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Exxon taps into Utica shale

HOUSTON, Sept. 23 (UPI) -- Exxon Mobil confirmed it was following other energy companies in the acquisition of acreage in the Utica shale play in eastern Ohio.

Exxon spokesman Jeff Neu confirmed to The Wall Street Journal that it was "active" in the Utica shale deposit following recent reports of acreage acquisitions.

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Exxon said it had signed leases in the region but didn't disclose the price, size or percent of royalties associated with the play.

Exxon last year purchased acreage from natural gas company XTO Energy in the neighboring Marcellus shale play in Pennsylvania.

Utica lies below eight eastern U.S. states though energy companies have focused efforts on the portion in eastern Ohio thought to hold the most oil and natural gas.

Integrated oil and natural gas company Hess Corp. announced this month that it spent $593 million to buy into 200,000 acres in the Utica deposit in eastern Ohio.

Chesapeake Energy, which holds 1.25 million acres in the Utica shale field and has five rigs dedicated to shale development there, described Utica as a transformative field, holding as much as 25 billion barrels of oil equivalent.

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