HARRISBURG — Following the recent approval of $18 million in gas lease agreements involving state game lands, the Game Commission's Executive Director Carl Roe has announced the agency will spend nearly $7 million to buy replacement acreage for the game lands system.

This one-time payment of $18 million was for the bonus and rental of both the surface and subsurface of the leased state game lands.

Roe also said more than $11 million of this payment will be deposited into the Game Fund, which is the agency's operating budget, to be used to, among other things, increase the number of pheasants to 200,000 that the agency raises and releases for small game hunters, beginning with the 2012-13 license year.

Game commissioners approved four agreements involving oil and gas extraction on state game lands in Lycoming, Bradford and Tioga counties, that will raise more than $18 million to support the agency's mission of managing all wild birds and mammals and their habitats.

STATE COLLEGE — Rex Energy Corp., reports a total net gas production for the first quarter 2011 of 27,768 MMcfe, million cubic feet equivalent, per day, a 46 percent increase from the first quarter 2010 and a 22 percent increase over fourth quarter 2010. Oil and natural gas liquids accounted for 49 percent of the total net production.Natural gas production increased 93 percent over first quarter 2010, which accounted for 51 percent of total production. The increase in natural gas production was attributable to gas sales through the Sarsen cryogenic gas processing plant in Butler County, which was opened in the fourth quarter 2010.Rex Energy has contracted three horizontal drilling rigs for its Butler development.The company drilled and completed fracture stimulation on four of the five wells on its Drushel pad in early April. The company completed drilling its three-well Talarico pad and began the fracture stimulation process on May 1.The company also completed drilling four of the seven wells on its Grosick pad.The company's second operated rig in Butler completed drilling both wells on the McElhinny pad, and the company has scheduled fracture stimulation for late May. The company has now moved this rig to its Behm pad, where it is drilling the second of three wells.Rex Energy's jointly owned Sarsen Plant, with Keystone Midstream Services, is capable of processing 34 MMcf, million cubic feet, per day of inlet gas. Installation of field compression in late third quarter is planned to take the plant to its full capacity of 40 MMcf per day.

<B>Kevin Snyder,</B> a driver for Ruan Transportation Management System’s Butler Terminal, has been named the company’s Regional Driver of the Year. He is one of 106 regional winners from more than 3,700 company drivers.