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17 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Feb 26 – Mar 3

There were 17 new permits issued to drill in the Marcellus/Utica during the week of Feb. 26 – Mar. 3, down 1 from 18 permits issued the prior week. Pennsylvania issued 8 new permits last week. Ohio issued 4 new permits. And West Virginia issued 5 new permits last week. Four companies tied for the top slot of receiving 3 permits each: Chesapeake Energy (Susquehanna County, PA), Seneca Resources (Tioga County, PA), Gulfport Energy (Harrison County, OH), and Antero Resources (Ritchie County, WV). Arsenal Resources received 2 permits (Taylor County, WV). Three companies received a single new permit: Laurel Mountain Energy (Butler County, PA), Campbell Oil & Gas (Westmoreland County, PA), and EOG Resources (Noble County, OH).
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OH Drillers Win Case Against Landowners re Drilling Deeper

Back in the summer of 2020, MDN told you about a lawsuit brought by an Ohio rights owner called TERA, an organization that owns the royalty rights for a number of leases with wells in Belmont County, OH, drilled by different producers, suing the producers for drilling into the Point Pleasant shale layer when the lease only mentions the Utica layer (see OH Landowners Sue Rice, Ascent, XTO, Gulfport for Drilling Too Deep). The case took nearly four years and hundreds of filings by both sides, but last week, a jury found in favor of the drillers (the defendants) and against the rights owner (the plaintiffs). This case likely has far-reaching consequences for landowners and drillers in Ohio.
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Gulfport Energy Drilled 2 Marcellus, 2 SCOOP, 20 Utica Wells in ’23

Gulfport Energy, the third-largest driller in the Ohio Utica Shale (by the number of wells drilled), emerged from bankruptcy in May 2021 with a new board and top management. Yesterday, Gulfport issued its fourth quarter and full-year 2023 update. Company CEO John Reinhart, who took the reigns of the company in January 2023, reported the company drilled and turned to sales 24 gross wells, which included 2 Marcellus wells, 2 SCOOP wells, and 20 wells in the Ohio Utica. The company drilled and completed its first two operated Marcellus wells in Belmont County last year, with a promise to return to Marcellus drilling in 2025.
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Ohio Awards Drilling Contracts for State Parks – Salt Fork Surprise

Yesterday, the Ohio Oil & Gas Land Management Commission (OGLMC) met to award contracts to drill under (not on) several Ohio state parks, including the 20,000-acre Salt Fork State Park in Guernsey County. Anti-fossil fuel nutters didn’t disappoint. They showed up and dressed up in burlap bags and silly hats, standing along a wall to protest against the proceeding. Fortunately, the protesters didn’t disrupt or stop the proceeding (they had been threatened with arrest if they did). The big news (for us) is that Encino Energy, which has long coveted the Salt Fork State Park property, did NOT win the contract for it! At some point, Encino pulled its proposal for Salt Fork and instead concentrated on several other parcels. The contract for Salt Fork was awarded to Infinity Natural Resources. We have the complete list of who won which contracts and how much they are paying in signing bonuses and royalties.
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20 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Jan 29 – Feb 4

There were 20 new permits issued to drill in the Marcellus/Utica during the week of Jan. 29 – Feb. 4, versus 27 permits issued during the prior week. Pennsylvania issued 12 new permits last week. Ohio issued 6 new permits. West Virginia issued 2 new permits last week. We had a tie for the company receiving the most permits. Seneca Resources received 4 permits to drill in Tioga County, PA, and Ascent Resources received 4 permits to drill in Harrison County, OH.
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27 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Jan 22 – 28

There were 27 new permits issued to drill in the Marcellus/Utica during the week of Jan. 22 – 28, versus 20 permits issued during the prior week. Pennsylvania issued 19 new permits last week. Ohio issued 5 new permits. West Virginia issued 3 new permits last week. Olympus Energy scored the most new permits with 7, all of them in Westmoreland County, PA. Apex Energy came in second with 6 new permits, also in Westmoreland. In fact, Westmoreland County, in southwestern PA, received 15 new permits last week, by far the most of any county.
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Stock Performance for Gas-Focused E&Ps (M-U Drillers) in 2023

How was 2023 with respect to the return on investment (ROI) in the stocks of gas-focused (largely Marcellus/Utica) drillers? Of the three classes of O&G companies — oil-focused, diversified, and gas-focused — it was the gas-focused drillers who had the best stock returns in 2023, according to an analysis by RBN Energy. Gas-weighted E&Ps posted a 7% median gain last year, according to RBN. Most of the companies in RBN’s list of gas-focused drillers have major operations in the M-U. Let’s have a look at how each one did.
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35 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Dec 11-17

New shale permits issued for Dec 11 – 17 in the Marcellus/Utica continued the trend up over the previous week. There were 35 new permits issued last week versus 27 issued two weeks ago. Last week’s permit tally included 17 new permits in Pennsylvania, 13 new permits in Ohio, and 5 new permits in West Virginia. The company receiving the most permits last week was Ascent Resources with 8 new permits in two different counties: Guernsey and Belmont counties in OH. Antero was second highest with 5 new permits in Ritchie and Doddridge counties in WV.
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Court Orders Ohio Drillers to Produce Documents in Royalty Dispute

Back in the summer of 2020, MDN told you about a lawsuit brought by an Ohio rights owner called TERA, an organization that appears to own the royalty rights for a number of leases with wells in Belmont County, OH, drilled by different producers, suing the producers for drilling into the Point Pleasant shale layer when the lease only mentions the Utica layer (see OH Landowners Sue Rice, Ascent, XTO, Gulfport for Drilling Too Deep). That lawsuit continues to grind on. Last week, a judge ruled the drillers being sued must produce certain documents sought by the plaintiff (rights owner).
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Silver Point Capital Completes Sale of 550,000 Shares of Gulfport

Earlier this week MDN told you that two of Gulfport Energy’s major investors were conducting a sale of what amounts to 3.5% of the company’s stock (see 2 Gulfport Energy Shareholders Selling 3.5% of Company Stock). One of the investors selling is Silver Point Capital L.P., which owns some 10% of Gulfport’s stock (and has a seat on the board of directors). We now have more details about the stock sale. Silver Point sold 550,000 of the 653,464 shares on offer. Does the Silver Point sale have significance? Does it signal anything?
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2 Gulfport Energy Shareholders Selling 3.5% of Company Stock

Gulfport Energy, the third-largest driller in the Ohio Utica Shale (by the number of wells drilled), emerged from bankruptcy in May 2021 with a new board and top management. In January of this year, the company appointed a new CEO, John Reinhart, the former President and CEO of M-U driller Montage Resources Corporation before Southwestern Energy gobbled up that company (see Marcellus Veteran John Reinhart Joins Gulfport Energy as CEO). The turnaround has been dramatic. Yesterday, Gulfport announced two major shareholders, Silver Point Capital, L.P. and MacKay Shields LLC, are selling 653,464 shares of the stock they own in the company.
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Ohio Utica Shale Production 3Q23 – Top Wells, Drillers & Counties

The Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR) released production numbers for the third quarter of 2023 late last week, and nobody noticed…except MDN (thanks to a tip from a good friend). ODNR no longer issues a press release to summarize the results as they once did. We’ve got the full spreadsheet with oil and gas production details for all 3,281 active shale wells in the Buckeye State. We’ve sliced and diced the numbers and have our usual Top 25 lists for natural gas and oil wells. We’ve included a couple of charts summarizing the data, showing the total production by driller (gas and oil) and the total production for the quarter by county. You’re gonna love it!
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M-U Driller Profits Bounce Back into the Black for 3Q23

It’s been a financial roller coaster for oil and gas drillers over the past 15 years. Investors in shale oil and gas companies suffered for years with little or no returns for their invested money. Five of eight large Marcellus/Utica drillers saw their share prices decrease by an astonishing 85% or more from 2008 to 2019 (see Former EQT CEO: Shale Revolution a “Disaster” for Investors). Just before the COVID pandemic hit, shale companies began to change and focus on less drilling and more profitability. That change paid off in a big way. Shale companies saw record profits in 2022 (see How Did M-U Gas Drillers Spend Their 2022 Record Haul of Cash?). But beginning in late 2022, the roller coaster took another turn down and profits crashed (see M-U Drilling Profits Hit Two-Year Low, Better Days Ahead?). But what’s this? Profits for drillers in the M-U (and other shale plays) recovered and began to climb again in the third quarter of 2023 following a five-quarter slide.
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22 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Nov 6 – 12

New shale permits issued for Nov 6 – 12 in the Marcellus/Utica slipped but still turned in a respectable number. There were 22 new permits issued last week, versus 37 issued the week before. Last week’s permit tally included 6 new permits in Pennsylvania, 16 new permits in Ohio, and no new permits in West Virginia. Hilcorp Energy was the winner of most permits issued, with 12 new permits issued for a single well pad in Columbiana County, OH.
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37 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Oct 30 – Nov 5

New shale permits issued for Oct 30 – Nov 5 in the Marcellus/Utica saw a significant increase. It almost felt like old times again! There were 37 new permits issued last week, versus 26 the week before. Last week’s permit tally included 24 new permits in Pennsylvania, 11 new permits in Ohio, and 2 new permits in West Virginia. Coterra Energy was the top permittee for the week, drawing 9 permits in Susquehanna County, PA. This will really rub the antis raw: Coterra received several permits to restart drilling in Dimock Township. 🙂
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26 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Oct 23 – 29

New shale permits issued for Oct 23 – 29 in the Marcellus/Utica increased again. There were 26 new permits issued last week, versus 22 the week before. Last week’s permit tally included 18 new permits in Pennsylvania, 7 new permits in Ohio, and 1 new permit in West Virginia. Coterra Energy was the top permittee for the week, drawing 7 permits in Susquehanna County, PA. Chesapeake Energy was #2 with 5 permits issued in Sullivan County, PA.
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