Chesapeake & Southwestern Complete Merger; Now #1 U.S. Gas Driller
Move over EQT Corporation, there’s a new number one natural gas producer in the U.S. Yesterday, Chesapeake Energy announced that its buyout of and merger with Southwestern Energy in a $7.4 billion deal was completed. The newly merged company was renamed Expand Energy Corporation and will begin trading on the NASDAQ stock market today under the ticker “EXE”. As of today, Expand produces more natural gas than EQT. The big difference is that Expand’s production comes from both the Marcellus/Utica and the Haynesville, whereas EQT’s production is 100% from the M-U. Read More “Chesapeake & Southwestern Complete Merger; Now #1 U.S. Gas Driller”
EQT Corporation is now the #2 largest natural gas driller in the U.S. following the merger of Chesapeake Energy with Southwestern Energy to form Expand Energy Corporation (see today’s lead story). EQT took the opportunity yesterday, while everyone was focused on the shiny new object (Expand Energy), to file a Form 8-K with the SEC announcing it is laying off 15% of its entire workforce. EQT says the layoffs are a result of too many workers following the merger with its former midstream division, Equitrans, in July (see 
We spotted a press release about new leadership at the top of Calpine Corporation, one of the largest power producers in the U.S. with major assets in the upper East Coast area (fed by Marcellus/Utica molecules). The company’s CFO, Andrew Novotny, is becoming the CEO. Beyond the tie-in with the M-U because the company uses our molecules, we have a fond memory of one of Calpine’s gas-fired power plants in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania (see 
Two oilfield services companies—Axis Energy Services LLC and Brigade Energy Services LLC—jointly announced the closing of an agreement to merge and form the nation’s largest well servicing company. The new company will retain the Axis Energy name and will remain headquartered in Dallas, TX. According to Axis, the transaction creates the nation’s leading company for completion services, workover solutions, and plug and abandonment operations. The newly combined company boasts more than 1,700 employees and 200 active and marketable workover rigs—the largest single fleet in the industry. The company has a “strong presence” in the Marcellus/Utica. 
In September 2023, Dominion Energy and Enbridge co-announced that Dominion had agreed to sell the company’s remaining natural gas local distribution companies (LDCs) that Dominion owns to Enbridge for $14.0 billion, which includes $9.4 billion in cash plus the assumption of debt (see 
A group of 41 members of Congress (4 Senators and 37 Congressmen/women) are asking Dept. of Energy (DOE) Secretary Jennifer Granholm for information about the so-called “pause” in LNG export approvals. It appears the DOE relied on a prematurely released “study” by known anti-fossil fuel Cornell professor Robert Howarth as the scientific basis for imposing the pause (which is really a ban). The Congressfolks sent a blunt letter to the nutty Granholm requesting immediate answers to specific questions. Don’t hold your breath that the dysfunctional DOE will respond anytime soon. 
NATIONAL: Shale-production costs seen rising 2.8% in 2025; INTERNATIONAL: Israel vows retaliation for massive Iranian missile attack; EU Commission targets 26 member states over renewable noncompliance; Explosive-packed drone boat slams into oil tanker in Red Sea; Saudi strategic shift raises specter of another oil bust.