If you could take the best aspects of the Marcellus and Eagle Ford shales and roll them together, what would you get? According to optimistic operators opening up this new play, the Utica shale promises the best of both worlds: low finding and development costs and positive price differentials due to proximity to markets, like the Marcellus; and three distinct commodity zones, including a rich mix of natural gas liquids and condensate, like the Eagle Ford.

Hope springs forth for the Utica, pushing it to the forefront as the next gotta-have-it U.S. resource play.

It doesn't hurt that Chesapeake Energy Corp. is beating the drum on the eve of its Utica farm-out. Chesapeake was first mover in the play, teaming up with Ohio's largest producer EnerVest Ltd. and acquiring Anschutz Exploration Corp. in 2010, building a 1.25-million-acre position. With $1.5- to $2 billion in sunken land costs, Chesapeake's price-per-Utica acre equates to $1,200 to $1,600.

While early in the exploration stage, the position lies in the heart of what the company anticipates to be the highly economic condensate arc. Similar proven acreage in the Eagle Ford now trades for $15,000 to $20,000 an acre.

Aubrey McClendon, Chesapeake's chief executive, projects the company's Utica position could ultimately be worth $15- to $20 billion. Consider that Chesapeake's total market cap stands at about $20 billion, and you get an idea of the perceived value of the resources stored within the Utica.

The rush by others to claw for positions has already begun, although much of the anticipated sweet spot in eastern Ohio is long held by legacy production. That means one thing: Utica M&A.

Following its directive to grow oil production, New York-based integrated oil company Hess Corp. made a big splash by entering the Utica in September, when it invested $1.3 billion in two deals within two days. Adding to its sizeable footprints in the oily Bakken and Eagle Ford plays, Hess suddenly holds 185,000 acres in the liquids-rich window of the Utica, about the same as its Eagle Ford holdings.

In its first deal, Hess joined Marcellus heavyweight Consol Energy for a 50% interest in 200,000 acres. The $593-million ticket price equates to $6,000 per acre, but the structure involves just $59 million up front, with the rest as a five-year drilling carry.

Such a deal mitigates exploration risk, providing "off ramps" in a worst-case scenario, says Bernstein Research analyst Bob Brackett. "If the Utica has Eagle Ford potential, as has been advertised by several companies, then…the transaction is pricing in a one-in-three chance of success" compared with recent Eagle Ford comps.

Hess followed with a $750-million takeout of Marquette Exploration, grabbing 100% interest in another 85,000 acres—again projected to be liquids rich—for $8,800 per acre. It is all in with no off ramps at that price.

In the same week, PDC Energy made its Utica move, announcing 30,000 acres at an aggregate cost of $50 million, or $1,700 per acre. While cheap compared with Hess' deals, PDC's acquisitions lie in five counties south of current activity.

Additionally, Anadarko Petroleum Corp. has been sighted permitting wells in the play. Other companies with positions: Gulf-port Energy, Magnum Hunter Resources, Devon Energy and Rex Energy.

"It appears the land grab is in full force with operators jockeying for position," says Global Hunter Securities analyst Michael Bodino. "Expect more Utica deals to continue to be announced and acreage values to keep increasing as results become more available leading up to third-quarter earnings announcements."

Chesapeake is queued to complete a sell down by October's end, either via a joint venture or another "alternative monetization" method such as a partnership with a financial player, as McClendon hinted in the company's second-quarter conference call. Jefferies & Co.'s Subash Chandra models $900 million in upfront proceeds for a 30% interest at $7,000 per acre, but following the Hess deal, that now appears light, he says. "Due to more well control, we would not be surprised to see a dollar-per-acre number that exceeds the latter Hess deal."

"Rarely is the first deal in the market the peak," say analysts at Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co., referring to Hess' metrics. "We're betting Chesapeake still garners $15 billion or more of implied value, as they will benefit from size and scale of opportunity, having well results in hand and dramatic activity acceleration planned."

Let the land grab begin.