Stock Price for M-U Drillers Surprisingly Resilient in 2024
In 2024, natural gas prices have spent almost the entire year under $3.00 per Mcf (thousand cubic feet), including a few months under $2.00/Mcf. You would think such low prices would have a negative effect on the stock prices of publicly traded Marcellus/Utica gas producers. Not so! Stock prices for our drillers have remained “remarkably stable.” In fact, Antero Resources’ price is actually UP this year. Range Resources is flat for the year so far. Others, like EQT and Coterra Energy, are down just a smidge. Given the disadvantages of the M-U basin—primarily the lack of pipeline takeaway capacity and the long distance our molecules must travel to Gulf Coast LNG export facilities—it’s surprising that stock valuations for our drillers have not been negatively impacted. Read More “Stock Price for M-U Drillers Surprisingly Resilient in 2024”
Feedgas flows from the Marcellus/Utica to the Cove Point LNG export facility located on the shore of Maryland fell to zero last Friday, Sept. 20. It was the start of the facility’s annual maintenance outage. The question is, how long will Cove Point be out of commission for liquefying and exporting LNG? According to Reuters, maintenance forcing the facility offline will last “for about three weeks.” Each year, the plant closure is a moving target and a guessing game about how long it will remain offline. Every day counts! 
Dimock Township (Susquehanna County), PA, resident Ray Kemble was one of several Dimock landowners who sued and later settled with Cabot Oil & Gas (now Coterra Energy) over claims that Cabot’s drilling had “polluted” their water wells (with methane). In 2012, Kemble received $180,000. As part of the settlement, Kemble agreed to not publicly bash Cabot. Kemble proceeded, with money given to him by Big Green groups, to attend meetings across the country and overseas bashing Cabot (see 
The Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC) published a notice in the Saturday edition of the Pennsylvania Bulletin that says the SRBC’s Executive Director recently approved or renewed 24 general water use permits for shale gas drilling pads in Bradford, Cameron, Clearfield, Clinton, Lycoming, Susquehanna, Tioga and Wyoming counties in the Keystone State (full list below). Approval by the Executive Director is the first step in the process. Each permit will also require a separate water withdrawal approval before water begins to flow from the Susquehanna (and its tributaries) to shale well pads. 
We never thought we’d see the day when we would write the headline that Coterra (nee Cabot Oil & Gas) was pulling all of its active rigs in the Marcellus in Susquehanna County, PA. But today is that day. It makes us profoundly sad (and the primary reason we opposed the merger of Cimarex and Cabot, see 
There’s just no way to sugarcoat the fact that the low low price for natural gas is having an impact on shale drillers in the Marcellus/Utica. According to an analyst with RBN Energy, a price plunge to near the $2/MMBtu level in early 2023 “crippled” financial results for the companies RBN monitors that are gas-focused (namely M-U companies). However, most producers on the RBN list have remained in the black through spending less and cutting back on production. Down but far from out. How did the major M-U companies that are publicly traded perform in 2Q24? We have the numbers below. 
For the week of August 19 – 25, a total of 34 permits were issued to drill new shale wells in Marcellus/Utica. The Keystone State (PA) had 16 new permits. PA’s top recipient was Chesapeake Energy, with six permits in Bradford County. Coterra Energy was a close second, with five new permits issued in neighboring Susquehanna County. The Buckeye State (OH) received 13 new permits, with Encino Energy (EAP) receiving eight and Ascent Resources five. OH’s permits were spread across Guernsey, Harrison, and Noble counties. Finally, the Mountain State (WV) received five new permits, all of them for Northeast Natural Energy in Monongalia County. 
Despite one of the hottest summers on record, natural gas prices are in the crapper. The abysmal price situation is causing big drillers in the Marcellus/Utica, like EQT and Coterra, to cut back even further on natural gas production, according to an article in the Wall Street Journal. Coterra CEO Tom Jorden recently told investors that “gas markets are oversupplied,” and his company will trim production by an extra 325 MMcf/d (see 
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 second quarter 2024 update on Friday. The company turned in respectable financial numbers, making a profit of $220 million in 2Q24, up 5% from the $209 million it made in 2Q23. Unfortunately, there was bad news for the Marcellus. The company has just trimmed another 325 MMcf/d of production across the Marcellus basin, and once the three pads it is actively drilling have concluded in October, no new drilling is planned.
Coterra Energy CEO Tom Jorden sat for an interview with Jim Cramer on CNBC’s Mad Money program Tuesday evening. During the interview, Jorden had an interesting comment and insight that has the power to change the natural gas market. Jorden said that data center operators (big computer server facilities) may cut supply agreements directly with natural gas companies to meet the growing power demands of the artificial intelligence boom. And it may happen a lot sooner than you think.
While oil-focused and large diversified drillers in the U.S. made healthy profits during the first quarter of this year (January through March), such was not the case for natural gas-focused drillers. RBN Energy tracks 43 exploration and production (E&P) companies that are publicly traded and reports of those 43 that the 16 oil-focused and 15 diversified E&Ps were solidly profitable in 1Q24, earning $20.65/boe (barrels of oil equivalent) and $18.49/boe, respectively. However, the 12 gas-focused E&Ps were “under siege,” posting a loss of $1.65/boe.