Diversified 3Q: Appalachian Gas Prices Low, So Oil Gets the Love

Diversified Energy Company (DEC), the Birmingham, Alabama-based company that built its business by buying up older, lower-producing wells other drillers no longer wanted (many of them conventional wells across Appalachia), released its third-quarter 2026 update this week. On paper, DEC lost $202.2 million in 3Q. In the real world, it threw off $152.7 million in adjusted free cash flow. The gap between the two numbers is hedging. But the bigger story is where DEC is headed. The company that calls itself the largest well owner in the Lower 48 is about to close the biggest deal in its history, and it's for Permian oil, not Appalachian gas. Oh, and DEC is now drilling its own new shale wells. Just not here.

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