This entry was posted in Small Cap News. Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *