Antero Resources Corp. (NYSE: AR) added about 12,000 net acres to its Utica Shale position in December, primarily in the core dry gas area of Monroe County, Ohio.

The company said in its fourth-quarter 2014 operational highlights that it paid $240 million for the acreage. It did not disclose the seller. In the past two quarters, the company has added about 27,000 net acres in the shale.

In addition to undeveloped acreage, the acquisition includes producing properties with 20 million cubic feet equivalent per day (MMcfe/d) of net production from five horizontal wells and an eight-mile 12-inch high pressure gathering pipeline.

The acquired producing wells contributed about 6 MMcfe/d to fourth-quarter 2014 net equivalent production.

Antero said it has identified an additional 115 gross drilling locations in the Utica Shale dry gas regime and expects to add about 29 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of proved reserves and 1 Tcf of 3P reserves. Based on June 30 SEC prices, the locations had $560 million of PV-10 value.

The transaction was funded using borrowings under the company's credit facility.

At a price of $8,000 per flowing Mcfe/d, the land cost $6,667 per adjusted acre, said Daniel P. Katzenberg, analyst, Baird Energy.

In the past six years, Antero has more than quadrupled its net acreage in the Appalachia to 542,000 acres from 118,000 in 2008. It has increasingly added Marcellus acreage since 2012.

In the third quarter of 2014, Antero disclosed that it added 15,000 net acres for 134,000 total net acres in the core of the Utica.

“Included in the net acreage additions is a recently closed acquisition with an undisclosed third-party for a consolidated 12,000 net acre position in the rich gas core totaling $185 million,” the company said in November.

Pro forma for the net acreage additions, about 10% of Antero's total net acreage was associated with proved locations and about 4% with proved developed locations at mid-year 2014. About 76% of the Utica total net acreage, or 102,000 net acres, is believed to contain processable rich gas assuming a 1,100 British thermal unit cutoff, Antero said.

Katzenberg said the company flexed its muscles at year’s end.

“Brick houses don’t blow down,” he said. “While much of our coverage universe has been obliged to hunker down, limit investment, and shore up their balance sheets in this lower hydrocarbon pricing environment, we welcome AR's operational execution and corporate foresight.”

More than 90% of the company’s 2015 gas is hedged at $4.58 per Mcf, positioning it to maintain a competitive advantage in the capacity constrained Appalachian region.

“Operational prowess continued on the Utica side with 41 wells placed to sales in 2014, averaging 30-day rates of 18.5 MMcfe/d (44% liquids),” Katzenberg said.

Antero's net daily production for the fourth quarter of 2014 averaged 1,265 MMcfe/d, including 30,400 barrels per day of liquids. Fourth-quarter production represented an organic production growth rate of 87% from the fourth quarter of 2013, the company said.

Antero has completed and placed online a combined 415 horizontal wells in the Marcellus and Utica shale plays since commencing drilling operations in Appalachia in 2009.