As Gulfport Energy gets ready to release its third quarter update today, GuruFocus provides a helpful overview of Gulfport’s recent drilling and production, particularly in the Utica Shale which is now Gulfport’s number one producing play. Gulfport is the #2 driller in the Utica behind Chesapeake Energy.
We found this interesting and thought you might too…
Read More “An Update on Utica Shale’s #2 Driller – Gulfport Energy”
Earlier this week Gulfport Energy issued a (very) short operations update which includes a few details about their Utica Shale drilling program. Production is higher than their previous estimates, and Gulfport reports they leased another 9,000 Utica Shale acres in “the core of the play” during 3Q13…
Read More “Gulfport 3Q13: Production Up, Adds 9K Acres in Utica “Core””
Was former Gulfport CEO Mike Liddell, who stepped down in June, a tad too cozy with an investment company that does business with Gulfport? Gulfport, you may know, is a major Utica Shale driller. A Reuters story takes aim at Liddell, questioning his relationship with investment firm Wexford Capital which has given Liddell “millions of dollars in equity interests at no cost in more than a dozen firms that have done business with Gulfport.” Gulfport says nothing improper was done and all necessary disclosures have been made to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Will this story “have legs” and continue to reverberate in the media? It sure has all the hallmarks of the same kind of treatment the media gave former Chesapeake Energy CEO Aubrey McClendon…
Read More “Former Gulfport CEO Gets Millions from Wexford Capital – Improper?”
Last week Gulfport Energy prepared the markets (i.e. investors) to receive some “bad news”–lower-than-expected third quarter production numbers for their Utica Shale wells, partially due to lack of a pipeline hookup to a single well (see Delayed Pipeline to Single Gulfport Utica Well Impacts Market). Today Gulfport released production numbers for three Utica wells. To our eye, it seems lack of infrastructure is not the only reason Gulfport lowered expectations for 3Q13 production. The newest wells coming online for Gulfport are not producing anywhere near the amount of methane their previously announced monster wells produce. For example, the Stutzman well in Belmont County well produced an initial 21 million cubic feet of natural gas per day (see Mind-blowing Earnings from a Single Utica Shale Well). That’s to be expected. Not every well you drill is a home run.
Even though Gulfport’s newest wells are under-performers vis a vis methane (2.0-9.7 million cubic feet per day), they produce more than enough condensate and natural gas liquids to make up for it. Interestingly, all three of Gulfport’s newest wells are in Harrison County, OH…
Read More “Newest Gulfport Utica Wells Disappoint with Methane Production”
Can delays in building a pipeline to a single Utica Shale well be enough to affect the stock price of the driller? You bet it can. Analysts from Sterne Agee issued revised estimates of how much production Gulfport Energy will see in the third quarter of this year based on Gulfport’s pre-announcement to the markets yesterday that they’ve had to lower their own estimates of production in 3Q13–because of a delay in hooking up the Irons 1-4H Utica Shale well in Belmont County, OH.
To be fair, Gulfport’s stock price only slipped a little bit on yesterday’s news (down less than 1/2 of one percent), and Sterne Agee remains bullish on the stock. Still, it’s incredible to us that the scheduling of a pipeline hookup for a single well can create such an impact on a multi-billion dollar energy company…
Read More “Delayed Pipeline to Single Gulfport Utica Well Impacts Market”
The Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR) investigated Gulfport’s shale drilling sites in eastern Ohio after an inspector found ground contamination at a Harrison County well. ODNR found evidence of brine–naturally occurring underground water that comes to the surface after drilling is done–escaping from (leaking from) the well–which is not supposed to happen. Each well pad has a big rubber pad liner that’s supposed to catch anything that happens to leak. Gulfport’s pad liners did not do the job.
In addition to a $250,000 fine, Gulfport has to rebuild each of the seven drill pads where there are defective liners before they can continue drilling at those locations…
Read More “Gulfport Pays $250K Fine for Leaky Pad Liners at 7 OH Utica Sites”
Investor’s website Market Realist ran a 7-part series on the Utica Shale yesterday–really good stuff. As part of that series they list the biggest drillers/leaseholders in the Ohio Utica Shale. It’s a very useful rundown and update on the latest positions held by the major players of the Utica. We’ve pulled and condensed from their article to give you the latest rundown on who’s who in the Ohio Utica Shale…
Read More “Who’s Who in OH Utica Shale Drilling for 2013”
Straight off a conference call yesterday comes the news that Gulfport Energy has just signed a 10-year contract with Dominion Transmission to transport the natural gas Gulfport produces in the Ohio Utica Shale to the Midwest–using Dominion’s pipelines. The agreement is to ship 100 million cubic feet per day of gas (100 Mmcf/d), ramping up to 150 Mmcf/d by late 2014. Gulfport’s CEO James Palm made the announcement yesterday.
Palm also said on the conference call that Gulfport continues to lease acreage in Ohio and plans to drill “at least” 70 new wells next year in the Utica. More from yesterday’s call:
Read More “Gulfport Signs Pipeline Deal to Sell Utica Gas to Midwest Market”
Gulfport Energy is definitely “all in” when it comes to drilling in the Utica Shale. The Oklahoma City-based company released its second quarter update yesterday, an update that shows that of the nine active rigs Gulfport is operating across three different shale plays, seven of those rigs are operating in the Ohio Utica Shale. Need we say more?
The operational update section of yesterday’s Gulfport update, outlining some of the outstanding results they’re getting in the Utica:
Read More “Gulfport Energy 2Q13: “All in” for the Utica Shale”
Gulfport Energy issued its second quarter 2013 operations update yesterday. Among the highlights: The company produced less oil than a year ago after selling off its Permian wells and acreage to Diamondback, but they saw a dramatic increase in production of natural gas and natural gas liquids from a year ago. Gulfport’s natgas production was up 6.5X and liquids production more than doubled–up 2.3X from last year. The company also said they increased their Utica Shale acreage by an additional 8,000 acres–they now own 145,000 leased Utica acres.
Also in the update are production numbers for a series of new wells recently brought online–the McCort wells in Belmont County (Somerset Township), OH. The full 2Q13 Gulfport update:
Read More “Gulfport 2Q13: Oil Production Down, NatGas & NGLs Way Up”
Yesterday the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR) shut down St. Clairsville (Belmont County), OH company Harch Environmental Resources saying the company was caught illegally dumping fracking wastewater on the ground in Ohio. ODNR also rapped Gulfport Energy on the knuckles but good as well. Gulfport used Harch but, according to ODNR, “failed to meet its responsibility to monitor” frack wastewater from cradle to grave. Both Harch and Gulfport are now being investigated by Ohio’s attorney general for civil and criminal charges.
The notice issued yesterday from ODNR:
Read More “Another OH Company Shut Down for Illegal Frack Wastewater Dumping”
The Akron Beacon Journal‘s Bob Downing does a great job, as usual, of jamming a lot of useful facts and figures into a single article. He posted a story on Monday that we would call “Utica Shale potpourri”…a round-up of interesting tidbits from the world of Utica Shale drilling from recent analyst and investor phone calls.
Here’s Bob’s latest information feast!…
Read More “Utica Shale Potpourri: Gulfport, Chesapeake, Antero & More…”
Investors website The Motley Fool does a good job of asking, and answering, three important questions about the Utica Shale play, especially in light of the recent 2012 production report issued by the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources.
The Fool article takes a look at: (1) Which other play(s) is the Utica like? (2) Were the 2012 numbers really a disappointment? And, (3) Why are producers holding back production?…
Read More “3 Important Questions Asked/Answered about Utica Shale Potential”
The old real estate bromide “location, location, location” is never more relevant than in the oil patch. An article on The Motley Fool website makes the following observation about the prospects for oil production in the Ohio Utica Shale for Devon Energy, Chesapeake Energy and Gulfport Energy:
Read More “Gulfport Does Best Job of Locating Utica Shale’s Oil Window”
MDN told you a month ago that the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District (MWCD) had voted to sell water from its plentiful reservoirs and lakes to Antero Resources and Gulfport Energy for use in Utica Shale fracking operations (see Muskingum Watershed Votes to Sell 209M Gals of Water for Fracking). Of the 209 million gallons they agreed to sell, only about 25 million would be sold to Gulfport.
Read More “OH Watershed District Cuts New Water Deal for Gulfport Fracking”
Gulfport Energy Corporation reported its first quarter financial and operating results yesterday, and there’s lots of talk about their efforts in the Utica Shale. Gulfport includes details about their wells and the oil and gas production they’re achieving in the Utica.
Here’s the Gulfport operational highlights for 1Q13 along with their Utica Shale Operational Update (complete with impressive 24-hour production rate numbers for the current nine operating wells that are now online):
Read More “Gulfport Energy 1Q13: Utica Utica Utica”