Activist Investor Declares Coterra Merger Failed – Sell Marcellus
In October 2021, one of the Marcellus’ premier drillers, Cabot Oil & Gas, merged with/into Cimarex Energy, an oil driller focused on the Permian and Anadarko basins (see Cimarex Takes Over Cabot, Merged Co. Called “Coterra Energy”). From the beginning of this announced merger, our primary concern was that Cabot would lose its unique identity and become nothing more than a cash machine (with little new drilling) to drive Cimarex’s Permian drilling program. Now comes word that a so-called activist investor (i.e., corporate raider) by the name of Kimmeridge has launched a public campaign to force Coterra to split once again, to sell off the Marcellus (and Anadarko) assets, and focus 100% on oil drilling in the Permian. You can’t say we didn’t warn you. Read More “Activist Investor Declares Coterra Merger Failed – Sell Marcellus”
Coterra Energy, formed by the merger of Cabot Oil & Gas (drills for natural gas in the Marcellus) and Cimarex Energy (drills for oil in the Permian and Anadarko basins), issued its third quarter 2025 update yesterday. What stood out to us is just how little new drilling the company did in the Marcellus during 3Q. Coterra spud (began to drill) 15 new Marcellus wells during 3Q, while it spud 68 wells in the Permian and 11 in the Anadarko basins. The company brought online to sales (called turned-in-line, or TIL) 4 wells in the Marcellus, 64 TILs in the Permian, and 8 TILs in the Anadarko. That about says it all. 
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Hell has officially frozen over. New York Governor Kathy Hochul is seeking to revise the state’s 2019 Climate Act, recognizing that its mandates for a 40% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 are financially unsustainable for New Yorkers and have become a major election issue due to rapidly rising energy costs. This move follows a court ruling compelling the state to either change the law or issue the “infeasible” regulations by a February 2026 deadline, a task the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) had previously avoided due to the “extraordinary and damaging costs” it would impose. The law’s implementation is further complicated by state electric power “plans” that rely on non-existent technology, highlighting the impossibility of meeting the 2030 target and setting the stage for a significant political battle as the law finally hits an economic wall. But that’s not all… 
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