8-K

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE

SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported):  June 29, 2010 (June 28, 2010)

GASTAR EXPLORATION LTD.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)

ALBERTA, CANADA	001-32714	98-0570897
(State or other jurisdiction	(Commission	(IRS Employer
of incorporation)	File Number)	Identification No.)

1331 LAMAR STREET, SUITE 1080

HOUSTON, TEXAS 77010

(Address of principal executive offices)

(713) 739-1800

(Registrant's telephone number, including area code)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):

¨ Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

¨ Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

¨ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

¨ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

SECTION 7 – REGULATION FD

Item 7.01  Regulation FD Disclosure

On June 28, 2010, Gastar Exploration Ltd. (the “Company”) announced that it has become a member of The Russell 2000 Index, which was reconstituted effective at market close on Friday, June 25, 2010.

In accordance with General Instruction B.2 of Form 8-K, the information presented herein under Item 7.01 and set forth in the attached Exhibit 99.1 is deemed to be “furnished” solely pursuant to Item 7.01 of this report and shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section, nor shall such information or the Exhibit be deemed incorporated by reference into any filing under the Securities Act of 1933 or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, each as amended.

SECTION 9 – FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND EXHIBITS

Item 9.01  Financial Statements and Exhibits

(d) Exhibits

The following is a list of exhibits furnished as part of this Form 8-K:

Exhibit No.	Description of Document
99.1	Press release dated June 28, 2010.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

GASTAR EXPLORATION LTD.

Date:  June 29, 2010	By:	/s/  J. RUSSELL PORTER
		J. Russell Porter
		President and Chief Executive Officer

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EXHIBIT INDEX

Exhibit No.	Description of Document
99.1	Press release dated June 28, 2010.

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EX-99.1

Exhibit 99.1

	NEWS RELEASE
	Company Contact:
	Gastar Exploration Ltd.
	J. Russell Porter, Chief Executive Officer
	713-739-1800 / rporter@gastar.com
	Investor Relations Counsel:
	Lisa Elliott / Anne Pearson
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE	DRG&E  : 713-529-6600
	lelliott@drg-e.com/ apearson@drg-e.com

GASTAR EXPLORATION IS ADDED

 TO THE RUSSELL 2000 INDEX

HOUSTON, June 28, 2010 - Gastar Exploration Ltd. (NYSE AMEX: GST) announced today that it has become a member of The Russell 2000 Index, which was reconstituted effective at market close on Friday, June 25th.  In order to maintain indexes that are representative of global equity markets, Russell annually rebalances the entire Russell family of indexes.

The Russell 2000 Index is a subset of the Russell 3000 Index, which through annual reconstitution captures the 3,000 largest U.S. stocks as of the end of May, ranking them by total market capitalization. As a broad market index, the Russell 3000 represents approximately 98 percent of the U.S. stock market and the vast majority of traded securities. The Russell 2000 is comprised of the 2,000 smallest companies in the index and is a constructed to provide a comprehensive and unbiased small-cap barometer. Russell indexes are widely used by investment managers and institutional investors for index funds and as benchmarks for both passive and active investment strategies.  Investment managers who oversee these funds purchase shares of member stocks according to that company’s weighting in the particular index.

About Gastar Exploration

Gastar Exploration Ltd. is an exploration and production company focused on finding and developing natural gas assets in North America.  The Company pursues a strategy combining deep natural gas exploration and development with lower risk CBM and shale resource development.  The Company owns and operates exploration and development acreage in the deep Bossier gas play of East Texas and Marcellus Shale play in West Virginia and Pennsylvania.  Gastar’s CBM activities are conducted within the Powder River Basin of Wyoming.  For more information, visit our web site at www.gastar.com.

The NYSE Amex has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy of this release.

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