UPDATE 1-Imperial Oil says acquires Horn River lands

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CALGARY, Alberta, April 25 (Reuters) - Imperial Oil Ltd (IMO.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Friday it has acquired 115,000 acres of exploration lands in what is rapidly becoming Canada's most promising region for natural gas.

Imperial, 70-percent owned by Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N: Quote, Profile, Research), said it and Exxon Mobil Canada will share the rights to the properties in the Horn River region of northeastern British Columbia, 70 kilometers (43 miles) northeast of Fort Nelson.

The region has garnered attention for massive natural gas reserves trapped in shale rock and is being compared with the prolific Barnett shale play of Texas.

EOG Resources Inc (EOG.N: Quote, Profile, Research), Nexen Inc (NXY.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) and a partnership of EnCana Corp (ECA.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) and Apache Corp (APA.N: Quote, Profile, Research) have all reported finding trillions of cubic feet of gas under their properties in the region and Imperial is hoping to repeat that success.

"It's a shale gas play with considerable anticipated resource potential," said Pius Rolheiser, a spokesman for the company, Canada's No. 2 petroleum exploration and refining firm.

Rolheiser said the company may begin preliminary drilling and exploration work on its Horn River properties later this year. (Reporting by Scott Haggett; Editing by Peter Galloway)