Penn Virginia Corp. said Monday it plans to offer 3.5 million shares of its stock for sale to the public under a shelf registration statement on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The Radnor, Pa., company also intends to give the offering’s underwriters 30 days after the offering to purchase up to 525,000 additional shares.

Penn Virginia (NYSE:PVA) didn’t say when it intends to hold the offering or how much it intends to sell its shares for. It did say it plans to use the proceeds to pay down part of the balance on its revolving credit line and for general corporate purposes.

In its filing with the SEC announcing the offering, Penn Virginia said it is considering alternatives to improve its liquidity and financial flexibility, including long-term debt financings, equity offerings, and sales of substantial assets, including all or a portion of its partner interests in Penn Virginia GP Holdings LP and Penn Virginia Resource Partners LP.

Penn Virginia is a natural gas and oil production company that also owns 77 percent of Penn Virginia GP Holdings (NYSE:PVG) and through it, controls Penn Virginia Resource Partners (NYSE:PVR)

Penn Virginia Resource Partners (NYSE:PVR) is a partnership that manages coal and natural resource properties and owns natural-gas gathering and processing operations.

Penn Virginia GP Holdings is the largest unit holder of Penn Virginia Resource Partners and owns Penn Virginia Resource Partners’ general partner.