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Cabot 2020 Update: Drilled 74 Wells, Avg 2.3 Bcf/d, Made $200M

Yesterday Cabot Oil & Gas issued its fourth-quarter and full-year 2020 update. Cabot continues to be one of the few drillers that consistently makes a profit quarter after quarter, year after year–even during a downturns like what happened in 2020. Although down from 2019, in 2020 Cabot made just over $200 million in net income. They drilled 74 wells, completed 86 wells, and produced an average of 2.3 billion cubic feet equivalent per day (Bcfe/d) last year.
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Range 2020 Update: Drilled 67 Wells, Avg 2.2 Bcf/d, Lost $712M

Range Resources issued its fourth-quarter and full-year 2020 update yesterday. Range was the very first driller to sink a Marcellus well, back in 2004. The company currently owns ~460,000 acres in the M-U, most of it in the “wet gas” region which produces higher-profit NGLs. Range made $38 million in net profit during 4Q20, but lost $712 million for the entire year. However, the yearly loss is better than 2019 when Range lost $1.7 billion (heading in the right direction).
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PA Legislators Strongly Disapprove Ch. 105 Water Permit Changes

In December MDN brought you the news that the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) is proposing and seeking comments on changes to the state’s Chapter 105 (water obstructions and encroachments) permit (see PA DEP Proposes Changes to Ch. 105 Water Permits). It’s a fundamental permit almost all outdoor construction projects in PA are required to obtain, including the drilling of shale wells. Republicans on the PA House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee voted yesterday to send a letter to the Independent Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC) expressing their strong disapproval of the proposed changes.
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US Supreme Court May Hear Illinois Takings Case – NY Implications?

More than six years ago a group of landowners in Wayne County, Illinois sued the state for its refusal to grant permits to drill and frack in the New Albany Shale deposit. Over the years the case morphed and the plaintiff became Next Energy, LLC, which acquired the leases to explore and develop the shale under the landowners’ property. The huge news is that the U.S. Supreme Court has taken an active interest in the case and is demanding the Illinois Attorney General file a response to the case–a key indicator the Supremes are leaning toward hearing the case.
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Cheniere Energy Strikes New LNG Export Deals – Rebound in 2021

Cheniere Energy operates two huge LNG export facilities–one in Sabine Pass, Louisiana, the other in Corpus Christi, Texas. Cheniere is the #1 LNG exporter in the U.S. Yesterday the company issued its fourth-quarter and full-year 2020 update. The company said it secured over 4 million tonnes of LNG supply deals during 4Q20. While the company took a hit with canceled cargoes during the pandemic, Cheniere expects 2021 to rebound and be a banner year. Why do we care? Because a significant quantity of Marcellus/Utica gas flows to the Cheniere facilities for export.
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GECF Says NatGas Eclipses Oil as World’s Top Fossil Fuel by 2050

The Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) is an international governmental organization providing a framework for exchanging experience and information among member cuntries. The GECF is a gathering of the world’s leading gas exporting countries and was set up as an international governmental organization with the objective to increase the level of coordination and strengthen the collaboration among its members. GECF publishes an annual report called Global Gas Outlook 2050 (full copy below) that provides long-term energy projections based on assumptions regarding macroeconomic conditions, energy prices, and policies. The most recent report, issued yesterday, makes a startling prediction.
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Other Stories of Interest: Thu, Feb 25, 2021

MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: UGI work to begin on $6 million pipeline that will change fuel mix at Northampton County’s Keystone Cement; Antero Resources presents a check to the Mountaineer Food Bank for $150,000 to help battle food insecurity; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Midcoasters say $90M natural gas line expansion isn’t aligned with state climate change plan; NATIONAL: Day 2: Rep. Haaland goes further, says federal lands moratorium is not a “permanent thing”; Quantum Fuel Systems awarded substantial natural gas virtual pipeline trailer order; Natural gas price spike curtails ammonia plants, linking hydrogen and gas markets; INTERNATIONAL: Keystone XL’s death sparks rush to ship oil-sands by rail.
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