S&P Global Market Intelligence has done some forensic analysis of permits issued to drill new shale wells in Pennsylvania during August 2020. They compared last month’s permit numbers with the numbers from a year ago and found that PA issued 77 new permits last month, down 24% from August 2019.
Read More “PA Shale Drilling Permits Down 24% in August, but EQT Roars Back”
Pittsburgh-based IntegrServ, a trucking company partly owned by former Pittsburgh Steeler Jerome Bettis, filed a federal lawsuit yesterday against EQT claiming discrimination against the company as a minority-owned company after it canceled a contract worth some $66 million last year. This is an involved story and of course, there are always two sides to every story (and two sides to every lawsuit).
Read More “Trucking Company Sues EQT for Racial Bias, Canceled $66M Contract”
How does one make money in the natural gas market these days when the price of gas is at historic lows? One way is if an investor was fortunate enough to bet the price would go down. Those folks made money. The other way is to…invest in drillers? Yep. Even though low prices hurt drillers, investors still like the looks of what is on the horizon, especially for companies operating in the Marcellus/Utica. Example: The stock price for Range Resources and EQT is up over 30% each this year so far.
Read More “Investors Love M-U Companies, Even Though Gas Price is Low”
EQT, the country’s largest natural gas-producing company, issued its second-quarter 2020 update yesterday. There was a lot of news coming from the update. First and foremost, CEO Toby Rice (celebrating his one-year anniversary after taking over management of the company) said that the 1.4 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of gas production previously curtailed (shut-in) starting in May is, as of the beginning of July, fully restored and flowing with no apparent “degradation” in the performance of the shut-in wells. However, it was other remarks–about Equitrans and the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP)–that caught our attention.
Read More “EQT 2Q Update: Looking to Unload Equitrans Shares, MVP Capacity”
In mid-May the nation’s largest natural gas producer, EQT Corporation, temporarily shut-in (curtailed) roughly one-third of its natural gas production in Pennsylvania and Ohio (see EQT Shuts in 33% of NatGas Production in Pennsylvania, Ohio). The company curtailed 1.4 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of natural gas production and said they would likely keep that much production offline until the end of June. It looks like the curtailments are now over.
Read More “EQT Brings Curtailed Production Back Online, M-U Flows Back Up”
Do you remember the child’s game called “Simon Says”? That’s what we were thinking when we read about a lawsuit in Ohio by landowners against a group of shale drillers. The lawsuit, initiated by several landowners in Belmont County, OH, claims the drillers drilled too deep–into the Point Pleasant rock layer–when the leases signed only mention the Utica rock layer. The lawsuit, which is seeking class action status, claims “unjust enrichment” by the drillers.
Read More “OH Landowners Sue Rice, Ascent, XTO, Gulfport for Drilling Too Deep”
EQT Corporation, the largest natural gas-producing company in the U.S., is also a very generous company. Through its EQT Foundation charitable giving arm, EQT recently distributed $500,000 in grants to nonprofit organizations and programs in southwestern Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio, and northern West Virginia–regions where the company operates. In addition, EQT has given out more than $500,000 in scholarships to high school seniors looking for a career in the oil and gas industry, and another $360,000 in COVID-19-related relief grants to community foundations and food banks.
Read More “EQT Issues $1.3 Million in Scholarships, Grants to Non-Profits”
A word you will likely see a lot more of in quarterly updates by oil and gas drillers across the country is the word “impairment.” It’s an accounting term that means the value of an asset (leased acreage or wells) is adjusted, down, to reflect a company’s best guess as to how much revenue that asset can generate. We wrote about impairments back in 2015 (see A Basic Guide to Understanding “Impairments” for Marcellus/Utica). Largely because of impairments, nine of the biggest Marcellus/Utica drillers cumulatively lost $2.6 billion in value (on paper) during the first quarter of this year. However, two of the nine had no impairments. And one of the nine made a profit in 1Q20. Can you guess which one?
Read More “9 Big M-U Companies Lost $2.6 Billion in Value During 1Q20”
EQT Corporation, the largest natural gas producer in the country (based in Pittsburgh) wants to double the number of shares of common stock from 320 million to 640 million–the first time it has increased shares of common stock in 25 years. Why?
Read More “EQT Looks to Issue New Common Stock – First Time in 25 Years”
EQT announced yesterday it has closed on a deal to sell “certain non-strategic assets” to Diversified Gas & Oil (DGO) for $125 million, plus another potential $20 million later on. MDN first told you about this deal on May 13 (see Diversified Buys 900 EQT Wells (67 Shale Wells) for $125M). This is the first time EQT has commented publicly on the DGO deal. EQT’s statement differs from previous news accounts about the deal.
Read More “EQT Provides More Details on DGO Asset Sale, 1.4 Bcf/d Curtailment”
The nation’s largest natural gas producer, EQT Corporation, is temporarily curtailing or shutting in roughly one-third of its natural gas production in Pennsylvania and Ohio. So says EQT’s main midstream (pipeline) provider, Equitrans (formerly EQT Midstream).
Read More “EQT Shuts in 33% of NatGas Production in Pennsylvania, Ohio”
Wow! What a difference three months can make. In January Moody’s Investors Service downgraded EQT Corporation’s bonds to “junk” status (see Moody’s Downgrades EQT Debt to Junk Status Following Write-Down). A few weeks later Standard & Poor’s Global Ratings downgraded the credit rating for six of the biggest Marcellus/Utica drillers, including EQT (see S&P Downgrades Credit Rating for Six Big Marcellus/Utica Drillers). Once thought risky and speculative, investors seem to have changed their minds about investing in M-U debt. They’re taking a second look.
Read More “M-U Drillers See New Interest from Bond (Debt) Investors”
Diversified Gas & Oil (DGO) continues its program of buying up mostly older conventional oil and gas wells in Appalachia. In April DGO cut a deal to buy 6,500 conventional wells spread across West Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee, along with a 4,700-mile gathering pipeline system located in WV, for $110 million (see Diversified Deal to Pick Up Another 6,500 O&G Wells in WV, KY, TN). DGO has done it again, this time buying 900 wells from EQT located mostly in West Virginia. The deal also includes 67 shale wells in Pennsylvania.
Read More “Diversified Buys 900 EQT Wells (67 Shale Wells) for $125M”
EQT Corporation, the largest natural gas producer in the country, turned in its first-quarter 2020 update yesterday. EQT produced an average of 4.2 billion cubic feet equivalent per day (Bcfe/d). The company reports generating $251 million in free cash flow but recorded a loss of $167 million due to “the loss on investment in Equitrans Midstream, the loss on exchange of long-lived assets, decreased operating revenues, increased impairment and expiration of leases and the loss on debt extinguishment.” Revenues were $1.1 billion for 1Q.
Read More “Rice Says EQT in Unique Position, Looks to “Trim the Rosebush””
During yesterday’s quarterly update and conference call with analysts, EQT CEO Toby Rice took the time to outline his company’s efforts to keep field workers safe during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. Not unsurprisingly, the “young Turks” who now run the company are using technology to help protect employees and contractors. EQT is ahead of the curve (way ahead of the state Dept. of Environmental Protection) in its contact tracing system to protect workers.
Read More “EQT Tech Keeps Field Workers Safe from COVID-19 Virus”
Last year at this time the EQT’s then-management team was locked in a heated battle with the Rice boys–Toby and Derek Rice–who wanted to boot the existing management team and run the company themselves. EQT’s management at the time delayed the annual meeting until July (see EQT Announces Late Annual Meeting, a “Screw You” to Rice Bros.). The delay didn’t work. The Rice brothers got their candidates for the board elected and subsequently took over control of the company (see Rice Bros. Win Proxy War to Control EQT – Toby Rice New CEO). It was high drama at last year’s annual meeting. This year’s meeting was just about the opposite.
Read More “EQT Holds Virtual Annual Meeting – No Fireworks This Year”