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M-U Driller Stock Prices Increase Due to Coming Data Center Demand

The data center high tide is lifting all gas drilling boats. That’s according to a new study from S&P Global Commodity Insights that finds the expectations of a coming boom in demand for electricity for data centers, which will create a boom in demand for natural gas to produce the electricity, is causing gas drilling companies to increase in value. It’s hard to accurately quantify the value for private companies, but for public companies (those with stock that trade on the open market), we can confirm that over the past year, the value for drillers with significant operations in the Marcellus/Utica has, on average, risen dramatically. Read More “M-U Driller Stock Prices Increase Due to Coming Data Center Demand”

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CNX Expands Partnership with Gov. Shapiro to Monitor More Wells

In November 2023, CNX Resources CEO Nick DeIuliis signed a voluntary deal with Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro to expand drilling setbacks and several other regulatory steps not mandated for shale drillers under PA law (see CNX Signs Deal with PA Gov. to Increase Setbacks, Other Changes). Over the past year-and-a-half, CNX has delivered on its promises to Shapiro and has, as it claims, been “radically transparent.” That transparency is about to grow. Last week, CNX and Shapiro announced they will expand the partnership by monitoring the air quality in and around a future drilling site in Washington County. Read More “CNX Expands Partnership with Gov. Shapiro to Monitor More Wells”

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CNX Talks About the Importance of NatGas to AI Data Centers in M-U

Massive growth in data center construction, and the jaw-dropping amount of power each center requires, bodes well for the natural gas industry in general and the Marcellus/Utica in particular. In the past, electric power would have been provided via the nation’s power grid. But regional transmission organizations, which coordinate, control, and monitor a multi-state piece of the grid, are not in the best of shape. Thus, if the power can’t reach the data centers, bring the data centers to the basin, according to Brent Bobsein, Vice President of Sustainable Development at CNX Resources Corporation. Read More “CNX Talks About the Importance of NatGas to AI Data Centers in M-U”

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CNX Q1 Lost $198M, Generated $100M in FCF, 19 Wells Added Online

Yesterday, CNX Resources issued its first quarter 2025 update. The company lost $198 million for the quarter, compared with a profit of $6.9 million in 1Q24. On the financial plus side, the company generated $100 million in free cash flow, marking the 21st consecutive quarter of FCF generation. Production was 147.8 Bcfe (billion cubic feet equivalent) in 1Q25 — which works out to 1.64 Bcfe/d — up from 140.4 Bcfe last year (a 5.3% increase). Drilling all but stopped during 3Q24, a trend that continued in 4Q24. However, drilling picked up again in 1Q25, with the company drilling five new wells, fracking eight wells, and bringing 19 wells online to sales (called “turned-in-line” or TIL). The TILs included nine Southwest Pa. Marcellus wells, two Central Pa. deep Utica wells, and an eight-well Central Pa. Marcellus pad acquired from Apex Energy. Read More “CNX Q1 Lost $198M, Generated $100M in FCF, 19 Wells Added Online”

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36 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Apr 7 – 13

Last week was an interesting week for new permits issued to drill new shale wells in the Marcellus/Utica. For the week of Apr 7 – 13, the number of permits issued soared, up 15 from the previous week. Last week, 36 new permits were issued. The surprising thing is just how few of those new permits were issued in the Keystone State (PA). Just five new permits went to PA. CNX Resources had four of PA’s new permits, all for the same well pad in Westmoreland County. The other permit went to EQT in Fayette County. Read More “36 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Apr 7 – 13”

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4Q Earnings for M-U Drillers Bounced Back After Down First 3 Qtrs

The experts at RBN Energy track 38 exploration and production (E&P) companies to monitor financial and operational performance. In a recent blog post, RBN found the 10 gas-weighted E&Ps (all but one with significant operations in the Marcellus/Utica) experienced a rebound in earnings during Q4 2024 after a rough first three quarters of the year. Earnings for the 10 gas-weighted E&Ps averaged $3.02/boe (barrels of oil equivalent) in Q4 2024 after losses in Q2 and Q3 2024. Cash flow averaged $10.18/boe, 52% higher than the $6.71/boe generated in Q3 2024. Realized prices averaged nearly $18/boe in Q4 2024, 24% higher than the $14.52/boe recorded in Q3 2024. Things are looking up for M-U drillers. Read More “4Q Earnings for M-U Drillers Bounced Back After Down First 3 Qtrs”

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22 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Mar 17 – 23

For the week of Mar 17 – 23, the number of permits issued in the Marcellus/Utica to drill new shale wells dropped by nine from the previous week. Last week, 22 new permits were issued, with 16 going to the Keystone State (PA). PennEnergy Resources took the lion’s share with 11 permits for a single pad in Butler County. PA General Energy received four permits for a single pad in Lycoming County. Range Resources got one new permit in Washington County. Read More “22 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Mar 17 – 23”

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CNX No Longer Participating in ARCH2 Appalachian Hydrogen Hub

CNX Resources, one of the original founding partners in the Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub (ARCH2) project created during the Biden administration, has “paused” its participation in the project. CNX is no longer listed as a partner on the ARCH2 website and confirmed to the Pittsburgh Business Times it is no longer participating (for now) while it waits to see whether the Trump administration will move forward with ARCH2 and the other hydrogen hubs promised $7 billion in funding during the previous administration. Trump froze funding for the hydrogen hub projects and is currently reviewing the program, placing all seven hydrogen hub projects, including ARCH2, in limbo. Read More “CNX No Longer Participating in ARCH2 Appalachian Hydrogen Hub”

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Report: M-U has Lowest Methane Emission Intensity of Any O&G Basin

The Appalachian Methane Initiative (AMI) is a coalition of leading U.S. natural gas companies in the Marcellus/Utica, including Ascent Resources, CNX Resources, EQT Corporation, Equitrans Midstream Corporation (now part of EQT), Expand Energy Corporation, MPLX, and Seneca Resources. AMI uses independent monitoring providers, technical consultants, and top-tier universities to monitor and track methane emissions in the M-U. Yesterday the group released the findings of its 2024 basin-wide methane monitoring program. The report confirms that the Appalachian Basin (the M-U) has the lowest methane emissions intensity of any major oil and gas producing basin in the United States. Read More “Report: M-U has Lowest Methane Emission Intensity of Any O&G Basin”

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CNX Data Shows “No Material Impact” to Air & Water from Drilling

CNX Resources’ Radical Transparency™ program is a first-of-its-kind public-private collaboration announced between CNX and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro in November 2023 (see CNX Signs Deal with PA Gov. to Increase Setbacks, Other Changes). We’re no fans of Josh Shapiro, a guy who repeatedly attacked the Marcellus industry when he was Attorney General, but sometimes you do a deal with the devil to make a point. We think CNX bested Shapiro with its deal. CNX released its first Radical Transparency™ assessment report in August 2024 (see Independent Monitoring of CNX Ops Shows No Public Health Threat). The initial results of nine months of continuous air emissions monitoring at natural gas well sites and compressor stations in southwestern Pennsylvania indicated that CNX natural gas development poses no public health risk. Yesterday, CNX CEO Nick Deluliis told the Department of Environmental Protection’s Citizens Advisory Council that a year and a half of air and water monitoring shows “no material impact” to air or water quality from its natural gas development operations.

Read More “CNX Data Shows “No Material Impact” to Air & Water from Drilling”

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CNX Bypasses NGOs, Directly Funds School Lunches, Veterans, Others

There are a lot of nonprofits that do a lot of great work. MDN editor Jim Willis has served on several boards of such groups. We say that to preface two posts today that take aim at nonprofits (otherwise called NGOs or nongovernmental organizations) that are NOT doing great work and, in some cases, are corrupt. Most large public companies will find a few NGOs and hand money to them as part of their “S” in ESG (environment, social, governance) programs. Companies that donate allow NGOs to distribute the money to various agencies, causes, and other nonprofits. The problem is the NGOs often don’t do a good job. Sometimes, the NGOs have sticky fingers and keep some of the money for themselves. CNX Resources, a big publicly traded driller in the Marcellus/Utica, takes a different approach to charity. Read More “CNX Bypasses NGOs, Directly Funds School Lunches, Veterans, Others”

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CNX Drilled Just 1 New Well in 4Q24, Plans to Add 34 Wells in 2025

Yesterday, CNX Resources issued its fourth quarter and full-year 2024 update. The company lost $145 million for the quarter, compared with a profit of $514 million in 4Q23. Production was 141.9 Bcfe (billion cubic feet equivalent) in 4Q24 — which works out to 1.54 Bcfe/d — down from 146.9 Bcfe last year (a drop of 3.4%). Drilling all but stopped during 3Q, and that trend continued in 4Q. The company drilled just one new Utica well in central PA. However, CNX fracked nine wells and brought six wells online to sales in southwestern PA. Read More “CNX Drilled Just 1 New Well in 4Q24, Plans to Add 34 Wells in 2025”

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2 of Top 5 Upstream M&A Deals in 4Q Were in the Marcellus/Utica

Enverus Intelligence Research (EIR), a subsidiary of Enverus, issued a summary of the fourth quarter and full-year 2024 upstream M&A (mergers and acquisitions) activity yesterday. Two of the top five M&A deals include deals in the Marcellus/Utica. Coming in at #3 on the list was EQT’s sale of non-operated assets to Equinor for $1.25 billion in October (see EQT Sells Remaining Nonop Assets in NE Pa. for $1.25 Billion). Coming in at #5 on the list was CNX Resources’ purchase of Apex Energy for $505 million in December (see CNX Resources Buys Apex Energy for $505M, Adds Pa. M-U Assets). Read More “2 of Top 5 Upstream M&A Deals in 4Q Were in the Marcellus/Utica”

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CNX Closes Deal to Buy Apex Energy for $505M, Adds SWPA Assets

In December, CNX Resources announced it had struck a deal to buy the assets of Apex Energy II, LLC, a portfolio company of funds managed by Carnelian Energy Capital Management, for $505 million (see CNX Resources Buys Apex Energy for $505M, Adds Pa. M-U Assets). Apex owns wells, acreage, and pipelines in Westmoreland County, PA. The Apex assets are close to, in some cases adjacent to, CNX’s considerable assets in the region. As of yesterday, the deal is complete. Apex Energy II is no more. Read More “CNX Closes Deal to Buy Apex Energy for $505M, Adds SWPA Assets”

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Gas Drillers Had Best Shareholder Returns in 2024; Investor Love

The experts at RBN Energy recently analyzed the Q3 2024 financial results for the gas-focused producers the company tracks (mainly Marcellus/Utica producers). The gas-weighted E&Ps RBN follows had the best total shareholder return performance of the three peer groups they tracked through the first nine months of 2024, with a median gain of 14%. On the high side, CNX Resources’ share price was amazing, up more than 60% for the first nine months of last year. On the other end, Coterra Energy’s share price lost value. Read More “Gas Drillers Had Best Shareholder Returns in 2024; Investor Love”

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CNX Issuing New Notes for $200M to Help Fund Purchase of Apex

CNX Resources announced in December that it had struck a deal to buy the assets of Apex Energy II, LLC, a portfolio company of funds managed by Carnelian Energy Capital Management, for $505 million (see CNX Resources Buys Apex Energy for $505M, Adds Pa. M-U Assets). Apex owns wells, acreage, and pipelines in Westmoreland County, PA. Its assets are close to (in some cases adjacent to) CNX’s considerable regional holdings. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2025. However, CNX needs more money to help fund it. Read More “CNX Issuing New Notes for $200M to Help Fund Purchase of Apex”