Hess Corp. ventures into Marcellus Shale

Speaking recently with Business Weekly, Hess Senior Vice President of Global Exploration and New Ventures Bill Drennen said the company and its partner, Newfield Exploration Co., have begun to talk with regulators and plan to continue acquiring more land when possible. The agreement between Hess and Newfield covers upward of 140,000 gross acres in the region.

"I'm very confident everything will work out for us," Mr. Drennen said. "This play in this area is extremely important to both of us, and there is a high priority to do it right and well."

Founded 90 years ago, New York City-based Hess employs 2,500 and has oil and gas operations throughout the world. With 38 million acres under license, Hess focuses on exploration, production, refining and marketing crude oil and natural gas.

Hess, which also operates retail gas stations, has leased land through the Northern Wayne Property Owners Alliance in the Marcellus Shale. The company was attracted to the Marcellus because of its production potential and close proximity to large northeast markets and major interstate pipelines.

"We thought it was an appropriate time to enter into the Marcellus," Mr. Drennen said. "We looked at where we could enter the Marcellus and get a significant foothold."

Over time, the companies' operations in the Marcellus will be "sizable," requiring hundreds of employees and additional infrastructure, Mr. Drennen noted.

Now, Newfield and Hess are now forming teams in engineering and other aspects of operation as the companies move toward preparing permit applications.

Founded in 1989, Newfield, which will be the operator in the Marcellus with a 50 percent interest, is an oil and natural gas production company based in Houston.

Newfield economically explores for oil and natural gas, while adhering to environmental safeguards, said Mr. Drennen.

Hess, which has to secure approval for drilling and surface-water withdrawal from the state Department of Environmental and the Delaware River Basin Commission respectively, also expects to verify where natural gas resources are located through seismic testing.

Acknowledging residents' concerns about the effect of natural gas drilling on the water supply, Mr. Drennen said Hess and Newfield implement procedures to safeguard the environment that go above and beyond regulatory requirements. Hess and Newfield employees are going to be on site 24-7 to monitor operations, Mr. Drennen said.

Contact the writer: jmrozinski@timesshamrock.com

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