Yesterday Cabot Oil & Gas issued an operational update for 2019 that includes new guidance for 2020. Think of it as a sneak preview at the forthcoming quarterly update, due out Feb. 21. In the preview, Cabot says it will spend 27% less on drilling in 2020 than they did in 2019 due to the ongoing low price of natural gas.
Read More “Cabot O&G 2020 Sneak Preview: Spend & Drill Less, Flat Production”
Montage Resources provided a sneak preview yesterday for what to expect in 2020. You may recall Montage is the name of the company that resulted after the merger of Eclipse Resources with Blue Ridge Mountain Resources 11 months ago (see Blue Ridge Merges with Eclipse, Renamed to Montage Resources). Montage says it will drill 65% of its 2020 wells in the Ohio Marcellus. You read that right–the Marcellus play in Ohio!
Read More “Montage Resources 2020 Sneak Preview: More OH Marcellus Drilling”
Last week MPLX (i.e. MarkWest Energy) issued its 4Q and full-year 2019 financial and operating update, along with guidance on what to expect in 2020. MarkWest (as we call them, old habits die hard) has major operations in the Utica and Marcellus–via gathering pipelines and processing plants. MarkWest reports “significant year-over-year growth” in the M-U region, but predicts a slowdown in that growth in 2020.
Read More “MarkWest Says “Difficult to Forecast” Marcellus/Utica for 2020″
Pennsylvania House Bill (HB) 1100, aimed at attracting new petrochemical investment to the state, was voted on and passed by the full PA Senate yesterday–with some key changes. Gov. Tom Wolf (liberal Democrat) says he will veto the bill anyway–denying the state billions of private economic stimulus it could receive (see Gov Wolf to Veto Bill Attracting Cracker-Type Investment to NEPA). The bill was passed by a large bipartisan majority in both the House and Senate. House Speaker Mike Turzai issued an announcement calling on Wolf to sign the bill, for the benefit of all Pennsylvanians. Don’t hold your breath.
Read More “PA Senate Tweaks, Passes Bill Attracting Cracker-Type Investment”
The Ohio Supreme Court, on Christmas Eve, threw a lifeline to an effort to overturn an Ohio law that provides corporate welfare in the form of $1 billion of ratepayer (taxpayer) money to FirstEnergy, which recently changed its name to Energy Harbor (see OH Supreme Court Keeps Door Open to Reverse $1B Nuke Bailout). Last week the Supremes snatched the lifeline away and the current effort to block the $1 billion bailout is officially dead.
Read More “Legal Effort to Overturn FirstEnergy $1B Ohio Nuke Bailout Dead”
Listen up those interested in a new job working for the shale industry: JobNewsUSA.com is conducting an Oil, Gas, & Transportation Job Fair in Washington, PA on Feb. 27 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Pittsburgh – Meadow Lands. Among the companies that will be there recruiting: Chemoil Energy, Deep Well Services, EAP Industries, Halliburton, Keystone Clearwater Solutions, NPL Construction, ROC Service Company…and more!
Read More “Washington (SWPA) Job Fair Feb. 27 – Find a Shale Job!”
John Hess, CEO of oil giant Hess Corporation, had some interesting comments at the Argus Americas Crude Summit held yesterday in Houston, Texas. Among those comments is that while U.S. shale is important, it’s “not the next Saudi Arabia.” Hess says major oil shale plays will peak in the next few years and then decline. His strategy is to drill all he can in the Bakken, and then use the money to buy up offshore oil plays.
Read More “John Hess Says Shale Oil Close to Peak; Global Warming is Real”
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Coal-fired electricity generation in New England and New York has diminished; Trump popularity reigns in Ohio county tying its future to natural gas; Students are celebrating a small victory after Penn announced it won’t invest directly in some fossil fuels; South Philly refinery sale delayed, and will not be resolved this week; Equitrans adds 2 energy execs to its board of directors; Chevron CEO talks about the decision to pull out of Appalachia; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: BJ Services testing natural gas-fired turbine for frac crews in Haynesville Shale; Activists against gas-fired power plants rally at State Capitol; NATIONAL: U.S. onshore gas, oil production to ‘calm…not cease,’ says TIPRO; ‘All-electric’ movement picks up speed, catching some off guard; INTERNATIONAL: Britain plans to ban sales of new gasoline cars by 2035, but details are fuzzy; Coronavirus has OPEC in a panic.
Read More “Shale Energy Stories of Interest: Wed, Feb 5, 2020”