SALEM, Ohio — EQT Corporation announced its intent to acquire Range Resources on Oct. 26. The $13 billion stock deal will create the largest gas producer in the country, surpassing Expand Energy in Texas, which formed in 2024 when Southwestern Energy and Chesapeake Energy merged.
Both companies’ boards of directors voted unanimously for the merger, which will have an enterprise value over $50 billion, according to an EQT press release.
The move will require regulatory approval and permission from stakeholders of both companies. The transaction is estimated to close during the first quarter of 2027.
Texas-based Range Resources pioneered the Marcellus Shale natural gas boom in 2004, drilling the first unconventional gas well in the region in Washington County, Pennsylvania.
According to its website, Range Resources owns a million net acres across the state.
EQT, based in Pittsburgh, also owns or leases over one million net acres in Pennsylvania, primarily in Washington and Greene counties. The merger will “strengthen natural gas fundamentals” and usher in the “next era of natural gas,” EQT President and CEO Toby Z. Rice said in a statement.
“Our expanded resource base solidifies EQT as the operator of choice for premium, long-term supply arrangements,” he said.
According to Dennis L. Degner, president and CEO of Range Resources, these two highly successful operations will “build long-term value neither could fully realize independently.”
“The combined company will be uniquely positioned to capitalize on increasing demand for natural gas and liquids both domestically and internationally, delivering superior returns for investors,” he said
