Magnum Hunter Resources Board Oks 2014 Capital Expenditure Budget

(RTTNews) - Magnum Hunter Resources Corp. (MHR) announced Thursday that its board has approved a $400 million capital expenditure budget for fiscal year 2014, excluding acquisitions.

The company plans to allocate about $260 million in the Utica Shale and Marcellus Shale plays, approximately $50 million in the Williston Basin and approximately $90 million for midstream activities at Eureka Hunter Pipeline.

The contemplated capital budget includes the acquisition of mineral leases in both the Utica Shale and Marcellus Shale plays. This Appalachian-focused capital program is expected to further drive the Company's production volumes and enable it to achieve its 2014 projected exit production rate of 35,000 BOEPD.

The 2014 capital budget of $400 million is expected to be funded from a combination of internally-generated cash flow, borrowings under the Company's existing senior secured credit facility, a new Eureka Hunter senior secured credit facility in the process of negotiation, and proceeds from non-core asset sales of approximately $200 - $400 million.

The Company's drilling capital in 2014 will be primarily concentrated on the delineation and development of its combined 180,000 net mineral acres located in the Utica and Marcellus Shale plays of Ohio and West Virginia. Specifically, the Company' development plan will be to further delineate its acreage position located in Monroe, Noble, and Washington Counties, Ohio and in Tyler and Richie Counties, West Virginia.

The company expects to operate two to three drilling rigs in Appalachia during 2014, and anticipates drilling approximately 23-25 gross horizontal wells. The Company also expects to participate predominantly as a non-operated partner in the Williston Basin and drill approximately 15-20 gross wells located primarily in the Ambrose Field in Divide County, North Dakota.