Marcellus Drilling News

Energy Companies | Stone Energy

Stone Energy Opens Marcellus Spigots Again; New Midstream Deal
June 30, 2016June 30, 2016

Are we seeing the beginning of a trend? Yesterday MDN told you that after saying they would only drill a single Marcellus well and were curtailing production in the northeast, Eclipse Resources had turned that around and decided to drill 10-12 new wells, complete 24 wells and open up the spigots to shut-in wells once again (see Eclipse Resources Ramps Up Drilling; Floats More Stock to Raise $). Today we bring you news that Stone Energy has cut a new midstream gathering agreement with Williams and is returning some of their shut-in Marcellus wells to full production. Sure feels like things are beginning to look up!…
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Energy Companies | Southwestern Energy

Southwestern Floats $1.1B of New Stock, Offers to Buy Back IOUs
June 30, 2016June 30, 2016

Earlier this week MDN told you that Southwestern Energy, a major Marcellus/Utica driller, has cut deals with its banks and debholders to extend out the due date on loans coming due (see Southwestern Energy Buys More Time with Banks, Debtholders). Southwestern continues to aggressively manage its money and balance sheet. Yesterday the company announced it is floating $1.1 billion of new stock and plans to buy back outstanding notes (IOUs). We don’t pretend to understand why they would extend the due dates earlier this week and now attempt to buy back the IOUs. Perhaps it’s different sets of debt? Someone with a finance degree help us out here! At any rate, here’s yesterday’s set of announcements from Southwestern…
Read More “Southwestern Floats $1.1B of New Stock, Offers to Buy Back IOUs”
Energy Services | Energy Transfer Partners | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | M&A | Williams

Williams Admits There Will be no Merger, Suing ETE for “Damages”
June 30, 2016June 30, 2016

Finally Williams has admitted, in writing, that the attempted buyout/merger by Energy Transfer Equity (ETE) is, as we said yesterday, dead (see Dead as a Doornail: ETE Terminates Merger with Williams). Williams has also admitted (in so many words) what we’ve been saying for more than a month: the vote by Williams “for” the merger and all of the recent goings on have been legal posturing. Williams says they are suing ETE “for monetary damages” for “its breaches.” Here’s the Williams admission issued yesterday in response to ETE’s termination of the deal…
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Energy Services | Energy Transfer Partners | Industrywide Issues | M&A | Williams

Aborted Williams Merger/Shenanigans Take the Shine Off ETE’s CEO
June 30, 2016June 30, 2016

ETE CEO Kelsey Warren

Until now, Energy Transfer Equity (ETE) CEO Kelsey Warren has been the golden boy. By snapping up a series of small pipeline companies at just the right time, Warren has created the ETE empire and turned himself into a billionaire in the process. It seemed he could do no wrong when it came to midstream business deals. And then he bit off more than he could chew: Williams. Warren pursued Williams for more than six months before it became public (see Energy Transfer Makes “Indecent Proposal” to Buy Williams for $48B). It took another three months after that before he finally got them to agree to a merger (see Williams Accepts ETE’s “Indecent Proposal” – Price Went Down $10B). Whether it was rotten timing, or rotten planning, the natural gas market crashed and the deal turned from crowning jewel to albatross. Along the way Warren pulled some shenanigans, like creating a privileged class of stock that gave himself and his buddies a leg up on Williams shareholders (see Merger Turns Sour: Williams Sues ETE/CEO Kelcy Warren). A Bloomberg article chronicles the rise, and now fall, of the midstream’s golden boy…
Read More “Aborted Williams Merger/Shenanigans Take the Shine Off ETE’s CEO”
Beaver County | Economic Impact | Energy Companies | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Pennsylvania | Processing Plants | Shell | Statewide PA

Shell Cracker will “Rebirth” Pennsylvania Manufacturing Base
June 30, 2016June 30, 2016

Can a single petrochemical facility, like Shell’s proposed ethane cracker plant in Beaver County, “rebirth” all of Pennsylvania’s moribund manufacturing base? That would be a resounding “Yes!” according to Marcellus Shale Coalition president Dave Spigelmyer and Pennsylvania Manufacturers’ Association president Dave Taylor. Writing a column in the Harrisburg Patriot-News, the two Daves make the case for just how big a hairy deal the coming Shell cracker in PA really is…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | PennEast Pipeline | Pipelines | Regulation

PennEast Responds to NJ Congresswoman’s Attempt to Stop Pipeline
June 30, 2016June 30, 2016

PennEast in NJ

Yesterday MDN told you about the political pandering by a liberal Democrat Congresswoman from New Jersey, Bonnie Watson Coleman (see Dem Congresswoman Wants to Stop PennEast Pipe by Neutering FERC). Because Coleman has a small group of vocal fossil fuel haters as constituents who object to the PennEast Pipeline, she’s floating a plan that would neuter the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s process in approving all pipelines, including PennEast. Kind of like using a nuclear bomb to swat a fly. PennEast has responded to Ms. Coleman’s political stunt with the following calm, measured and devastating statement that rips apart her false claims…
Read More “PennEast Responds to NJ Congresswoman’s Attempt to Stop Pipeline”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Research | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Antis Use Fake Front Group to Issue PA-OH-WV Shale “Report Card”
June 30, 2016June 30, 2016

Last December MDN ripped the mask off a group of extremely partisan, virulently anti-drilling Democrats who call themselves the innocent-sounding Multi-State Shale Research Collaborative (see The Pretenders: Multi-State Shale Research Collaborative). One of the chief ringleaders of this enviro-cabal, made up of hard-left groups including the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center, the West Virginia Center for Budget and Policy, and Policy Matters Ohio, is Jan Jarrett–the former president and CEO of anti group PennFuture (see Jarrett Out, Jugovic In as President & CEO of PennFuture). The entire anti community is a case study in political incest. The Multi-State Shale Research Collaborative (i.e. anti-drilling zealots) have just released a pair of “reports” (propaganda pamphlets), one of them a so-called report card on shale drilling in PA, OH and WV. The media, of course, laps it up and goes along with the lie…
Read More “Antis Use Fake Front Group to Issue PA-OH-WV Shale “Report Card””
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Regulation

30 LibDem Mayors Ask States & Feds to Allow Frack Bans
June 30, 2016June 30, 2016

Last weekend the United States Conference of Mayors held their annual conference in Indianapolis, IN. Following the meeting, a small group of 30 mayors–a few from larger cities like Pittsburgh and Charlotte, but most from small cities–signed a letter urging state and federal officials to allow local municipalities (like theirs) to ban fracking. It’s all couched in terms of “home rule” language, but the desire is to allow local governments to deny their citizens their Constitutional property rights. Near as we can tell, all 30 of the mayors signing the letter are liberal Democrats. The press release and letter were issued by the virulently anti-drilling Environment America, a Big Green group…
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Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Thu, Jun 30, 2016
June 30, 2016June 30, 2016

The “best of the rest” – stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading. In today’s lineup: Pipeline work progresses in Stark County, OH; removing gas and oil leases from your land; red hot debate over tariffs on pipelines in New England; the importance of stripper wells; from natgas glut to shortfall in one year; EPA’s lack of respect for Supreme Court; and more!
Read More “Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Thu, Jun 30, 2016”