Private equity firm EnerVest owns a lot of acreage and wells (most of them conventional) in the Marcellus/Utica region. In addition to investing in land and wells, EnerVest also has its own upstream subsidiary, EV Energy Partners. In March of this year, EnerVest put 360,621 acres of leases and 1,100 wells in the Appalachian Basin up for auction (see EnerVest Selling 1,100 Wells, 361K Acres in Appalachia). Bids were due by the end of March. We never heard the outcome, but judging from the EnerVest website (Acquisitions & Divestitures), we don’t think they sold anything. Why go on about EnerVest and their Appalachian assets? Because EnerVest, which once had a value of $2 billion, is now worth nothing. Zero. Nada. Not because of their Appalachian assets, but because EnerVest took on heavy debt to finance purchases in oil plays–in Texas and Utah. Now investors, including pension funds and banks, have essentially lost their investments. They may see “pennies on the dollar” when it’s all over and done. So how does this affect the Marcellus/Utica?…
