Gulfport Energy’s Line of Credit Increases from $580M to $700M
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 Gulfport Energy Emerges from Bankruptcy w/New Board, CEO/CFO Gone). Since that time the company has worked hard to better its financial position and its image. Yesterday Gulfport announced its “credit facility” (the amount it can borrow, what we call a line of credit) has increased by another $160 million.
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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 
Small investors have a golden opportunity. Oil and gas companies (drillers in particular) are more profitable than ever, yet many large investors are avoiding and will not invest in them. Why? Because they’re idiots? Well, yes, that’s one reason. But the root cause is they have been cowed by loud-mouthed environmental extremists. Threatened by them. Oil and gas companies are still here, still providing a critical service to the world, and still need investors. That’s a great opportunity for small investors–like you.
EQT CEO Toby Rice laid the blame for the developing world energy crisis, particularly Europe’s lack of access to natural gas, at the feet of radical environmentalists. If not for the radicals and their constant frivolous lawsuits blocking pipelines and LNG export facilities, such infrastructure would already have been built and would be providing abundant, cheap, clean-burning Marcellus/Utica natural gas to other regions of the U.S. and to Europe.
Last week Pennsylvania was back on its game, issuing 22 permits to drill new shale wells. Most of the permits in PA were for three well pads by three different operators: Seneca Resources, Repsol, and EQT. Ohio issued just two new permits to Gulfport Energy for the same well pad in Belmont County. West Virginia issued four new permits, three of them to Southwest Energy and one to Antero Resources.
Once again the crack reporters at the Reuters news service have landed a huge scoop: Chief Oil & Gas, which owns 600,000 acres of leases in northeastern Pennsylvania and produces 1 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of natural gas per day, has hired an investment bank to shop the company for sale. Asking price: $3 billion.
Yesterday Antero Resources announced the publication of its 2020 ESG Report (environmental, social, governance) highlighting a focus on People, Performance, and Purpose. The report details Antero Resources’ ongoing commitment to the communities in which it operates, safe operations, environmental excellence, and strong governance. Frankly, we could care less about ESG programs–an attempt to impress people who will never be impressed with the extraordinary efforts made by fossil fuel companies to respect the environment. What caught our eye in Antero’s report is the amount of money the company invested in West Virginia and Ohio, where it drills for liquids and gas.
In July, American Energy Partners, Inc., a diversified energy company, announced it had agreed to acquire a privately held energy services company operating in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. The company being purchased focuses on reducing customers’ environmental footprint through the decommissioning, abandonment, and reclamation services of oil and gas assets. Yesterday American Energy announced the deal is now done, so they can now name the company purchased: Unlimited Energy Services, LLC.
Sadly, Cabot Oil & Gas is no more. On Friday the company was merged into Cimarex Energy with Cabot’s CEO Dan Dinges taking on the largely ceremonial role of “Executive Chairman” while Cimarex’s CEO Tom Jorden becomes the actual leader (CEO, President, Director) of the newly merged company, now called Coterra Energy, Inc. Coterra’s common stock will begin trading today on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “CTRA.”
Last week MDN was (as far as we can tell) the first to bring you news of a new lawsuit filed in Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas against EQT alleging the company had not made required royalty payments to at least two residents, and likely many more residents (see 
Imagine Hershey Park getting fined for smelling like a Hershey’s chocolate bar. Or Starbucks getting fined because the businesses next door can smell the coffee. The Shell cracker plant is getting fined for smelling like…maple syrup? Last week residents in several Beaver County, PA municipalities neighboring the Shell ethane cracker complex reported smelling something like a strong whiff of maple syrup. Shell immediately hired a third-party investigator and believes they now know what caused the smell.
In May MDN told you about one of the oddest combinations in recent memory–the merger of Permian oil driller Cimarex Energy with Marcellus gas driller Cabot Oil & Gas (see