Chesapeake Energy 3Q – Slash Drilling 30%, Bankruptcy Possible
Chesapeake Energy, still with a sizable amount of acreage and shale wells in the Pennsylvania Marcellus, issued its third quarter update yesterday. Which happened to set off the chattering class buzzing about the possibility the company is close to declaring bankruptcy. This isn’t the first time “experts” have declared Chessy is close to bankruptcy (see this MDN post from 2016: Latest SEC Filing Shows Chesapeake Doesn’t Rule Out Bankruptcy).
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The Big Injun is back in the news. In 2015 Cunningham Energy, a small oil driller based in West Virginia, struck oil in the Big Injun sandstone formation in Clay County, WV (see 
The Pittsburgh Business Times is reporting that EQT and Equitrans (formerly EQT Midstream) are “inching closer” to a renegotiated agreement for Equitrans to continue EQT’s natural gas gathering and shipping. During conference calls with analysts last week, both EQT CEO Toby Rice and Equitrans President Diana Charletta were said to be “optimistic” about the eventual outcome of those negotiations. Our interpretation is that EQT is hammering Equitrans to lower the cost of gathering and transporting their gas.
Consolidated Edison, the huge gas and electric utility that services much of New York City and its suburbs, recently said the company will cap its investment in the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) project. There is an amount beyond which they will not go. Con Ed is one of five investor/owners of MVP. The primary owner and builder of MVP is Equitrans (EQM Midstream Partners), the former EQT Midstream.
This is a huge disappointment. In September, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued a precedent-setting decision that disallows PennEast Pipeline from using the federally-delegated power of eminent domain to cross properties either owned by, or with easements granted to, the state of New Jersey (see 
This is a rarity here on MDN. We’re awarding an MDN “attaboy” to northeastern Pennsylvania State Sen. John Yudichak–a Democrat! Yudichak has just stuck his neck waaaaay out by (a) voicing strong support for the Marcellus Shale gas industry, and (b) bashing New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo for his stance in blocking new gas pipelines.
We spotted an interesting op-ed column written by Anne Blakenship, executive director of the West Virginia Oil and Natural Gas Association (WVONGA). The column is titled “WVONGA committed to fighting climate change.” In it, Anne not only reiterates our industry’s long-running stance of being good environmental stewards, she also stats flatly that “climate change is a real, substantial challenge,” by which she means man-caused global warming. Houston, we may have a problem.
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Last-ditch effort delays EdgeMarc Ch. 7 conversion bid; ECA Marcellus Trust I announces quarterly distribution; Shale-alluia! Labor unions set for decades of work; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Mountain View City Council backs natural gas ban for all new homes; NATIONAL: House Democrats block GOP effort to prevent nationwide fracking ban; Taking “forever” to assess safety impacts of liquified natural gas by rail?; Natural gas and the electric power sector: the latest trends; INTERNATIONAL: US encourages African countries to import its LNG.