Diversified Produces More Gas in WV Than Any Other State; Eyes LNG

WV News recently interviewed two high-level employees of Diversified Energy—Darren Gibbs, vice president of marketing, and Ron Ridgway, executive vice president for energy marketing. While we expected the typical expressions of support for the company and the oil and gas industry, we were delighted to gain some insights into the company’s thinking and strategy that we did not previously know. We were also surprised to learn that Diversified produces more natural gas in West Virginia than it does in any of the other states where it operates. Read More “Diversified Produces More Gas in WV Than Any Other State; Eyes LNG”

Diversified Energy and global investment firm Carlyle have formed a strategic partnership to invest up to $2 billion in proved developed producing (PDP) natural gas and oil assets across the U.S. Diversified will operate and manage the assets, while Carlyle brings the money and financial expertise, aiming to “securitize” these investments for long-term funding. Diversified owns significant assets in the Marcellus/Utica region (and other regions, too). The company owns approximately 8 million acres of leases with close to 70,000 (mostly) conventional oil and gas wells. The company’s business model is to buy already-drilled, lower-producing wells on the cheap and find ways to make them more productive.
Diversified Energy, with significant assets in the Marcellus/Utica region (and other regions too), owns approximately 8 million acres of leases with close to 70,000 (mostly) conventional oil and gas wells. The company’s business model is to buy lower-producing wells on the cheap and find ways to make them more productive. One of the new ways Diversified is looking to make money with old wells is by mining cryptocurrency at wells in remote locations not hooked to a pipeline network. In March 2023, MDN told you that Diversified would try crypto-mining at a well in Elk County, Pennsylvania (see
MDN exclusively brought you the news, in June 2018, that Diversified Gas & Oil (now renamed to Diversified Energy) had purchased EQT’s Huron Shale assets in Kentucky, Virginia, and West Virginia for $575 million (see
On March 27, the Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC) online Hydrologic Conditions Monitor showed low stream flows have triggered restrictions on 18 shale gas water withdrawal points in Bradford, Potter, Susquehanna, Tioga, and Wyoming counties. Another 17 shale gas withdrawals are approaching restrictions. Of the water withdrawal points regulated by SRBC, only shale gas development water withdrawals currently have restrictions because they take water from smaller streams.
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. On March 13, the SRBC board acted on 24 new water withdrawal requests within the basin, six of them approvals for water used in drilling and fracking shale wells in Pennsylvania. The Marcellus/Utica shale drillers receiving a green light from SRBC included Diversified Energy, EQT, JKLM, Repsol, and two requests for Expand Energy (under SWN or Southwestern Energy).
This morning, Diversified Energy, FuelCell Energy, and TESIAC announced a strategic partnership “intended to address the urgent energy needs of data centers” by supplying as much as 360 megawatts (MW) of electricity to three distinct locations in Virginia, West Virginia, and Kentucky. The partnership has agreed to create an Acquisition and Development Company (ADC), essentially a joint venture, focused on delivering reliable, cost-efficient, so-called net-zero power from natural gas and captured coal mine methane (CMM) to meet the soaring demand of data centers for reliable power. The way they will provide the power is quite interesting.
Diversified Energy, with major assets in the Marcellus/Utica region (assets in other regions, too), owns approximately 8 million acres of leases with 67,000 (mostly) conventional oil and gas wells. The company’s business model is to buy lower-producing wells on the cheap and find ways to make them more productive. The company made a major announcement this morning. It has struck a deal to buy out and merge with Maverick Natural Resources for $1.28 billion. The deal adds over a million more acres of leases to Diversified plus significant new production.
For the week of Dec 16 – 22, permits issued in the Marcellus/Utica remained healthy. There were 27 new permits issued last week, up from 22 issued the week before. In something of an unusual twist, the Keystone State (PA) issued just four new permits, all of them to different drillers. PennEnergy Resources’ permit was in Beaver County; Seneca Resources’ permit was in Tioga County; and Range Resources and EQT (Rice) each had one permit in Washington County.
Last week, MDN brought you the news that the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) had not followed up on the cleanup work needed for a shale well drilled some 12 years ago (see
In November, MDN told you that Diversified Energy and EQT Corporation had settled a class action lawsuit originally brought by several West Virginia landowners (see
In October, Diversified Energy Company (formerly Diversified Gas & Oil) announced it had signed a deal to supply 40 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of natural gas over three years to a “major Gulf Coast LNG facility” for exporting (see