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Buffalo Bills Owner Terry Pegula on the Hunt to Buy NatGas Assets

Terry Pegula is a billionaire who owns both the Buffalo Sabres (NHL hockey team) and the Buffalo Bills (NFL football team). Pegula is the owner of East Resources, once a big driller (and holder of acreage) in the Marcellus Shale. Pegula sold off East’s Marcellus assets and used the money, in part, to buy the Buffalo Bills in 2014, which gave rise to MDN calling the team “the Marcellus Bills”–since it was Marcellus money that kept the team in Buffalo, instead of moving to another market (see Buffalo Bills Stay in Buffalo, Thanks to $1.4B of Marcellus Money). Yes, “dirty” fracking money saved the Bills! Pegula is once again in the hunt to purchase oil and gas assets. Hey, it’s a buyer’s market right now and Pegula didn’t become a billionaire by being dumb…
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Billionaire Fracker Terry Pegula #160 on Forbes 400 Richest List

Terry Pegula

Terry Pegula is a billionaire who owns both the Buffalo Sabres (NHL hockey team) and the Buffalo Bills (NFL football team). Pegula is the owner of East Resources, once a big driller (and holder of acreage) in the Marcellus Shale. Pegula sold off East’s Marcellus assets and used the money, in part, to buy the Buffalo Bills in 2014, which gave rise to MDN calling the team “the Marcellus Bills”–since it was Marcellus money that kept the team in Buffalo, instead of moving to another market (see Buffalo Bills Stay in Buffalo, Thanks to $1.4B of Marcellus Money and Buffalo “Marcellus” Bills – Team Sold to Fracker for $1.4B). Yes, “dirty” fracking money saved the Bills! After selling all of East’s Marcellus assets, Pegula still had an itch to frack, so he started up a new company, JKLM, in order to keep his finger in the Marcellus/Utica pie. JKLM is, as we reported in July, fracking 12 Utica wells in Potter County, PA this year (see JKLM Drilling 12 Utica Wells in Potter County, PA This Year). Fracking is what made Pegula rich. We found it interesting that he made the Forbes 400–a list of the 400 richest people in the United States. Pegula was one of only four people who call Upstate New York home to appear on the list. Here is Pegula’s entry for the list…
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Buffalo Bills Owner Terry Pegula Lives a (Fracking) Double Life

Terry Pegula is an interesting guy. He’s a billionaire who owns both the Buffalo Sabres (NHL hockey team) and the Buffalo Bills (NFL football team). Pegula is the owner of East Resources, once a big driller (and holder of acreage) in the Marcellus Shale. Pegula sold off East’s Marcellus assets and used the money, in part, to buy the Buffalo Bills in 2014, which gave rise to MDN calling the team “the Marcellus Bills”–since it was Marcellus money that kept the team in Buffalo, instead of moving to another market (see Buffalo Bills Stay in Buffalo, Thanks to $1.4B of Marcellus Money and Buffalo “Marcellus” Bills – Team Sold to Fracker for $1.4B). Yes, “dirty” fracking money saved the Bills! That’s a real conundrum for the lefties in Buffalo, including the Buffalo News. The lefties love the fact the Bills stayed in town, but it was “blood money” that bought the team. That’s the attitude. Recently the Buffalo News woke up to the fact that Pegula is still fracking. He started up a new company, JKLM, in order to keep his finger in the Marcellus/Utica pie. JKLM is, as we reported in July, fracking 12 Utica wells in Potter County, PA this year (see JKLM Drilling 12 Utica Wells in Potter County, PA This Year). The News has finally figured it out, and written an expose on Pegulas “other world,” like he’s hiding another wife and family somewhere secret, living a secret double life. Kind of funny! In a “rare interview,” Pegula is unapologetic for his fracking roots, and for his continued fracking practices. The article shares insights into Pegula’s fascination with the oil and gas industry, and his interest in Potter County, PA…
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Buffalo “Marcellus” Bills – Team Sold to Fracker for $1.4B

Marcellus BillsAs MDN previously told you, Marcellus money has just purchased the Buffalo Bills NFL team (see Buffalo Bills Stay in Buffalo, Thanks to $1.4B of Marcellus Money). Yesterday NFL owners, who had gathered to vote, took all of about 15 seconds to approve the $1.4 BILLION purchase of the Bills team by East Resources (and former Marcellus Shale driller) Terry Pegula and his wife Kim. The vote was 32-0 in favor of the sale. We think in honor of this momentous occasion the team should be renamed to be the Buffalo Marcellus Bills. Maybe we can just call them the “MarBills” for short?…
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What Nightmares Keep Drillers Up at Night? Hint: Not Fines

The ScreamWhat are the nightmares that keep drillers up at night? Is it the prospect of having to pay big fines, like the biggest fine paid to date in Pennsylvania, announced just last week (see PA DEP Fines Range Resources $4.15M for Wastewater Impoundments). While we’re sure that fine stung, the money paid was more like a bee sting. According to the drillers themselves and their comments, the thing that keeps them up at night is negative publicity. Bad public relations (PR). It’s not the fine itself but public perception about being fined or being in violation. Some of the problem is caused by an unrealistically high standard of zero mistakes and zero screw-ups imposed by those who oppose shale drilling…
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National Media Acknowledges Marcellus Shale Saved the Bills

It’s not often that MDN sets the trend for national news, but we have to say we believe we did this time. Going back to June 2014, MDN speculated that if the Buffalo Bills franchise was purchased by billionairre Terry Pegula, it would be Marcellus money funding the purchase (see Fascinating Connection Between NFL & Marcellus/Utica). We then brought you the news that Aubrey McClendon, the former Chesapeake CEO and fracking “bad boy” the media loves to hate, would also help fund the purchase via his purchases of Marcellus and Utica property from Pegula (see Aubrey McClendon’s Money Makes Purchase of Buffalo Bills Possible). Last week the deal was struck and indeed, Pegula the Marcellus fracking billionaire, was the winner (see Buffalo Bills Stay in Buffalo, Thanks to $1.4B of Marcellus Money). After we reported that story on Wednesday, it took a couple of days, but eventually even Gannett and the Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin had to admit we were right. In an interesting twist, the PSB reports that NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo is gushing with praise for Pegula, which of course just points out his sleazy, political double-standard on the fracking issue…
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Buffalo Bills Stay in Buffalo, Thanks to $1.4B of Marcellus Money

For some time we’ve followed, with interest, the story of the sale of the Buffalo Bills NFL football team (see Fascinating Connection Between NFL & Marcellus/Utica). East Resources–an oil & gas driller with extensive holdings in the Marcellus–is owned by Terry Pegula. Terry sold much of his Marcellus holdings in 2010 to Shell/SWEPI for $4.7 billion. He later purchased the Buffalo Sabres NHL hockey team. Not long ago he sold off more (the rest?) of his Marcellus and Utica acreage to Aubrey McClendon for $1.75 billion (see Aubrey McClendon’s Money Makes Purchase of Buffalo Bills Possible). Terry has, according to “sources” of Buffalo Business First, won the bidding contest for the Bills. The price? Uncoincidentally, $1.4 billion–the highest price paid for any NFL franchise in the history of the league…
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Rex Energy Takes Shell to the Cleaners – Picks up 208K Acres

penniesWhat is it about the oil majors that they can’t seem to turn a profit in America’s shale plays? Somehow the smaller, leaner independents keep beating the majors, time and again. Latest example: Shell. In 2010, Shell paid a whopping $4.7 billion to buy East Resources (see East Resources Sells to Royal Dutch Shell for $4.7 Billion, Deal Includes All of East’s Marcellus Shale Operations). The deal included 650,000 acres of Marcellus Shale leases in PA, WV and NY. Shell is now starting to divest itself from that acreage. They just sold 208,000 acres in the Butler, PA area to Rex Energy for $120 million in cash. Talk about a fire sale! In very rough numbers, Rex just picked up nearly 1/3 of Shell’s acreage for chump change–for 2.5% of the money Shell paid back in 2010…
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Aubrey McClendon’s Money Makes Purchase of Buffalo Bills Possible

Two months ago MDN brought you the announcement that Aubrey McClendon’s American Energy Partners had cut a deal with East Resources to purchase 27,000 Utica Shale acres and 48,000 Marcellus Shale acres for $1.75 billion (see McClendon Buys 48K WV Marcellus Acres, 27K More OH Utica Acres). East was founded in 1983 by Terry Pegula. He sold most of East’s acreage and assets to Shell in 2010 for $4.7 billion. Pegula purchased the Buffalo Sabres NHL hockey team and with the potential sale to McClendon, would be the front runner to purchase the Buffalo Bills team, now for sale after the death of its previous owner Ralph Wilson. We believe MDN was the first to declare Aubrey was enabling the purchase the purchase of the Bills (see Fascinating Connection Between NFL & Marcellus/Utica). Yesterday Aubrey announced he was true to his word and the deal is now done and dusted–in the books. Pegula and Donald Trump have both been given permission to go to the next round in their bids to buy the Bills…
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Will Marcellus Blood Money Buy the Buffalo Bills?

If you’re an anti-driller in Western New York and a Buffalo Bills fan, you’re in a serious quandary. The Bills NFL franchise is for sale, for the first time ever, and it may be your single best hope for keeping the Bills in Buffalo is if Terry Pegula buys the team. As MDN previously reported, Pegula is the owner of the Buffalo Sabres NHL team. He’s also the founder and CEO of East Resources, an evil oil and gas company. Could it be that the Marcellus Shale–and money derived from it–will save the Buffalo Bills? Can anti-drillers ever live with themselves if that happens? Will anti-drilling Bills fans switch allegiance to their arch rivals the New York Giants or the hated Pittsburgh Steelers if Pegula buys the Bills with his Marcellus “blood money”? All burning questions for inquiring minds…
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McClendon Buys 48K WV Marcellus Acres, 27K More OH Utica Acres

silhouette questionYet another major announcement yesterday from Aubrey McClendon, former CEO of Chesapeake Energy and current CEO of a new company he founded, American Energy Partners (AEP). Aubrey is spending another $1.75 billion to buy more acreage (and functioning wells) in both the Ohio Utica and now, for the first time, in the West Virginia Marcellus Shale. The WV acreage is in the wet gas areas of the state. According to the AEP press announcement, East Resources is the seller. Which is interesting to MDN since Shell bought all (or nearly all) of East’s northeast shale acreage in 2010 (see East Resources Sells to Royal Dutch Shell for $4.7 Billion, Deal Includes All of East’s Marcellus Shale Operations). So was the deal actually with Shell using the East name on paper? Or leftover vestiges of the old East Resources?…
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Russian Spinmeisters Talk Down American Shale, Makes Us Laugh

Russia hates the American shale revolution because it threatens their worldwide dominance in natural gas, and it threatens their ability to threaten others with it. Vlad Putin has long poo-pooed our shale reserves as nothing more than a flash in the pan. So we found it amusing to read the story (below) from the Voice of Russia Radio network that tries to spin Shell’s recent exit from some of its holdings into a story about oil and gas companies are “losing interest” in American shale. Yeah right! We had to pick ourselves up off the floor after laughing so hard.

Uh, VOR, have you ever heard of the wholly-owned Shell subsidiary called SWEPI? It stands for Shell Western Exploration and Production Inc. Oh, and East Resources? Yeah, Shell bought them. Shell now owns 850,000 acres in the Marcellus Shale play–#2 behind Chesapeake’s 1.8 million acres. So please, tell us again how Shell is abandoning American shale plays–we need another good laugh!…
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East Resources Responds to Unflattering WSJ Article on Violations

On Monday, the Wall Street Journal published a story titled “As Big Drillers Move In, Safety Goes Up.” The premise and tone of the article is that in the early days of Marcellus Shale drilling, there were many smaller, less-experienced companies drilling in the Marcellus–companies not as safety conscious and careful as the big boys. Now that the big boys have arrived, safey and accidents are down–way down.

The opening few paragraphs are none too flattering to one company in particular–East Resources. East is still around, although they sold their Marcellus operation to Shell in 2010. The WSJ article opens this way:

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Foreign Investment in America’s Shale Gas: Is it Good or Bad?

One of the main arguments in favor of Marcellus shale gas drilling is that America can become more energy independent—less dependent on the energy (oil and gas) from other countries. It is an argument that strikes a chord with many Americans. The argument also goes that much of the gas produced in the region will stay “local” and cause natural gas prices to remain low for consumers. But what if foreign companies and foreign-backed government entities start buying leaseholds and come here and drill? Will the gas remain here, or will it be exported?

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East Resources Sells to Royal Dutch Shell for $4.7 Billion, Deal Includes All of East’s Marcellus Shale Operations

East Resources, a major drilling company in the Marcellus Shale, especially in Pennsylvania, is selling itself to Royal Dutch Shell for a whopping $4.7 billion. From drilling a single horizontal Marcellus Shale gas well in 2009, East has drilled some 75 horizontal wells in the past 12 months. East did have plans to drill 6,000-7,000 wells in Tioga County, PA over the next “several years” (see this MDN story). No word on the planned drilling for Tioga County and other regions, but MDN assume Shell did not invest in East to not drill. In fact, the pace of drilling may well pick up with Shell’s investment.

From the East Resources press release:

East Resources, Inc., a Pennsylvania-based independent oil and gas producer and one of the most active explorers in the Marcellus Shale, along with its private equity investor Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Company, signed a definitive agreement to sell the company’s principal subsidiaries to an affiliate of Royal Dutch Shell plc (“Shell”) for cash consideration of $4.7 billion. The sale includes East’s natural gas and oil exploration and production operations and most of its holdings in related businesses. With the purchase of East Resources, Shell will acquire approximately 650,000 net acres of Marcellus Shale rights in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and New York, and 1.05 million acres in total.

East Resources, founded in 1983 by Terrence M. Pegula, has been one of the Appalachian Basin’s most active exploration and production companies for more than 25 years. Since its inception, East has grown primarily through its exploration successes, several strategic acquisitions, and most recently the development of the Marcellus Shale.

East Resources employs approximately 300 office and field personnel in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, New York and Colorado. Its principal offices are located in Warrendale, PA, Broomfield, CO and Parkersburg, WV. Shell will continue to operate with East’s workforce to ensure continuing success in the growth and development of the reserves it will acquire in the purchase.

The sale of East Resources to Shell is expected to close in two phases. The first phase of the sale will be completed in mid- to late summer. The second phase of the sale, including the sale of the West Virginia business, will close later this year, pending certain regulatory approvals.

“The sale of the company to Shell will ensure that the capital needed to develop East’s significant Marcellus Shale holdings will be available,” says Mr. Pegula, East’s owner and Chief Executive Officer. “Shell’s entry into the region should benefit Pennsylvania, West Virginia and New York through significant new capital investment, new jobs and new business opportunities. I am very proud that this transaction has brought Shell into the Appalachian Basin.”

President of Shell Oil Company, Marvin Odum commented, “East Resources’ management has built an excellent organization which we are pleased to have as we enter the northeast US and specifically the Marcellus Shale play.”*

*East Resources Press Release (May 28) – East Resources Inc announces sales agreement with Royal Dutch Shell plc