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Baker Hughes U.S. Rig Count Adds 7 @ 629, M-U Drops 1 @ 43

Last week, the Baker Hughes rig count added the seven rigs it had lost the week before. The count went from 622 active rigs two weeks ago back up to 629 last week. The national count is officially rangebound. Since last October, the national count has gone as low as 616 and as high as 629. And that’s it. No higher and no lower. The Marcellus/Utica cumulatively lost one rig last week and now runs 43 rigs. Pennsylvania lost two rigs and now operates 22 rigs. Ohio stayed the same at 12 rigs. And West Virginia picked up one of PA’s rigs and now operates nine rigs (up from eight the prior week).
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Baker Hughes U.S. Rig Count Loses 7 @ 622, M-U Even @ 44

Last week, the Baker Hughes rig count lost seven rigs after gaining three rigs the week before. The count went from 629 active rigs two weeks ago to 622 last week. The national count has consistently stayed between 620 and 625 (or one or two above or below that range) since last October until recently, when it went higher for a few weeks. But now it’s back in the same long-term range. The Marcellus/Utica remained the same last week with Pennsylvania at 24 rigs (the most since last June), Ohio with 12 rigs, and West Virginia with 8 rigs. The M-U combined is running 44 rigs, which it has run in four of the last five weeks.
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Dog Research Debunks Link Between Fracking and Cancer

Last year, University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) researchers released three studies commissioned by the State Dept. of Health supposedly investigating whether or not there is a connection between shale drilling and childhood diseases, including cancer (see Pitt Releases Fake Research, Claims PA Fracking Linked to Kid Cancer). It was fake research, as we pointed out in a follow-up post (see Serious Flaws Revealed in Pitt’s So-Called Fracking/Cancer Studies). A new set of researchers with access to real data about cancer rates in dogs decided to see if a connection exists between dogs with cancer and their nearness to fracking operations. The new research finds no such correlation.
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Report Claims Associated Gas Cheaper to Produce than M-U Dry Gas

Bayou City Energy (BCE), an E&P-focused private equity firm, yesterday published a VERY INTERESTING white paper titled “Natural Gas Producers: Why Don’t You Stay?” (full copy below). The thesis of the white paper (or report) is that drillers in gas-focused plays can’t produce natural gas as cheaply as oil producers who produce gas as a side benefit (called associated gas). Therefore, gas-focused drillers need to drastically, immediately change their capital allocation strategies (spend less on new drilling, for now). The author also makes the case that gas-focused drillers should look for opportunities to merge with a “liquids-rich producer.”
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Americans’ Access to Life Saving Medicine Depends on Natural Gas

Yesterday, the American Gas Association (AGA) unveiled a new study, “Advancing America’s Pharmaceuticals: The Value of Natural Gas to U.S. Pharmaceutical Manufacturing” (full copy below). Natural gas and other petrochemicals are irreplaceable for manufacturing medicines, with 99% of pharmaceutical feedstocks and reagents derived from natural gas and other petrochemicals. Face masks, disposable gloves, and syringes are also manufactured from petrochemical feedstocks like natural gas and are critical to combatting the spread of disease. Without natural gas, we would all live short, brutish lives. Billions would die.
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Baker Hughes U.S. Rig Count Adds 3 @ 629, M-U Adds 1 @ 44

Last week, the Baker Hughes rig count gained three rigs after losing two rigs the week before. The count went from 626 active rigs two weeks ago to 629 last week. It is the highest total rig count in the U.S. since September 22, 2023! The national count had consistently stayed between 620 and 625 (or one or two above or below that range) since last October, but now appears to be breaking out of that pattern and moving higher. The Marcellus/Utica regained the one rig it had lost two weeks ago. Pennsylvania remained at 24 rigs (the most since last June). Ohio stayed at 12 rigs. West Virginia regained a rig it had lost in the prior week and now operates 8 rigs. The M-U combined is running 44 rigs.
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Pa. 2023: NatGas Production Up 1%, Wells Drilled Lowest in 10 Yrs

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Yesterday, the Pennsylvania Independent Fiscal Office (IFO) released its latest quarterly Natural Gas Production Report for October through December 2023 (full copy below). There were 110 new horizontal wells spud (drilled) in 4Q23, a decrease of 26 wells (-19%) compared to 4Q22. However, 4Q’s spud number was up from the 102 drilled in 3Q23. Natural gas production volume was 1,939 billion cubic feet (Bcf) in 4Q23, up 82 Bcf (4.4%) from 1,857 Bcf produced in 4Q22. There were two pieces of big news in this report: (1) Production for all of 2023 actually went up (now down) by 1%; (2) The total number of new wells drilled in 2023 was the lowest it has been in a decade.
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Baker Hughes U.S. Rig Count Adds 5 @ 626, M-U Loses 1 @ 43

Last week, the Baker Hughes rig count gained five rigs after losing two rigs the week before. The count went from 621 active rigs two weeks ago to 626 last week. The national count has consistently stayed between 620 and 625 (or one or two above or below that range) since last October. The Marcellus/Utica lost one rig last week. Pennsylvania actually added two rigs last week and now operates 24 rigs (the most since last June). Ohio and West Virginia each lost one rig, with Ohio now at 12 active rigs and West Virginia at seven active rigs.
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Baker Hughes U.S. Rig Count Loses 2 @ 621, M-U Stays Even @ 44

Last week, the Baker Hughes rig count lost two rigs after adding four rigs the week before. The count went from 623 active rigs two weeks ago to 621 last week. The national count has consistently stayed between 620-625 active rigs since last October. The Marcellus/Utica stayed even last week at 44 rigs after gaining two rigs the week before. The M-U is at the most active rigs we’ve had since last August!
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Decommissioned Fracked Wells Emit 10X Less Methane Than Single Cow

Plugging and capping old wells has been in the news a lot lately. The left claims old oil and gas wells are partially responsible for toasting Mom Earth. Bunkum (see our companion story today about the EDF/Google satellite). But, let’s be honest, it’s better to cap old wells than to have them belching methane for years and years. Amid the confusion surrounding this issue is a claim that even plugged wells can and do continue to leak significant quantities of methane. A new study from a British university lays that baseless claim to rest.
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EIA’s Outlook for Natural Gas Spot Price in 2024 and 2025

We report today in a companion story about the crash in the NYMEX price to $1.77/MMBtu that NGI’s Spot Gas National Average jumped 36.5 cents to $2.115 yesterday based on winter weather forecasts in some states. What will the Henry Hub spot price (not the futures price, but the physically traded spot price) average for 2024 and 2025? The number crunchers at EIA (U.S. Energy Information Administration) explain their reasoning for a prediction that the average spot price will remain below $3 this year and next.
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EIA Feb DPR: Production Drop Continues in M-U, but Slows

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The latest monthly U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) Drilling Productivity Report (DPR) for February, issued yesterday (below), shows EIA believes shale gas production across the seven major plays tracked in the monthly DPR for March will decrease production from the prior month of February. This is the eighth month in a row that EIA has predicted shale gas production will decrease for the combined seven plays. However, the decrease is less than in previous months, meaning the rate of decrease is slowing. EIA says combined natgas production will slide by a cumulative 25 MMcf/d (million cubic feet per day). The Marcellus/Utica, called “Appalachia” in the report, is predicted to decrease by 76 MMcf/d in March compared with February.
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U.S. NatGas Production Nears All-Time High Again – No Slowdown

U.S. natural gas production in the Lower 48 states is once again very close to all-time high levels, contrary to the blatherings of groups like the International Energy Association (IEA), which continues its meme that both oil and natgas either already have or will soon peak in demand. That’s just not happening here at home. Natural gas production is up to nearly 104.5 Bcf/d (billion cubic feet per day) over the last week, not far off from the all-time highs of nearly 105.7 Bcf/d recorded in December, according to data from S&P Global Commodity Insights.
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Baker Hughes U.S. Rig Count Adds 4 @ 623, M-U Gains 2 @ 44

Last week, the Baker Hughes rig count added four rigs after losing two rigs the week before. The count went from 619 active rigs two weeks ago to 623 last week. We continue to see the national count stay roughly around 620-630 active rigs. The Marcellus/Utica gained two active rigs and now sits at 44 — the most active rigs we’ve had since last August! Two rigs were added to Pennsylvania, while Ohio and West Virginia each maintained the same count as the previous week.
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U.S. Hits New All-Time, Record-High NatGas Consumption in January

For climate change catastrophists and “peak gas” proponents who read MDN, please tell us yet again how natural gas (and oil) are on the way out. Remind us of how unreliable renewables are taking the country by storm and that pretty soon (any year now), we won’t need natgas anymore. We need a good laugh! Here’s the reality: On January 16, 2024, the U.S. Lower 48 states consumed 141.5 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of natural gas, exceeding the previous record set on December 23, 2022. That is a new, all-time, record-high natural gas consumption record in this country for a single day. So yes, tell us again how natgas is quickly fading away (LOL)…
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EIA Predicts NYMEX Henry Hub to Average $2.40/MMBtu in Feb/Mar

Once a month, the analysts at the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) issue the agency’s Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), their best guess about where energy prices and production will go in the next 12 months or so. We sometimes poke good-natured fun at the EIA because their predictions go up in one month, and in the next month, they go down, etc. What about the latest STEO dart board, published yesterday? It won’t surprise you to read that due to warmer weather, the EIA prognosticators believe the average Henry Hub natural gas spot prices will remain “subdued” around $2.40/MMBtu in February and March. What about for the entire year?
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