CNX Invests in, Provides NatGas to Biodegradable Plastics Company
CNX Resources has invested in a California company that makes a biodegradable plastic substitute out of methane. The amount of the investment was not disclosed. CNX also announced a 15-year agreement to supply captured waste methane from third party industrial activities in the Appalachian region to provide the raw methane that will be used as the feedstock for biodegradable plastics. NewLight Technologies Inc. uses ocean microbes that feed on methane and produce a material it calls AirCarbon, which mimics the properties of plastic.
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Wow! What a difference two years can make. At the dawn of the pandemic, the share price for publicly traded oil and gas stocks (in particular Marcellus/Utica drillers) was in the basement. With the pandemic now in the rearview mirror (we hope), and demand increasing for both oil and natural gas, the price of oil and gas has skyrocketed, and along with it, O&G companies are raking in the cash. How are M-U drillers using their newfound piles of cash to compensate investors?
When drilling for natural gas, other substances come out of the borehole along with methane (CH4). Some wells produce NGLs (natural gas liquids) which are gases with other molecular structures, like ethane (C2H6), butane (C4H10), and propane (C3H8). Sometimes crude oil, condensate, and natural gasoline come out–all of which are liquids. Water from the depths (called brine) also comes out of the hole. When the pressure of natgas coming from the hole is high, as it is in the beginning when a well is first drilled, liquids come out of the hole along with the gas with little or no issue. However, as pressure decreases, the liquids can fall back down the well and begin to accumulate–a condition called liquid loading. Plunger lift is a technology used to solve the issue of liquid loading.
In March the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), corrupted by the Bidenistas, said it will begin to force all publicly traded companies to disclose their so-called greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the imaginary climate risks their businesses face (see 
The Marcellus/Utica is still struggling to get permit numbers into higher brackets. Three weeks ago a pathetically low six new permits were issued to drill shale wells across Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia (see 
CNX Resources recently announced a couple of shuffles among senior management. Don Rush, CNX’s Chief Financial Officer, has become the company’s first Chief Strategy Officer (CSO). Alan Shepard, Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer, was promoted to the role of CFO. Both men have and will continue to work closely together. Rush is a CNX cheerleader and says there is “no reason” why CNX can’t be “leading the charge” in the coming energy transition. Rush says, “We’ve got an ocean of possibilities” in referring to the company’s future prospects with natural gas and hydrogen.
Yesterday officials from CNX Resources and the company’s CNX Foundation presented a ceremonial check for $250,000 to pay for upgrades and extensions to municipal waterlines and the installation of fire hydrants in Bell Township (Westmoreland County, PA). The money means 55 homes in the area will be able to connect to municipal water. Local residents are ecstatic. CNX is planning to build six well pads and drill 20 wells in Bell Township. The donation is the company’s way of reassuring residents CNX will be a good neighbor.
Daniel Sherwood takes a look at various metrics for Marcellus/Utica drillers in the latest edition of the TCF Upstream Monthly. Sherwood uses production trends, well efficiencies, and portfolio decline rates to compare and contrast M-U drillers. In the June issue (full copy below), Sherwood finds that CNX Resources and Chesapeake Energy are “leading,” Gulfport Energy and National Fuel Gas (i.e. Seneca Resources) are “underperforming,” and Coterra Energy (formerly Cabot Oil & Gas) is “improving.”
We spotted a story on The Motley Fool investor’s website yesterday noting that several Marcellus/Utica publicly-traded drillers saw “double-digit” increases in their share price just yesterday, for a single day. The article highlights both Range Resources and Southwestern Energy. We started nosing around to see how the stock price for all of the big publicly-traded M-U drillers has performed this year, from the beginning of the year. It was an eye-opener. ALL of them are up from the beginning of the year. Most are up at least 75% in value since Jan. 1. A few have doubled in value, now up more than 100% since Jan. 1. We have the list below for how each one performed. Welcome to the bull market in oil and gas!
In early 2013 the Pittsburgh International Airport and Allegheny County, PA signed a deal with CONSOL Energy (now CNX Resources) to lease 9,000 acres surrounding the airport for natural gas drilling (see 
An article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette highlights and focuses on the financial performance for four of the Marcellus/Utica’s largest publicly-traded companies, including EQT Corp., Antero Resources, Range Resources, and CNX Resources, during first quarter 2022. Even though the price natural gas is fetching is higher than it’s been in 14 years, M-U drillers are losing money. Why? Hedges and derivatives–bad bets on where the price of gas would go and locking in prices much lower than what the market currently supports.
In 2018, CNX Resources announced it had signed a long-term contract with Evolution Well Services to use Evolution’s 100% natural gas-fueled electric pressure pumping equipment (see