The Quest for Marcellus Shale Exposure

The Marcellus Shale is quickly becoming the biggest thing in the U.S. natural gas industry since the Barnett Shale. You can hardly watch CNBC without hearing Jim Cramer talk about the Marcellus Shale and his “wildcat drillers.” As investors, we know that if you want exposure to the Marcellus you cannot just buy any company with Marcellus acreage. You need to buy the company with the greatest exposure to the Marcellus if you want to maximize your investment gains.

Unfortunately, I have not been able to find any publicly traded company that is a true pure play on the Marcellus Shale. But, after looking at the different companies involved in the play, some clearly stand out as having more exposure than their peers. The following table shows the enterprise value per acre of the Marcellus Shale drillers: