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Peregrine Energy Partners Buys More Royalty Rights in SWPA & WV

Peregrine Energy Partners, headquartered in Dallas, Texas, continues a program to buy royalty rights in the Marcellus/Utica. In January 2019 we told you about Peregrine’s purchase of rights from undisclosed sellers in southwest PA (see Peregrine Energy Buys Royalty Rights in Greene County, PA). In March of this year, Peregrine purchased more rights, in Fayette County, PA. Yesterday the company announced they’ve purchased yet another round of rights–in Washington, PA and two counties in WV.
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PA Supremes Hear Oral Arguments in Can of Worms Royalty Lawsuit

On Wednesday the Pennsylvania Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case challenging whether or not the state Attorney General’s office has the right to use a consumer protection law to prosecute companies like Chesapeake Energy and Anadarko over royalty payment shenanigans. The law the AG’s office wants to use has never been used that way before. According to legal experts, drillers are very concerned if the AG’s office wins this one, as we reported last November (see Chesapeake Royalty Lawsuit at PA Supreme Court – Can of Worms?).
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Rig Count Drop Accelerates Again, 24 Gone Including 1 Marcellus

For the past month and a half, MDN has brought you rig count data from Enverus (formerly Drillinginfo) each Friday. Last Friday we reported the count had hit a new modern-day low, but that the Marcellus had gained back one of the seven rigs lost over a previous three week period (see Enverus: Drop in Rig Count Slows Again, Marcellus Picks Up 1 Rig). Today’s update shows rigs hitting another new modern-day low, with the Marcellus giving up the rig it gained last week. How much lower can the rig count go?
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So-Called “Study” Links PA Fracking to Birth Defect in Horses

A new so-called “study” published in the journal Science of The Total Environment claims it has uncovered a link between fracking chemicals in farm water and a rare birth defect in horses. The researchers say this study “could” serve as a warning about fracking and human infant health. Is this it? Were we wrong for the past 11 years about the safety of fracking? Is this THE END?
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Summit Midstream Merges with Itself; Bob McNally Joins Board

Summit Midstream Partners, formed in 2009 and headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas, operates natural gas, crude oil and produced water gathering (pipeline) systems in six unconventional resource basins, including the Marcellus and Utica. The company concentrates its time and money on four “core focus areas” including the Utica, the Williston (i.e. Bakken), the DJ Basin, and the Permian. The company announced yesterday it has completed the buyout of a subsidiary and merged it in. Hidden in the bowels of the press release we discovered Bob McNally, former (ousted) CEO of EQT Corporation, has joined the board of directors at Summit.
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PWC Sells U.S. Magnolia LNG to Different Company for $2M

Two weeks ago MDN brought you the news that consulting powerhouse PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC), which had been hired to liquidate the assets of Australian company LNG Limited (LNGL), had found a buyer for the Magnolia LNG export project for $2.25 million (see PWC Sells U.S. Magnolia LNG to U.K. Company for $2.25M). Scrub that. The buyer never came through with the money, so PWC has found a second buyer, for $2 million. The fire sale continues.
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Shale Energy Stories of Interest: Fri, May 29, 2020

MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Gas, oil industry working way through pandemic; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Don’t knock natural gas in Massachusetts; NATIONAL: Chevron to cut up to 15% of staff amid restructuring; David C. Lawler named next chief of bp America; Reservoir commentary: potential implications of long-term shut-ins on reservoir; Natural gas powerburn: fuel switching, summer outlook & what it means for gas prices, energy stocks; Natural gas – weather returns as the dominant driving force for prices; INTERNATIONAL: Turkey replacing natural gas imports from Iran, Russia with LNG from the US.
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