EQT Corp. is seeking to sell non-operated interests in northeast Pennsylvania as the Appalachia gas giant works to reduce debt from its recent purchase of Equitrans Midstream Corp.
Pittsburgh-based EQT is marketing the remaining 60% interest in its northeast Pennsylvania non-operated assets—where EQT already closed a partial sale earlier this year—the company said in second-quarter earnings after markets closed July 23.
EQT sold 40% of the non-op Marcellus assets through a transaction with Equinor said in April.
Under terms of the transaction, Equinor sold 100% of its interests in operated Marcellus and Utica assets in southeastern Ohio and paid cash consideration of $500 million. In exchange, EQT provided 40% of its non-operated interest in the Northern Marcellus in Pennsylvania.
EQT picked up 26,000 net acres in Monroe County, Ohio, and 10,000 net acres in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, through the Equinor swap.
The deal, valued at approximately $1.1 billion in total, represented Equinor’s full exit from its U.S. onshore operated positions. EQT said the total deal value was based, in part, on synergies and development plan upside related to Equinor’s upstream and midstream assets.
EQT said it retired approximately $600 million of 2025 senior notes during the second quarter using proceeds from the non-op sale with Equinor.
This week, EQT announced closing a $5.45 billion all-stock acquisition of Equitrans, the developer of the notoriously delayed Mountain Valley Pipeline project.
EQT previously said it has identified “high confidence” debt-reduction targets of more than $5 billion, largely through asset sales and organic free cash flow.
EQT reported total debt and net debt of $5 billion and $4.9 billion, respectively, as of the end of the second quarter.
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