Rex Energy Corporation (”Rex Energy”) (Nasdaq:REXX) announced that it has leased or farmed-in approximately 20,000 net acres in the Denver-Julesburg Basin (”DJ Basin”), which it intends to explore for oil from the Niobrara Shale.

The company’s acreage in the DJ Basin is located in Weld County (Colorado) and Laramie County, Wyoming.

Rex Energy is continuing to lease additional acreage in the area, which it believes to be prospective for horizontal oil well drilling in the Niobrara formation. The company expects to begin drilling the first of two horizontal wells to test its acreage during the third quarter of 2010.

Benjamin W. Hulburt, Rex Energy’s President and CEO, commented, “We began leasing in the DJ Basin for the Niobrara Shale several months ago before the recent run up in acreage costs, which enabled us to acquire our acreage at an average cost of only $215 per net acre. In addition, we have recently opened a new regional office in Denver staffed with a team of professionals with significant experience operating in the Rockies region. We are continuing to increase our acreage position in the basin and plan to spud our first test well in late June or early July.”

“Given the initial results of recent horizontal Niobrara Shale oil wells in the basin within close proximity to our acreage, we are very pleased to be able to provide our investors with exposure to this exciting new exploration play at minimal cost. This new project area has the potential to help keep the company’s historical weighting towards oil production,
which is currently approximately 60% of total company production.”