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17 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Apr 8 – 14

Two weeks ago, for April 1 – 7, there were eight new permits issued (see 8 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Apr 1 – 7). However, all eight were issued in Pennsylvania. Both Ohio and West Virginia failed to issue any new permits two weeks ago. Fortunately, that changed last week. For the week of April 8 – 14, there were 17 new permits issued. Seven of those permits were issued in Pennsylvania, with the vast majority going to EQT (six permits, all in Greene County). Ohio issued four new permits last week, all of them to oil driller Encino Energy for Carroll County. West Virginia issued six new permits, with four going to EQT in Marion County and two going to Southwestern Energy in Brooke County.
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Bidenistas Delay Chessy/Southwestern Merger, Request More Info

This is precisely what companies going through a merger DON’T want to happen. Last Thursday, both Chesapeake Energy and Southwestern Energy, which previously announced a deal to combine back in January (see Deal is Done! Chesapeake & Southwestern Announce $7.4B Merger), received the dreaded “Second Request” for information from regulators at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Dept. of Justice (DOJ), meaning the merger is now delayed from the first half of this year to the second half (i.e., by Dec. 31, 2024). It’s not the end of the world, but it’s not a good thing, either.
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5 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Mar 18 – 24

There was a pretty dismal showing for new permits issued to drill in the Marcellus/Utica during the week of Mar. 18 – 24, with a drop of 11 permits from the prior week to just 5 new permits issued. Pennsylvania issued all 5 of the new permits. Ohio and West Virginia both issued no new permits during that week. EQT (Rice Drilling) was issued 2 new permits in Greene County. Blackhill Energy and Chesapeake Energy each received 1 new permit to drill in Bradford County. And Range Resources was issued 1 new permit to drill in Washington County.
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Chesapeake Plans to Place 80 Wells into “Suspended Animation”

In early March, MDN told you about a new strategy by Chesapeake Energy to drill new shale gas wells but leave them offline (see Chesapeake Brings Japanese “Just in Time” Concept to Gas Wells). As we explained in that article, Chessy is doing more than drilling DUCs (drilled but uncompleted wells). They are actually completing the wells but not “turning them inline” (or TILs), meaning they aren’t yet connected to the pipeline network. The wells are ready to go except for turning them on. We now have a better idea of how many of these “suspended animation” wells Chessy plans to drill in 2024.
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16 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Mar 11 – 17

There were 16 new permits issued to drill in the Marcellus/Utica during the week of Mar. 11 – 17, down 3 from 19 permits issued the prior week. Pennsylvania issued 9 new permits. Ohio issued 4 new permits. And West Virginia issued 3 new permits. Penn Production Group (PPG) and EOG Resources tied for most new permits with 4 each. PPG received 4 permits to drill in Clearfield County, PA. EOG received 4 permits to drill in Harrison County, OH. Coterra Energy received 3 permits to drill in Susquehanna County, PA. Antero got 2 permits for Ritchie County, WV. Southwestern Energy and Chesapeake Energy each received a single permit to drill in Bradford County, PA. EQT received a single permit for Wetzel County, WV.
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Appalachian Methane Initiative Concludes 2023 Test, Expands in 2024

In January 2023, three Marcellus/Utica companies — Chesapeake Energy, EQT, and Equitrans Midstream — launched the Appalachian Methane Initiative (AMI), a coalition committed to further enhancing methane monitoring throughout the Appalachia Basin and reducing methane emissions throughout the region (see EQT, Chessy, Equitrans Form M-U Methane Monitoring Club). The initial pilot campaign from 2023 is done, and the results are in (below). In addition, four more M-U companies are joining the original three for the 2024 campaign.
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SRBC Approves 8 Water Withdrawal Requests for Fracking in NEPA

The highly functional and responsible Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC), unlike its completely dysfunctional and irresponsible cousin, the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC), continues to support the shale energy industry by approving water withdrawals for responsible and safe shale drilling. Last Thursday, the SRBC approved 23 new water withdrawal requests within the basin, eight of them for water used in drilling and fracking shale wells in Pennsylvania. The Marcellus/Utica shale drillers receiving a green light from SRBC included Beech Resources, Chesapeake Energy, Greylock Energy, Seneca Resources, and Southwestern Energy.
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19 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Mar 4 – 10

There were 19 new permits issued to drill in the Marcellus/Utica during the week of Mar. 4 – 10, up 2 from 17 permits issued the prior week. Pennsylvania issued 11 new permits. Ohio issued 5 new permits. And West Virginia issued 3 new permits. Range Resources and Ascent Resources tied for most new permits with 5 each. Range received 5 permits to drill in two PA counties: Lycoming and Washington. Ascent received 5 permits to drill in Belmont County, OH. Chesapeake Energy got 3 permits to drill in Bradford County, PA, and Seneca Resource also received 3 permits for Tioga County, PA. Southwestern Energy scored 2 permits for Ohio County, WV, and CNX Resources received a single permit for Marshall County, WV.
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17 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Feb 26 – Mar 3

There were 17 new permits issued to drill in the Marcellus/Utica during the week of Feb. 26 – Mar. 3, down 1 from 18 permits issued the prior week. Pennsylvania issued 8 new permits last week. Ohio issued 4 new permits. And West Virginia issued 5 new permits last week. Four companies tied for the top slot of receiving 3 permits each: Chesapeake Energy (Susquehanna County, PA), Seneca Resources (Tioga County, PA), Gulfport Energy (Harrison County, OH), and Antero Resources (Ritchie County, WV). Arsenal Resources received 2 permits (Taylor County, WV). Three companies received a single new permit: Laurel Mountain Energy (Butler County, PA), Campbell Oil & Gas (Westmoreland County, PA), and EOG Resources (Noble County, OH).
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Low Prices Bite – U.S. NatGas Producers Drop Output 7% Past Mo.

Earlier this week, MDN told you that EQT, the country’s largest natural gas producer, had implemented an immediate cutback on natural gas production of 1 billion cubic feet per day (see Boom! EQT is Curtailing 1 Bcf/d of Gas Production Effective Now). Other M-U companies have announced similar reductions, including a 25% reduction by Chesapeake Energy (see Chesapeake Dropping 1 Rig in Marcellus as it Waits to Merge with SWN) and a 6% reduction by Coterra Energy (see Coterra Energy Slashing Marcellus Budget 55%, Production by 6%). Antero Resources said it will spend 26% less on drilling this year (see Antero 4Q – Production Up 6%, Profits Down 87%, 21 New Wells). So, with all of these cutbacks, when might we see a slowdown in gas production? Actually, it’s already happening.
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Chesapeake HSR Paperwork to Buy Southwestern Pulled & Refiled

In early January, Chesapeake Energy and Southwestern Energy, two companies with major assets in the country’s two leading gas plays — the Marcellus/Utica and the Haynesville — announced an agreement to merge into one company (see Deal is Done! Chesapeake & Southwestern Announce $7.4B Merger). Such a merger would create the country’s largest natural gas producer, bypassing EQT for the top slot. The deal is supposed to be completed in the second quarter of this year, but that all depends on a review by the Federal Trade Commission and Dept. of Justice (populated with Bidenistas). There’s already rumored to be a wrinkle in the review process. Not a setback, just a wrinkle, a slight delay, so far.
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Chesapeake Brings Japanese “Just in Time” Concept to Gas Wells

Chesapeake Energy is embarking on a unique strategy to remain ready to ramp up production at a moment’s notice. It may be a strategy that others have used, but this is the first time we’ve read or heard about it. You’ve read here on MDN that a number of large Marcellus/Utica drillers are scaling back (curtailing) production and spending on new drilling in 2024 until the price of natural gas goes higher. Just yesterday, EQT announced it is scaling back production by a full billion cubic feet per day (see Boom! EQT is Curtailing 1 Bcf/d of Gas Production Effective Now). Chesapeake previously announced it would cut production by 25-28% this year (see Chesapeake Dropping 1 Rig in Marcellus as it Waits to Merge with SWN). So, with all of this scaling back, how does a company like Chessy stay nimble, and how can it rapidly scale up production when (not if!) the price for natgas goes higher once again?
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Analyst Predicts Chesapeake/Southwestern Merger to Face Biden Delay

In early January, Chesapeake Energy and Southwestern Energy, two companies with major assets in the country’s two leading gas plays — the Marcellus/Utica and the Haynesville — announced an agreement to merge into one company (see Deal is Done! Chesapeake & Southwestern Announce $7.4B Merger). Such a merger would create the country’s largest natural gas producer, bypassing EQT for the top slot. The deal is supposed to be completed in the second quarter of this year. However, it’s a pretty safe bet the Biden administration is going to delay that timeline.
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18 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Feb 19 – 25

There were 18 new permits issued to drill in the Marcellus/Utica during the week of Feb. 19 – 25, up from 13 permits issued the prior week. Pennsylvania issued 8 new permits last week. Ohio issued 9 new permits (after issuing none the week before). West Virginia issued just 1 new permit last week. Encino Energy took the prize for the most permits issued with 9 permits, all for Carroll County, OH. Repsol had the second most permits with 5 issued for Bradford County, PA. Everyone else had a single new permit: Beech Resources (Lycoming County, PA), Chesapeake Energy (Bradford County, PA), CNX Resources (Westmoreland County, PA), and HG Energy (Lewis County, WV).
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13 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Feb 12 – 18

There were 13 new permits issued to drill in the Marcellus/Utica during the week of Feb. 12 – 18, versus 19 permits issued the prior week. Pennsylvania issued 11 new permits last week. Ohio issued no new permits. West Virginia issued 2 new permits last week. Chesapeake Energy landed the most new permits, with 5 issued in Bradford County, PA. Range Resources had 3 new permits issued in Washington County, PA. Coterra Energy had 2 new permits in Susquehanna County, PA. Southwestern Energy also had 2 new permits issued in Ohio County, WV. And EQT, the largest natural gas producer in the country, had a single new permit issued in Greene County, PA.
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Chesapeake Dropping 1 Rig in Marcellus as it Waits to Merge with SWN

Chesapeake Energy issued its fourth quarter and full-year 2023 update yesterday, complete with commentary on what’s coming in 2024. And yes, there was some big news coming from that update. Some of the biggest news (that moved the entire market) is that while Chesapeake produced an average of 3.66 Bcfe/d (billion cubic feet equivalent per day), approximately 95% natural gas and 5% total liquids, in 2023, the company plans to lay down rigs, cut fracking crews, and produce 2.65 – 2.75 Bcfe/d in 2024. Meaning a drop of 25-28% in production this year. That simple announcement was enough to move the NYMEX price of natural gas up $0.20 (11%) in a single day.
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