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Noble Energy: Lots of Marcellus Drilling in 1Q15, Scaling Back 2H15

Noble Energy is a big company with drilling both onshore and offshore. One of their focus areas is the Marcellus Shale where they are spending $900 million on drilling this year (see Noble Energy 2014 in Review, Spending $900M on Marcellus in 2015). Noble released their first quarter 2015 results yesterday. Although the company experienced a $22 million net loss financially, other signs were positive, including their activity in the Marcellus. Noble drilled 15 new wells and brought 3 wells online in 1Q15 in the Marcellus. Noble is also in a joint venture with CONSOL Energy. The JV drilled 25 new wells and brought online 29 wells in the Marcellus in 1Q15. However, Noble warns they are reducing their rig count and scaling back in the Marcellus for the second half of this year…
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Statoil Cuts Deal to Drill Under 474 Acres of the Ohio River in WV

VikingsThe Vikings are Coming! Er, well, at least the Norwegians are. And they’re not coming to conquer but to drill–underneath the Ohio River in West Virginia on the border of Marshall and Wetzel counties. The West Virginia Department of Commerce has cut a deal with Norway-based Statoil which allows the company to drill and frack for oil and natural gas on 474 acres thousands of feet beneath the Ohio River. What are the lease terms? An average price of $8,732 per acre with 20 percent production royalties. That translates into a signing bonus of $4.14 million. And that’s not all. WV is near to signing a deal with Noble Energy and Gastar Exploration on two other Ohio River tracts that will provide lease bonuses of $4.9 million and $749,000 (respectively) along with 20% royalties…
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Noble Energy 2014 in Review, Spending $900M on Marcellus in 2015

Noble Energy issued a pair of announcements yesterday. One was their their fourth quarter 2014 and full year 2014 results, the other was “guidance” or projections for what they plan to do in 2015. Noble is a big company with drilling both onshore and offshore. Of interest to us is their Marcellus program. In 2014, Noble drilled 24 Marcellus wells and they drilled their very first Utica well (in WV). According to Noble’s guidance, they plan to spend roughly $900 million on new Marcellus drilling in 2015…
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More Bids to Drill Under WV State-Owned Land, Incl Ohio River

West Virginia keeps up its aggressive push to lease and allow drilling under state-owned land–both under the Ohio River and under other tracts of state-owned land in prime Marcellus/Utica country. Last Friday the state Dept. of Commerce, responsible for overseeing the leasing program, opened its latest round of bids. Some of them are truly eye-popping. You may recall Antero Resources has paid $12,000 per acre (with 20% royalties) to drill under 518 acres of the Conaway Run Wildlife Management Area (see Record High Bid to Drill Under Bambi’s Home in Tyler County, WV). In the bids opened Friday, Jay Bee bid an even higher price to drill under the Jug Wildlife Management Area, also in Tyler County…
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WV Leases Another 1,400 Acres Under Ohio River for Drilling

More drilling under the Ohio River is about to become reality. Last October, MDN told you about the deal to lease a 232-acre tract of land around and under the Ohio River in Marshall County, WV. The state leased the land for drilling to Gastar Exploration for $3,500 per acre plus a 20% royalty (see Gastar Wins Lease to Drill Under Ohio River in WV). That deal netted WV a tidy signing bonus check for $812,000, to say nothing of the royalties they’ll get once the gas starts to flow. WV liked that deal and decided to put more land under the river on the market (see WV Looks to Lease More Ohio River, Other State Land for Drilling). Yesterday the state confirmed they are close to finalizing a deal with Noble Energy to lease another 1,400 acres of state-owned land around and under the Ohio River–also in Marshall County. This new deal also nets the state $3,500 per acre, or $4.9 million, as a signing bonus…
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Record High Bid to Drill Under Bambi’s Home in Tyler County, WV

BambiLooks like drilling and fracking adjacent to, and underneath, the Ohio River isn’t the only state-owned asset West Virginia has in mind to raise revenue (see Gastar Wins Lease to Drill Under Ohio River in WV). Last Friday, WV opened bids that will allow drilling under the 518-acre Conaway Run Wildlife Management Area in Tyler County, WV. Yes, those heartless monsters want to allow drilling and fracking under Bambi’s home–can you believe it?! The bids received will make your eyes pop out–some of the highest (perhaps THE highest) amounts offered in a signing bonus to date…
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Noble Energy 3Q14: Production Up 95%, Drilled 23 New Wells

Noble Energy released their third quarter numbers and operational update yesterday. The company operates in several U.S. shale basins as well as the Gulf of Mexico and several foreign locations. Of note is their ongoing program in the Marcellus Shale. Production for Noble from the Marcellus is up 31% from 2Q14 and up a big 95% year over year in 3Q14. They drilled 23 Marcellus wells during 3Q14 and brought 23 wells online during the quarter as well. Here’s the low down on Noble’s Marcellus program over the last three months:
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Details on 4 Bids to Drill Under Ohio River in WV

As MDN recently reported, West Virginia solicited bids from drillers to drill under portions of the Ohio River in areas where the state owns land adjacent to the river and in areas where there is Marcellus and/or Utica Shale present. The state received four bids (see WV Receives 4 Bids to Drill Under the Ohio River). What we now have are the details of those bids…
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CONE Midstream’s IPO Takes in $423M, Market Cap Already $1.71B!

A little over a month ago CONSOL Energy and Noble Energy, two otherwise competitors that often cooperate on drilling programs in the northeast, together formed a new pipeline company called CONE Midstream (see CONSOL & Noble Energy Form New Marcellus Midstream Company). A couple of weeks ago CONSOL & Noble announced they would float an initial public offering (IPO) to sell stock in the new venture, hoping to raise $423 million (see CONSOL/Noble IPO for CONE Midstream Hopes to Raise $423M). Good news: Mission accomplished. Yesterday CONE issued a press release saying the IPO of 20.1 million shares for $22 per share has successfully closed…
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CONSOL/Noble IPO for CONE Midstream Hopes to Raise $423M

Three weeks ago MDN brought you the news that CONSOL Energy together with Noble Energy (two drillers who joint venture together on some Marcellus drilling) have joined forces to form a midstream (pipeline) company called CONE Midstream to hook up pipelines to their Marcellus wells (see CONSOL & Noble Energy Form New Marcellus Midstream Company). The new pipeline company will take the corporate form of a master limited partnership, or MLP. Yesterday Noble announced an initial public offering (IPO) for “units” in the new company (think shares of stock). The companies hope to sell 20.1 million units and raise $422.6 million for the fledgling midstream company…
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CONSOL & Noble Energy Form New Marcellus Midstream Company

Rather than contract with MarkWest Energy, Williams, or another midstream company, CONSOL Energy and Noble Energy, who together have a joint venture to drill in certain areas of the Marcellus Shale (or “upstream” venture), have now decided to form their own “midstream” (or pipeline) company too. Dubbed CONE Midstream–perhaps some weird amalgamation of the CONSOL and Noble Energy names–the new midstream company will take the form of a master limited partnership, or MLP. So far CONSOL and Noble have only filed paperwork and announced who will sell units (rough equivalent of shares of stock). While the announcement from CONSOL doesn’t say who will operate the new midstream company, it sure looks to us like CONSOL will be the one calling the shots…
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Noble Energy 2Q14: 249 Mmcf/d Marcellus Production, Up 120%

Noble Energy is a big on- and off-shore driller with operations that span the world. A very successful single off-shore project in the Mediterranean, just off the coast of Israel, has essentially made Israel energy independent–no longer relying on Arab countries for natural gas. Noble also has a big presence in the Marcellus Shale–especially in West Virginia. Noble issued their second quarter 2014 update yesterday. MDN has extracted two sections from the update for MDN readers. The first is the general introductory overview, the second the operations update for the Marcellus with particulars on number of wells drilled, where, etc….
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CONSOL & Noble to Form New MLP Midstream Subsidiary

In 2011 CONSOL Energy had amassed some 750,000 Marcellus Shale acres but didn’t have enough money to drill it all on their own. So they did what many energy companies do–they got a joint venture partner. CONSOL cut a deal with Noble Energy to split the proceeds 50/50, with CONSOL drilling in the dry gas areas and Noble drilling in the wet gas areas (see Noble Energy and CONSOL to Partner on Marcellus in $3.4B Deal). The two jv partners announced yesterday their intent to form a master limited partnership (MLP) that will form a new midstream company (pipelines) to service their vast drilling operations…
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OGA 4: Panel Discussion – Drilling & Completions

Panel II: Drilling and Completions

  • Lowering the cost to drill: How to make money when gas sells for $1.50 Mcf
  • Analyzing the potential of self-sufficient power: The change from diesel to natural gas-powered drilling rigs
  • Increasing production with fewer rigs: how shale drilling has changed the rules of the game
  • Addressing the challenge of sourcing water: Are new pipelines a financially and environmentally viable alternative to transport by truck?
  • Evaluating the role of wastewater: Recycling, injection wells and barging
  • Assessing the impact of monster wells: a look at some of the most productive wells on earth, located in the Marcellus & Utica Shale region
  • Comparing wet and dry gas drilling – what are their comparative strengths and weaknesses?
  • Illustrating the current landscape of acreage positions by E&Ps for both the Marcellus & Utica

Moderator: Jim Willis, Editor, Marcellus Drilling News
Speakers: Eric Luckey, Completions Engineer, Noble Energy
Dennis Degner, Director of Operations, Range Resources
Brett Schellenberg, Marketing Executive, Orion Drilling
Bryan Dickson, North East Division Engineering, FTS International
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OGA 6: Panel Discussion – Health & Safety

Panel III: Health and Safety Issues You Can’t Ignore

  • Showcasing job site safety: best practices, the role of training
  • Educating as to the safe handling of frac sand
  • Achieving frac fluid chemical transparency using FracFocus
  • Implementing effective safety plans for drilling sites
  • Coordinating/establishing a relationship with local first responders
  • Assessing the impact of OSHA regulations
  • Detailing the impact of the DOT trucking rule “clarification” – how can your company ensure compliance?
  • Ensuring security in the face of protests, trespassing and other crimes

Moderator: Jim Willis, Editor, Marcellus Drilling News
Speakers: Stefan Hirniak, HSE Recruitment Consultant, Progressive GE
Rob L. Gough, EHS Manager, Anadarko Petroleum Corporation
David Renz, Sr. EHS Coordinator, Noble Energy
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OGA 9: Panel Discussion – Community Engagement

Panel V: Community Engagement: Are we losing the Public’s confidence?

  • Winning the public perception battle: What is the current perception and how can positive change
  • Connecting with local communities – employing local workers, donating to local charities, finance community projects
  • Employing effective transparency to manage adverse events
  • Judging the importance of social media in connecting with the community and stakeholders
  • Forced pooling/unitization – how to make the case
  • First impressions count: are your landmen helping or hurting your company’s reputation?
  • Connecting with your leased landowners – keeping the lines of communication open and operating
  • Maintaining good relations with surface rights owners who don’t own mineral rights
  • Dealing with anti-drilling groups and protesters in a professional and positive way

Moderator: Alex Grant, Conference Producer, Oil & Gas Awards
Speakers: Brittany Thomas, Coordinator External Affairs, Cabot Oil & Gas
Sarah Barczyk, Manager, Community Relations & Stakeholder Outreach, NiSource Midstream Services
Dan Weaver, Public Relations, PIOGA
Stacey Brodak, Manager Community and Media Relations, Noble Energy
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