Zone Oil & Gas, LLC has signed an Exploration and Geophysical Joint Venture Agreement with Penn Virginia Corporation.
The Joint Venture covers approximately 40,000 acres under lease in Tioga, Potter, Somerset, Westmoreland and Fayette Counties, Pennsylvania, and centers on exploring the Marcellus Shale, and the Oriskany and Tuscarora formations. Under the terms of the agreement, the joint venture will conduct at least one 3-D seismic survey and intends to drill up to six wells in 2009.
"Zone, through its predecessor entities, has recorded solid success in the Oriskany in Pennsylvania and West Virginia over the past 25 years," said Thomas H. O'Neill, Jr., Zone's Chairman. "We strongly believe that the Marcellus, Oriskany, Tuscarora, and Trenton Black River formations in the Appalachian Basin have tremendous potential for future development."
"The Joint Venture capitalizes on the synergies of Penn Virginia and Zone by forming a powerful team with highly-specific knowledge and expertise to address the unique land, drilling, and production challenges in the area of mutual interest," said Bob Brook, Zone's President and CEO.