PDC Energy, a driller in the Wattenberg Field in Colorado and the Utica in Ohio, paused their Utica drilling program in 2015 (see PDC Energy Pushes Pause Button on OH Utica Drilling for 2015). In December the company announced they would restart Utica drilling in 2016 with plans to drill five wells (see PDC Energy to Restart OH Drilling in 2016, Drilling 5 Utica Wells). In early August, PDC released their second quarter 2016 update. There are a few mentions of the Utica in the update. It appears the Utica program is once again up and running. In fact, one of the Utica wells they’ve drilled, the PDC “Neff” well, has come online earlier than expected and began producing in 2Q16 (see PDC Energy 2Q16: Utica Program Active Again, Neff Well Online). However, another shale play has turned the head of PDC–the Delaware Basin in Texas. Later in August PDC announced it had purchased two drillers in the Delaware for $1.5 billion (see PDC Energy’s Head Turned by Another Pretty Shale Play). If you buy other companies, you need cash. Right on cue PDC has announced they are floating new shares of stocks and new bonds (debt) to help pay for the pretty new shale play that turned the company’s head…
