The Norwegian oil and gas producer said Monday the divestment includes 62,500 acres of operated properties in West Virginia with a production of about 9,300 barrels of oil equivalent a day in the first quarter. Statoil said it would retain its operated properties in the state of Ohio and its non-operated Marcellus positions. The company entered Marcellus and the U.S. shale industry through a 2008 joint venture with Chesapeake Energy Corp. CHK -4.08 % and in 2012 became an operator in the area through the acquisition of additional acreage in a liquids-rich part of the formation. EQT said the acquired assets, primarily located in West Virginia’s Wetzel, Tyler and Harrison counties, would add a sizable amount of acreage within the company’s core development area and complement its adjacent operations in Wetzel County. The acquisition would boost EQT’s core undeveloped Marcellus acreage […]