XTO Quietly Expanding in Marcellus

During yesterday's Q2 earnings conference call, XTO revealed having 280,000 acres in the Marcellus play. This is 128,000 acres higher than the previously reported 152,000 acres acquired from Linn in April. A good portion of the increase is probably attributable to the Deposit NY landowners group which at last count was negotiating with 37,000 acres though no final acreage amounts have been released.

In response to a question about water resource and infrastructure issues impacting development, President Keith Hutton noted that "Yes, there are going to be some issues with water handling and disposal and so forth" but that given the huge potential of the play, the industry would figure it out. He also said that because of the sheer size of the play the hotter areas will be more spread out and thus require a longer time for delivery infrastructure build out. "The Marcellus is a five year type game before it gets running real hard."

Full Transcript at http://seekingalpha.com/article/86362-xto-energy-inc-q2-2008-earnings-call-transcript?page=-1&find=marcellus