Gastar Exploration Ltd. has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire proven reserves and undeveloped leasehold interests in Kingfisher and Canadian counties, Oklahoma from Chesapeake Energy Corporation, repurchase Chesapeake's common shares of the Company and settle all litigation for $85 million. The acquisition includes drilling rights omin approximately 157,000 net acres that adjoin Gastar's existing Mid-Continent acreage and approximately 2.8 MMBoe of proven reserves. The transaction is expected to close on or before June 7, 2013, subject to customary closing adjustments, and with a property purchase effective date of October 1, 2012.

"This acquisition of undeveloped acreage and producing properties in our Mid-Continent area will provide us a tremendous opportunity to secure a much larger position in what we believe has the potential to be a highly prolific new oil play," said J. Russell Porter, Gastar's President and CEO. "Based on existing data, nearly half of the acquired acreage lies within what we expect to be the most prospective area for horizontal drilling of the Hunton Limestone formation. Found at depths of 8,000 to 9,000 feet, this formation is the horizontal target of our previously undisclosed Mid-Continent Oil Play.

Tags: Gastar Exploration Ltd.