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37 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Oct 30 – Nov 5

New shale permits issued for Oct 30 – Nov 5 in the Marcellus/Utica saw a significant increase. It almost felt like old times again! There were 37 new permits issued last week, versus 26 the week before. Last week’s permit tally included 24 new permits in Pennsylvania, 11 new permits in Ohio, and 2 new permits in West Virginia. Coterra Energy was the top permittee for the week, drawing 9 permits in Susquehanna County, PA. This will really rub the antis raw: Coterra received several permits to restart drilling in Dimock Township. 🙂
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26 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Oct 23 – 29

New shale permits issued for Oct 23 – 29 in the Marcellus/Utica increased again. There were 26 new permits issued last week, versus 22 the week before. Last week’s permit tally included 18 new permits in Pennsylvania, 7 new permits in Ohio, and 1 new permit in West Virginia. Coterra Energy was the top permittee for the week, drawing 7 permits in Susquehanna County, PA. Chesapeake Energy was #2 with 5 permits issued in Sullivan County, PA.
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22 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Oct 16 – 22

New shale permits issued for Oct 16 – 22 in the Marcellus/Utica rebounded. There were 22 new permits issued last week, versus 14 the week before. Last week’s permit tally included 17 new permits in Pennsylvania, 5 new permits in Ohio, and no new permits in West Virginia. Chesapeake Energy was the top permittee for the week, drawing 7 permits between two counties in PA: Susquehanna and Wyoming (northeastern part of the state). EQT had 5 permits across two PA counties: Greene and Washington (southwestern part of the state). And Ascent Resources had 5 permits in Ohio in two counties: Guernsey and Harrison.
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Longer Laterals Means Range Resources Drilling Fewer Wells in 2023

Range Resources Corporation, the very first company to drill a shale well targeting the Marcellus Shale layer in Pennsylvania (in 2004), issued its third quarter update yesterday. In prior guidance from earlier this year, Range said it would drill between 60-65 wells in 2023. However, with this latest update, that number was revised down to 51 new wells in this latest update. The reason for drilling fewer wells, according to the Range officials, is that the company is drilling longer wells, achieving the same amount of lateral feet with fewer holes in the ground. Even though fewer new wells are coming, the ones that are drilled produce more.
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Former Olympus Energy VP Joins Range Resources Board of Directors

On Friday, Range Resources Corporation, the very first driller to sink a Marcellus Shale well (in Pennsylvania) back in 2004, announced it had appointed a new member to its Board of Directors — Charles G. Griffie. Mr. Griffie has an extensive background in the oil and gas industry with expertise in managing midstream assets. Among his previous positions, Griffie did a 2.5-year stint as Senior Vice President of Midstream and Marketing for Huntley & Huntley Energy Exploration (now called Olympus Energy).
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Major U.S. Shale Drillers Hedged 2H23 Gas Production Avg. $3.35

According to an analysis by S&P Global Commodity Insights, large U.S. shale gas drillers (namely Marcellus/Utica drillers) have hedged (pre-sold at a specific price) an average of 50% of anticipated shale gas production for the second half of 2023. The average price of the hedges is $3.35/Mcf, far above the average NYMEX Henry Hub price that has been bumping along between $2.25 and $2.75. CNX Resources is the top hedger, hedging 80% of its production in 2H23 at $3.04/Mcf.
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SRBC Approves Water Permits for 34 Shale Well Pads in NE Pa.

In August, the Executive Director of the Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC) approved 34 water-use permits for individual shale gas well drilling pads in Bradford, Lycoming, Sullivan, Susquehanna, and Tioga counties. We’re just learning of the action via an official notice published in the Sept. 23 edition of the Pennsylvania Bulletin. The approvals, which are NOT subject to public review according to SRBC regulations, are general water permits. Each site will be required to receive a specific water withdrawal approval at a later date.
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M-U Drilling Profits Hit Two-Year Low, Better Days Ahead?

Investors in shale oil and gas companies suffered for years with little or no returns for the money they invested. Five of eight large Marcellus/Utica drillers saw their share prices decrease by an astonishing 85% or more from 2008 to 2019 (see Former EQT CEO: Shale Revolution a “Disaster” for Investors). Just before the COVID pandemic hit, shale companies began to change and focus on less drilling and more profitability, which began to turn things around. Then Russia illegally (and unprovoked) invaded Ukraine, driving oil and gas prices to record highs (see How Did M-U Gas Drillers Spend Their 2022 Record Haul of Cash?). Over the past year (five quarters), prices for gas and largely for oil have once again crashed, and along with it, a crash in profits for drillers.
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22 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Sep 11 – 17

New shale permits issued for Sep 11 – 17 in the Marcellus/Utica rebounded. There were 22 new permits issued last week, up from 14 issued two weeks ago. But the increase came from an unlikely source. Last week’s permit tally included 9 new permits in Pennsylvania, 1 new permit in Ohio, and 12 new permits in West Virginia. WV is typically on the low end of permits, not the high end. The top permittee for the week was Antero Resources, which received 6 permits in WV. EQT was a close second with 5 permits in WV.
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14 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Sep 4 – 10

New shale permits issued for Sep 4 – 10 in the Marcellus/Utica continued to be in the crapper. There were 14 new permits issued last week, up 1 from 13 issued two weeks ago, and down from the 16 issued three weeks ago. Not so long ago we routinely saw 30+ issued each week. Last week’s permit tally included 8 new permits in Pennsylvania, no new permits in Ohio, and 6 new permits in West Virginia. The top permittee for the week was Antero Resources, which received six permits in WV.
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Range Resources, Other Shale Drillers Chasing 4-Mile Wells

Last week, MDN told you about Gulfport Energy drilling three Utica Shale wells in Ohio (with a fourth underway) that are massive 4-mile wells (see Gulfport’s 4-Mile Utica Wells Producing 2.5+ Bcfe per 1,000 Ft). Gulfport is not the only company working on these super-long wells. According to the Wall Street Journal, Range Resources has its sights set on drilling 4-mile wells, too.
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Range Resources’ Ongoing Love Affair with Washington County, PA

Quick history lesson. In 2004, Range Resources was the first company to drill and frack the first Marcellus Shale gas well, which happened in Mt. Pleasant Township (Washington County), PA. It was love at first sight. Over the past almost 20 years, Range has added a few other counties to the list of place where it drills, and the company remains headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. However, Range considers Washington County, PA, “our core, our home, the DNA of our company.” The bond of love is still strong all these years later.
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Range Res. Gets Permit for 5th Well Pad in Frazer, Near West Deer

Funny how a couple of miles can make all the difference. In West Deer, a township in Allegheny County, PA (near Pittsburgh), Olympus Energy faces organized opposition to every project it proposes. Some Olympus well pads get approved, and some don’t. Every Olympus pad is vigorously opposed by anti-fossil fuelers. Yet in the township immediately next door, Frazer (also Allegheny County), Range Resources appears to have no opposition. We hope we don’t jinx it for them! Range has just received a permit for the company’s fifth multi-well pad. No hew and cry from the crazy left–no nothing. Just business as usual.
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27 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Aug 14 – 20

New shale permits issued for Aug 14 – 20 in the Marcellus/Utica finally turned around. There were 27 new permits issued last week, way up from the 10 issued the prior week. Last week’s permit tally included 21 new permits in Pennsylvania, 2 new permits in Ohio, and 4 new permits in West Virginia (after no permits in WV for three weeks in a row). The top permittee for the week, for the second week in a row, was Chesapeake Energy, receiving 6 permits–5 in Bradford County and 1 in Susquehanna County.
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31 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Jul 17-23

New shale permits issued for Jul 17-23 in the Marcellus/Utica saw a nice increase. There were 31 new permits issued last week, up from the 23 issued the previous week. Last week’s permit tally included 13 new permits in Pennsylvania, 8 new permits in Ohio, and 10 new permits in West Virginia. The top permittee for the week was Coterra Energy, receiving 8 permits in Susquehanna County, PA. Coming in at a close second was Antero Resources, with 6 permits in Ritchie County, WV.
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Range 2Q Update – Maintain 2.1 Bcf/d Output Foreseeable Future

Range Resources’ new CEO, Dennis Degner, told analysts yesterday during a quarterly update that he doesn’t think the commodity price of natural gas and the overall demand for natgas will increase for the rest of this year and most of next year. So Degner will keep the company’s drilling program active enough to keep production at the current level of 2.1 Bcf/d. Range must drill 60-65 new wells yearly to maintain production.
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