德州的Barnett Shale也许是国内最忙碌的天然气开发区，但现在，阿帕拉契脉的Marcellus Shale已成新宠。工业储量预计最多达50万亿立方英尺，大约是Barnett的两倍。

问题是，Marcellus还没有开发太多的天然气。坚硬的叶岩石深埋于宾夕法尼亚州西部地面以下，三个州依旧处于初期开发阶段。 Range Resources(代号:RRC)是领军人物。该天然气企业是首家在Marcellus Shale进行大规模开发的上市公司，开始于2004年。相比其他跟随其后的企业，如Cabot Oil & Gas(代号:COG)，Southwestern Energy(代号:SWN)，Chesapeake Energy(代号:CHK)，如今的Range Resources俨然是地盘最多的企业。

Range预期其租借有110万英亩土地，650，000英亩属可开发地，天然气存量相当于10-15万亿立方英尺。

Key-Banc Capital的原油和天然气分析师Jack Aydin表示，“Marcellus代表着未来。”如果没有过去十年涌现的高新技术，埋于硬泥质岩的天然气根本无法开采。采用尖端设备后，Range如今已在Marcellus开发了88口井，包括垂直和水准钻井。垂直井被钻探后用于探测叶岩构成。水准井比垂直井价格成本价高出四倍---每个价格在 400万美圆----但是比垂直井产量更高。在Marcellus，水准井和垂直井一样，钻探深度达到6，000英尺，但是之后直转左或右，再挖3000 英尺。

今年，Range尽力于开发Marcellus，计画钻60口新井，并架设更多的管道。其中Marcellus所钻的 60口井中有40个为水准式。尽管采用了“众所周知”的模式，Range开始在Marcellus获得天然气。最近的八个水准井每天产生320万和470 万立方英尺的天然气。

David Kistler of Simmons的分析师表示，“Marcellus占到估值的很大的一部分。然而，作为一家企业，公司的产品分散化进行得相当不错。”

总部位于Fort Worth的Range，已是Barnett Shale的老手，在Fort Worth占地大约5，000平方英里。该公司一直活跃在巴内特以及德克萨斯州的其他地方，还包括奥克拉荷马州和新墨西哥州。

Range在Barnett Shale持有100，000净英亩，每天产量在9800万立方英尺，相比一年前增加了3500万立方英尺。公司计画在该地域再增加100口新井。

产量最多的地方是西南弗吉尼亚州的Nora煤层气田。在这里，甲烷气体是从煤岩提取出来的。
Range在Nora与Equitable Resources(代号:EQT)建有合资企业，各持有一半股权。

四季度，平均是产量增长17%，至3.43亿立方英尺。总营收为8.62亿美元，同比增长16%，实际商品价格增长了18%。每股收益同比增长51%，至1.69美元/股。 Range计画在2008年钻井将近100口，产量增长15%。

Pinkerton欣然承认原油和天然气业务“可能无法预知”。他还表示，未来3到5月份，天然气平均价格应该在7-9美元，之后预期在10美元以上。然而，钻井和其他服务成本持续上升。成本和商品价格依旧是关键。

Pinkerton表示，“我们将业务看成一个组合。我们将会出售高成本资产，同时关注于低成本资产。”

Thomson Financial分析师预计2008年每股收益2美圆，Range收益预期同比增长18%。预计2009年每股收益仅增长2%，但是在2010年为29%.

A Texas Natural-Gas Driller Looks To Strike It Rich In Appalachia

Investor's Business Daily
A Texas Natural-Gas Driller Looks To Strike It Rich In Appalachia
Friday April 4, 6:30 pm ET
Marilyn Alva

The Barnett Shale in Texas might be the busiest natural gas field in the country, but the new buzz is all about the Marcellus Shale in Appalachia.

With recoverable reserves estimated at up to 50 trillion cubic feet -- about double Barnett's -- it could make the Barnett Shale look like a pint-sized Texan.

The thing is, Marcellus has yet to produce much natural gas. The hard shale rock buried deep under western Pennsylvania and three bordering states is still in the early stages of development.

Leading the way there is Range Resources (NYSE:RRC - News). The natural gas company was the first to stake out lots of land in the Marcellus Shale. It started in 2004.

It now has the largest position by far of any of the other players that have followed, which include Cabot Oil & Gas (NYSE:COG - News), Southwestern Energy (NYSE:SWN - News) and Chesapeake Energy (NYSE:CHK - News), among others.

Range estimates that of its 1.1 million-acre lease holdings there, some 650,000 acres are productive, equal to 10 trillion to 15 trillion cubic feet in natural gas reserves.

"Marcellus is the future," said Jack Aydin, oil and gas analyst with KeyBanc Capital. "They're probably ahead of everybody by at least two or three years."

Gas held deep underground in hard shale rock was impenetrable until new technology was developed in the past decade to get it out of the ground.

Using sophisticated gear, Range has so far drilled 88 wells in the Marcellus, both vertical and horizontal. Vertical wells were drilled to learn about the shale formation.

Horizontal wells are about four times as costly as vertical wells -- as much as $4 million each -- but are likely to be more productive than vertical wells. They come in contact with a larger "pay zone" of the shale than vertical wells.

In the Marcellus, horizontal drills go down about 6,000 feet like vertical wells but then take a sharp left or right turn and continue on about 3,000 feet.

This year, Range is focused on taking Marcellus to the next level, with plans to drill 60 new wells and build more pipeline infrastructure.

Of the 60 wells that Range plans to drill in the Marcellus this year, 40 will be horizontal.

While in an "earn as we learn" mode, Range is starting to see gas trickle out of the Marcellus. The last eight horizontal wells it drilled produce 3.2 million to 4.7 million cubic feet of gas a day.

"Marcellus is a very large portion of their valuation," said analyst David Kistler of Simmons Co. "However, as a company, it is relatively well diversified."

Based in Fort Worth, Texas, Range is no stranger to the Barnett Shale, which encompasses about 5,000 square miles in and around Fort Worth. Not surprisingly, the company has been active in the Barnett as well as other parts of Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico.

Range holds more than 100,000 net acres in the Barnett Shale, with production running about 98 million cubic feet equivalent a day, up from 35 million a year ago. It plans to add 100 new wells there this year.

Range also is active in other areas in the Appalachian region, where it has roots that go back to the early 1970s.

The most productive is in the Nora coal bed methane field in southwestern Virginia. Here, methane gas is produced from coal rock.

Range has a 50-50 joint venture with Equitable Resources (NYSE:EQT - News) in Nora, one of the largest coal bed methane fields in the region.

"The two of us own essentially the whole play, which is 300,000 acres," said Range CEO John Pinkerton. He says they've drilled about 1,800 wells so far.

Range, Pinkerton says, will get more than half of this year's total production from Barnett, Nora and Marcellus, in that order.

"If it develops out, Marcellus should (one day) be the largest because we have such a big acreage position," Pinkerton said. What's more, it owns almost 100% of the leases there and pays relatively low royalty rates to landowners -- 12.5%. Royalties in the Barnett now run around 25% for good spots.

Range has proved it can deliver for the past 20 consecutive quarters, each of which has outproduced the preceding quarter.

In the fourth quarter, average daily production volume rose 17% to 343 million cubic feet equivalent. Total revenue of $862 million was up 16% from the earlier year, aided by an 18% rise in realized commodity prices. Earnings rose 51% from the prior year to $1.69 a share.

At year-end, Range boasted a drilling inventory of 11,000 wells. It plans to drill nearly 1,000 wells in 2008, eyeing 15% production growth.

Pinkerton readily admitted that the oil and gas business "can be pretty unpredictable." Still, he says natural gas prices should average between $7 and $9 for the next three to five years and more than $10 past that time.

"People have finally figured out that energy is a commodity, and as you use it up there is less around," he said. "And of all the hydrocarbon fuels, natural gas is clearly the most carbon-footprint friendly. Natural gas will be the clear winner. It's homegrown and it's cleaner (than oil and coal)."

Still, drilling and other service costs continue to rise. Costs and commodity prices will be key.

"We look at our business as a portfolio. Over time we will sell off higher-cost properties and focus on lower-cost properties," Pinkerton said.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial estimate that at $2 a share on 2008, Range will earn 18% more than last year. They expect earnings to rise only 2% in 2009 but 29% in 2010.