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Rumor: Gulfport Energy in Talks to Merge with Ascent Resources
Public company Gulfport Energy, the third-largest driller in the Ohio Utica Shale (by the number of wells drilled), emerged from bankruptcy less than a year ago, in May 2021, with a new board and new top management (see Gulfport Energy Emerges from Bankruptcy w/New Board, CEO/CFO Gone). By September of last year the rumors began that the company was shopping itself for sale (see Big News: OH Utica Driller Gulfport Energy Looking to Sell Itself). There’s a new rumor that Gulfport is in serious talks to sell itself to and merge with private company Ascent Resources, the Ohio Utica’s largest producer.
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As we were researching background for our lead story today of a potential Gulfport Energy/Ascent Resources merger, we discovered we never reported on Gulport’s fourth quarter and full-year 2021 results. In 4Q21 Gulfport’s production was 1.07 billion cubic feet equivalent per day (Bcfe/d), virtually the same as 4Q20. Gulfport’s production numbers include both the Ohio Utica and the other play where Gulfport drills, the Oklahoma SCOOP. For the full year, Gulfport produced an even 1.0 Bcfe/d on average in 2021, versus 1.04 Bcfe/d in 2020–down just a tad.
The clown judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (i.e. the 4th Circus) have done it again. Two weeks ago Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) asked the full court, all of the judges (called en banc) to rehear a couple of recent decisions by three of their clown members (see 
Because of constant court challenges, the Trump administration completed a redo of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nationwide Permit 12 (NWP12), a general permit used in constructing pipelines, just prior to leaving office. From the beginning of the Biden administration, anti-fossil fuel fanatics have attacked NWP12, hoping they can cancel it or otherwise make it so onerous nobody will use it (see 
Depending on your news source, the Biden administration reached an agreement with the European Union last Friday for the U.S. to supply more LNG to the EU beginning this year. Other news sources say it will be next to impossible for the U.S. to ship any more LNG to the EU this year. Yet other news sources (leaning to the far left) point out the agreement actually talks about the EU figuring out ways to *decrease* their natural gas (and LNG) usage. So what, exactly, was the agreement reached last week?
Amtrak has a project underway to renovate and update its 30th Street Station in Philadelphia, PA. Amtrak cut a deal with Philadelphia Gas Works (PGW), the largest municipal-owned natural gas utility in the country, to switch and use onsite gas boilers at the renovated station for some (not all) of the heat. Anti-fossil fuel fanatics are predictably having a cow over the plan. The Philly-based Clean Air Council (CAC), funded with money from Big Green groups, is gearing up to fight the use of natural gas boilers.
Last Thursday 
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Pa. should take lead in hitting Russia in its budget; Sen. Manchin applauds FERC policy shift on natural gas pipelines; NATIONAL: People over 60 account for a third of greenhouse gas emissions; E&P capex and production guidance, and why they aren’t doing more; Natural gas: essential for American’s cleaner energy future; U.S. oil companies have increased drilling by 60% in one year.