Repsol invests in U.S. oil and gas play

Spanish energy company Repsol announced it purchased more than 350,000 acres of land in Oklahoma and Kansas for the development of oil and natural gas. Repsol announced it would invest $1 billion starting in 2012 for the production of natural gas and light oil from the Mississippi Lime play, a deposit that spans Oklahoma and Kansas, through a deal with U.S. oil company SandRidge Energy. Tom Ward, chairman and chief executive officer at SandRidge, said the collaboration with Repsol could transform the regional energy sector. Repsol said it plans to drill more than 200 wells in the play next year. That total could reach 1,000 by the end of 2014, the company added. The Spanish energy company said it expected to reach a peak production capacity from the Mississippi Lime play of 90,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2019. The deal with SandRidge is part of the Spanish energy company\'s efforts to expand operations in the 34-member Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The company in November announced a major oil discovery in the Vaca Muerta formation in OECD-member Argentina.