PITTSBURGH—Ben Hulburt, CEO of Eclipse Resources Corp. (ECR), showcased his company’s many strengths in the Utica play at Hart Energy’s DUG East conference last week, including his claim to be—along with Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK)—among the fastest and most efficient drillers in the play.

“In my opinion, we drill faster and cheaper than any company in the Utica, except Chesapeake,” said Hulburt. “And part of the reason is that our drilling team has drilled more wells in the Utica than anyone out there, except Chesapeake. It’s a real competitive advantage to be able to drill the highest pressure and deepest part of the Utica, which is really challenging, and drill a 21,000-foot well in 17 days.”

To date, Eclipse has participated in drilling 187 gross Utica wells, including 70 operated wells. In a comparison of operated vs. nonoperated wells, as measured by drilling days, Eclipse-operated wells since inception were 19% faster at 26 days versus 31 days for nonoperated well. Comparing just the last 20 wells, Eclipse was 38% faster at 18 days versus 29 days, according to Hulburt.

The Eclipse CEO noted that since it commenced operated drilling in 2013 the company has increased lateral lengths by 33%, while well costs have been lowered by 23% so far this year as compared to 2014. In the wet gas area, well costs have come down to $7.4 million from $9.5 million in 2014, and in the dry gas area costs have been cut to $8.2 million versus $10.5 million previously, he said.

In terms of resource potential, Hulburt noted the company had some 800 remaining drilling locations. The company has recently started downspacing in the dry gas area, testing spacing of 750 feet vs. 1,000 feet previously, with results looking “very similar” to the wider spacing area.

“That could potentially increase our total company locations by as much as 20%, just by downspacing from 1,000 feet to 750 feet,” said Hulburt. A similar test in the wet gas area, testing downspacing from 750 feet to 500 feet, could provide a further 20% increase in locations, he added.

Based on the company’s current drilling space, coupled with internal type curve assumptions, Eclipse management estimates that its current asset base can generate about $4 billion of net present value, based on current commodity prices. By comparison, the company’s enterprise value’s was trading at only about $1.6 billion, according to Hulburt.

In addition, Hulburt pointed to a comparison of how much Utica acreage could be acquired for each $1 million of enterprise value for Eclipse and its peers. For Eclipse, each $1 million translated into 69.3 Utica acres vs. a peer group average of 41.9 acres. The range for the five peers was from 21.8 acres on the low end to 65.3 acres for the highest of the peers.

Noting its superior leverage to the play, “you get the most bang for your buck with our stock if you believe in the core of the Utica, which we do very much,” he emphasized.

Planned capex for 2015 is $352 million. With one rig, the company projects 145-160% year-over-year growth in 2015, followed by 60-80% growth in 2016. For 2016, Eclipse assumes a continued one-rig program and the completion of 15 net drilled but not yet completed wells in the liquids area.

Projected internal rates of return (IRR) are highest for the company’s two dry gas areas, based on futures strip pricing and consensus estimates. Assuming strip pricing, dry gas west and dry gas east wells had IRRs of 49% and 74%, respectively, while using consensus estimates, the two areas’ wells had IRRs of 32% and 50%, according to data shown by Eclipse.

Contact the author, Chris Sheehan, csheehan@hartenergy.com.