Oil and gas company Hess Corporation 's ( HES ) share price dropped 0.7% on the announcement that it has inked an agreement with an undisclosed third party to divest about 74,000 acres of its dry gas acreage in the Utica Shale. The transaction is valued at $924 million. Around two-thirds of the transaction amount is anticipated by the end of the current quarter of the year, while the balance is likely to be received in the third quarter. The funds raised from this sale will be used for further share repurchases as they are in excess of the expected target of the divestiture program announced by Hess on Mar 4, 2013. The company is likely to decide on whether or not to seek an increase to its existing $4 billion share repurchase authorization, approved as part of its Mar 4 announcement, after a final decision is made either to spin or sell Hess Retail.