Why Don’t M-U Drillers Drill More? It’s All About that Curve
A few weeks ago MDN tackled the question of why natural gas producers, in general, are not drilling more given the high price of natural gas right now (see With NatGas Prices This High, Why Aren’t Producers Drilling More?). Today we’re back with additional enlightenment on that topic, focusing on Marcellus/Utica drillers in particular. Based on comments made yesterday by Range Resources’ COO Dennis Degner (see today’s companion article), it’s obvious that M-U drillers are not expanding their programs this year, and even next year, because of the shape of the “forward curve”…
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Equitrans Midstream, owner of the 303-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) and a related gathering pipeline called Hammerhead designed to feed 1.6 Bcf/d (billion cubic feet per day) of Marcellus/Utica gas into MVP, says an arbitration panel ruled in its favor in a dispute with EQT Corp. over the delayed startup of Hammerhead. According to an 8-K filing, Equitrans said the three-member arbitration panel ruled that the in-service delay beyond October 1, 2020, for Hammerhead was caused by a force majeure, so EQT has no early termination right under the Hammerhead gathering agreement or related right to purchase the Hammerhead project.
Last week Pennsylvania issued 21 permits to drill new shale wells. Most of the permits went to two well pads, one in Butler County drilled by PennEnergy Resources and the other in Tioga County drilled by Repsol. Ohio issued six new permits, three to Encino Energy, two to Utica Resource Operating, and one to Ascent Resources. West Virginia, for the second week in a row, issued just one new permit. Last week’s WV permit went to Tug Hill Operating in Marshall County.
In early June Southwestern Energy Company announced it would no longer be a pureplay Marcellus/Utica driller. Southwestern said it was buying Indigo Natural Resources, which drills for natural gas in the Louisana Haynesville Shale (see 
A leftist anti-fossil group calling itself Protect PT, in Penn Township (Westmoreland County), PA, backed with big money from Big Green groups, has for years challenged Penn Township ordinances that allow Apex Energy and Huntley & Huntley (now Olympus Energy) to drill and operate shale wells. Protect PT finally struck out legally at the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in May 2020 (see 
Last week America’s Rural Energy Coalition (AREC), a national organization created by rural community stakeholders and industry representatives from across the country to build sustainable rural communities by maximizing the opportunities and minimizing the challenges presented to them as a result of the development of their regional energy resources, held a regional meeting in Bradford County, PA. While AREC advocates for safe development of all forms of energy in rural America, front and center at last week’s meeting was the mighty Marcellus Shale and the critical role of oil and natural gas in the lives of every citizen on planet earth (and to the people of PA).
For years Chesapeake Energy has been the stepchild of the oil and gas investment world. Former CEO Aubrey McClendon, who founded Chesapeake as a natural gas-focused driller, larded the company up with debt–there’s no denying that. But then McClendon’s successor, Doug Lawler, compounded the problem (made it fatal) by attempting to convert the company into an oil company by purchasing an oil driller in the Eagle Ford for $4 billion in 2018 (see 
The Gas and Oil Association of West Virginia (GO-WV) released a new report yesterday called “Gas Facts” (full copy below). The report chronicles the impact oil and gas has had on the Mountain State over the past five years. According to Charlie Burd, GO-WV executive director, “Natural gas is the state’s top-paying sector, supporting more than 82,000 jobs and contributing roughly $5.2 billion in wages each year. Clean, abundant natural gas will continue to drive economic growth and opportunities for generations of West Virginians.” It’s an interesting report. One thing in the report caught our eye immediately: Two “top 10” lists for gas and oil production. We’re suckers for a good top 10 list…
ExxonMobil, which has a sizable presence in the Marcellus/Utica via subsidiary XTO Energy, has a rapidly growing cancer from within–it’s called the Exxon board of directors. Yes, the board of directors can and does change an entire company’s culture and future. In May, Big Green pushed and pressured and pouted and demanded–and finally won the right to appoint three of Exxon’s board members. A real tragedy. Those three members along with two other new board members are forcing the company to push for a carbon tax and abandon huge international projects that would make the company money for years to come. This is how the left defeats their opponents–eating them alive from within.
Yesterday we told you about a recent bankruptcy hearing for Pennsylvania shale driller Rockdale Marcellus, a hearing in which UGI Energy Services sought to gain access to details about Rockdale’s assets that are now up for sale (see 
Hedging, in the case of natural gas produced by big drillers like EQT Corporation, is when the company presells the production it will make (in the future) under contract at a specific price. Typically companies like EQT will hedge production for up to a year, sometimes more, in advance. It’s a way of protecting revenue from production in case prices sink below a certain level. The problem with hedging is you are locked in when the price goes up and stays up, like the price for natgas has done over the past several months. According to Bloomberg, EQT’s hedges could cost the company “more than $5 billion through the end of next year.” Ouch. CEO Toby Rice openly admits the company guessed wrong on its hedges.
Gulfport Energy, the third-largest driller in the Ohio Utica Shale (by the number of wells drilled), emerged from bankruptcy in May with a new board and new top management (see 
Diversified Energy (née Diversified Gas & Oil) continues to expand *outside* of the Marcellus/Utica region. In April the company announced it had purchased ~780 net operated wells and leases in the Cotton Valley/Haynesville region of Lousiana for $135 million (see