Antero Resources Corp. is weighing the sale of a package of Ohio Utica upstream and midstream assets that could be valued near $1 billion.
According to multiple people, Antero has tapped RBC Capital Markets to prepare marketing materials, though a formal process has not yet been launched. The potential divestiture would include assets from both Antero Resources and its affiliate Antero Midstream, which handles gathering and compression for the company’s drilling operations.
“The Antero Utica package could fetch between $900 million and $1 billion through a sale as M&A in the Appalachian Basin gathers momentum,” one source said.
Antero’s Ohio footprint spans roughly 82,000 net acres in the Utica and Point Pleasant formations, with an estimated 250 core drilling locations still available. The company produced about 14 Bcf gross in the second quarter (154 MMcf/d) from 241 horizontal wells across Guernsey, Monroe and Noble counties, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
Strategic Context: Appalachian M&A Gains Speed
Antero’s move comes as the Appalachian Basin experiences a fresh wave of consolidation. The headline transaction of 2025 to date has been EOG Resources’ $5.6 billion acquisition of Encino Acquisition Partners (EAP), announced May 30.
👉For a broader perspective on regional dynamics, see our Appalachian Basin Overview: Marcellus, Utica, which compares recent trends and forecasts across the two core shale plays.
The deal instantly positioned EOG with 1.1 million net acres in Ohio, one of the largest Utica positions ever assembled. While the market reaction was initially muted — EOG’s shares slipped about $1 on the day of announcement — analysts say investors are likely to recognize the longer-term upside.
“We believe investors will warm up to the deal as they assess the scale and benefits EOG can extract,” said Tim Rezvan, analyst at KeyBanc Capital Markets.
EOG expects the Encino transaction to be 10% accretive to 2025 earnings and 9% accretive to cash flow, with Chairman and CEO Ezra Yacob emphasizing that the company will “continue to have the strongest balance sheet in our peer group.”
Analysts estimate EOG paid roughly $5,000 per undeveloped acre, alongside a valuation of around $15,000 per flowing boe for production.
👉 As we explored in Is Appalachia the Answer? U.S. Natural Gas Giants Eye New Pipelines, new infrastructure could be key to unlocking further value in the region.
Utica M&A Heats Up
The potential Antero divestiture follows a surge of consolidation in the Appalachian Basin. Earlier this summer, EOG Resources announced a $5.6 billion acquisition of Encino Energy, setting a high-water mark for Utica dealmaking. (We covered the details in EOG Resources Acquires Encino for $5.6B).
Other activity includes Chord Energy marketing non-operated Marcellus interests in northeastern Pennsylvania, while producers such as EQT Corp. and CNX Resources test deeper Utica dry gas targets in central Pennsylvania.
Despite consolidation in the northeast Pennsylvania Marcellus, leasehold in southwestern Appalachia (Ohio, West Virginia, southwestern Pennsylvania) remains fragmented.
“Major Ohio Utica producers include EOG, Antero, Ascent Resources, Infinity Natural Resources and Gulfport Energy,” noted David Eudey, vice president of Northeast Appalachia for Expand Energy, at Hart Energy’s DUG Appalachia Conference & Expo on Aug. 27.
Infinity Natural Resources CEO Zack Arnold emphasized the company’s appetite for further acquisitions:
“We would love to buy assets that come clear up the food chain—from what we’re doing in the millions of dollars in leasehold up to acquisitions of assets that could pierce $1 billion,” Arnold said.
👉In 2023, one of the year’s biggest headlines was Chord Energy Corp. Expanding its Williston Basin footprint through a $375 million acquisition from Exxon Mobil.
Bottom Line
If executed, Antero’s sale could provide one of the basin’s largest integrated upstream–midstream packages in recent years. Coming on the heels of EOG’s transformational $5.6 billion Encino purchase, the potential $1B Antero transaction underscores how consolidation is reshaping ownership, scale, and strategy across the Utica Shale.
