Gastar has completed the previously announced Marcellus property acquisition for $29.1 million. The acquisition consists of approximately 62,000 net acres of leasehold in the Marcellus Shale concentrated in Preston, Tucker and Pendleton Counties, West Virginia, including approximately 17,000 net acres held by production, a gathering system comprised of 41 miles of six inch steel pipeline, a salt water disposal well, and five conventional wells producing approximately 500 Mcf per day (gross) of natural gas.

J. Russell Porter, Gastar's President and CEO, stated, "With the completion of this acquisition, Gastar now holds approximately 80,000 net acres in the Marcellus Shale making Gastar one of the most highly leveraged companies to the Marcellus Shale based on net acres related to enterprise value. On the newly acquired acreage, we plan to drill two horizontal wells in 2011 near our previous successful vertical well testing. The proposed drilling activity should further de-risk and demonstrate the long-term growth potential of this acreage."

Tags: Gastar Exploration Ltd.