OKLAHOMA CITY, Feb. 3, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — American Energy – Utica, LLC (AEU), an affiliate of American Energy Partners, LP (AEP-LP), announced today that it has signed three agreements to acquire approximately 130,000 net acres in the southern Utica Shale play from affiliates of Hess Corporation, Exxon Mobil Corporation and privately-held Paloma Partners, LLC.

These acquisitions will bring AEU’s holdings of southern Utica Shale leasehold to approximately 260,000 net acres, a level that is the largest in the industry and of which approximately 90% is located in the core of the play, defined as southern Jefferson, Belmont, eastern Guernsey, Harrison, Monroe and Noble counties. AEU plans to drill approximately 2,700 gross wells and 1,600 net wells in these counties over the next decade.

AEU’s lead equity investor is Houston-based The Energy & Minerals Group (EMG), with additional equity provided by First Reserve Corporation, AEU management and others. EMG manages a family of funds that invest in the energy and minerals sectors and have approximately $8.4 billion of assets under management.

About American Energy Partners, LP:
American Energy Partners, LP was founded by Aubrey K. McClendon in April 2013 to capitalize on opportunities available in unconventional resource plays onshore in the U.S. For additional information, please visit www.americanenergypartners.com.

About The Energy & Minerals Group:
The Energy & Minerals Group is the management company for a series of specialized private equity funds. EMG focuses on investing across various facets of the global natural resource industry including the upstream and midstream segments of the energy complex. EMG has approximately $8.4 billion of total investor commitments (including co-investments) with approximately $5.2 billion allocated across the energy sector since inception. EMG is wholly owned by the management team of EMG. For additional information, please visit www.emgtx.com.

About First Reserve Corporation:
First Reserve is the largest global private equity firm exclusively focused on energy. First Reserve has offices in Greenwich, CT; Houston; London and Hong Kong. First Reserve has completed more than 475 transactions and its portfolio companies operate in approximately 50 countries and span the energy spectrum from upstream oil and natural gas to midstream and downstream. For additional information, please visit www.firstreserve.com.

SOURCE American Energy Partners, LP