Abuse of Justice System by PA AG Shapiro in Prosecuting Coterra
In June 2020, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro (Democrat) announced an indictment of Cabot Oil & Gas for allegations of methane migration going back more than a decade, long before he was elected as AG (see PA AG Charges Cabot with Enviro Crimes for Long-Settled Dimock). Shapiro’s indictment is a bogus charge, an attempt to turn a long-settled accident into a crime–all for political gain. Shapiro is running for governor this November and bashing the Marcellus industry gives him credibility with the wacko left in his own political party. A few weeks after Shapiro’s shameless and bogus indictment, Cabot (now Coterra Energy) signaled it would fight him tooth and nail in court (see Cabot Signals They Will Fight PA AG Sham Dimock Indictment).
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According to S&P Global, shale gas producers behaved themselves during the fourth quarter of 2021 and didn’t, even as the price of gas went sky high, do anything more than maintain current production. Gas drillers kept spending in check, didn’t do any more drilling than was necessary to maintain production, and plowed free cash flow back into dividends and stock buybacks. The result? Investors loved it and share prices soared.
In Sept. 2021 Seneca Resources, the drilling arm of National Fuel Gas Company, announced it would certify as responsibly sourced gas (RSG) about 300 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) of its production–roughly one-third of all Seneca production (see 
It’s been a while since we’ve checked in on Canadian energy company Enerplus Corp, which currently owns some 32,700 acres of Marcellus Shale leases in northeastern Pennsylvania. The company doesn’t drill any wells in the region but it does participate by funding the drilling programs of others. Last week Enerplus issued its 4Q and full-year 2021 update, which shows the company’s Marcellus production averaged 161 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) in 4Q21, up 5% from 3Q21.
Last September MDN broke the news that Rockdale Marcellus had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania (see 
Using investment capital from Preferred Capital Securities, WhiteHawk Energy is buying mineral and royalty rights in southwestern Pennsylvania, primarily in Washington and Green counties, for $52.5 million. The assets include production and cash flow from over 950 horizontal Marcellus Shale wells. The wells are operated by EQT, CNX Resources, and Range Resources.
Two years ago Yale University sold off its $80 million equity stake in Marcellus/Utica fracker Antero Resources. You know, Antero is an evil fossil fuel company and the woke children attending Yale demanded divestment. But a funny thing happened on the way to the forum… according to Yale University’s latest 13F form filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as of Dec. 31, 2021, the University owns $41 million of Antero Resources stock once again!
Southwestern Energy, which has become a natural gas-producing behemoth second only to EQT Corporation, issued its fourth quarter and full-year 2021 update on Friday. The company also issued projections for 2022. Southwestern produced 4.27 Bcfe/d (billion cubic feet equivalent per day) of natural gas and equivalents in 4Q21 across both plays where it operates–the Marcellus/Utica in the northeast and the Haynesville in the Gulf Coast region. Of that 4.27 Bcfe/d, some 3.14 Bcfe/d (74%) came from the M-U.
Coterra Energy, the result of Permian oil driller Cimarex Energy buying out and merging with Marcellus driller Cabot Oil & Gas, issued its first fully combined quarterly update yesterday. The two companies merged at the beginning of fourth quarter 2021 (see 
Range Resources, the very first company to sink a Marcellus well back in 2004, issued its fourth quarter and full-year 2021 update yesterday. The update includes a preview of what’s ahead for 2022. Among the blockbuster news is that after five years, Range, which has long specialized in drilling “wet gas” wells in southeastern Pennsylvania, is returning to northeastern PA this year to drill some dry gas wells. Why? The economics are there, says Dennis Degner, Range’s COO and top driller.
Shell, which recently dropped “Royal Dutch” from its name after leaving The Netherlands due to high taxes and overregulation, is one of the world’s supermajors (oil and gas driller). Shell is also one of (perhaps THE) largest producers of LNG, or liquefied natural gas, in the world. The company has just released its sixth annual LNG Outlook 2022 (full copy below) which highlights key trends in 2021 and hauls out the crystal ball to predict where things are heading over the next 20 years. Shell says global demand for LNG is expected to nearly double (up 90%) to 700 million tonnes by 2040. Why? Because natgas emits less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than other alternatives.
The wild roller coaster continues of up, down, up, down, up, down. Last week the number of permits issued to drill new shale wells is down again–to 18 total. Pennsylvania had 16 new permits last week, nine for Repsol and three for Coterra Energy. All of Repsol and Coterra’s permits issued for Susquehanna County. West Virginia had two new permits, one each for Southwestern Energy and Antero Resources, in Marshall and Doddridge counties. Ohio? A big, fat, goose egg. No new shale permits issued last week in the Buckeye State.
Olympus Energy (formerly Huntley & Huntley), which drills in southwestern Pennsylvania near Pittsburgh, has just entered into a contract with U.S. Well Services (USWS) to provide the company with electric fracking. The deal calls for USWS to provide electric fracking to Olympus for 2022 with a potential contract extension until 2024. What is electric fracking?