S&P Global Market Intelligence has done some forensic analysis of permits issued to drill new shale wells in Pennsylvania during August 2020. They compared last month’s permit numbers with the numbers from a year ago and found that PA issued 77 new permits last month, down 24% from August 2019.
Read More “PA Shale Drilling Permits Down 24% in August, but EQT Roars Back”
In 2010 gigantic Japanese trading house Sumitomo Corp. bought a 30% stake (joint venture) in Rex Energy’s Marcellus drilling operation in Bulter County, PA for $150.7 million. Sumitomo wrote down much of the value for that purchase in 2015. In 2018 Rex went bankrupt and now PennEnergy Resources owns and operates the Butler assets (see Rex Energy Sells Itself to PennEnergy Resources for $600M). PennEnergy is getting a new JV partner. Yesterday Sumitomo announced the sale of their 30% share of the action.
Read More “Sumitomo Corp Sells JV Stake in Butler County, PA Marcellus”
Aubrey McClendon, then-CEO of Chesapeake Energy, was the first major shale driller to recognize the promise of the Utica Shale play in Ohio (see Chesapeake Energy CEO Aubrey McClendon Talks to Jim Cramer About the Utica Shale in Eastern Ohio). He once famously said the Utica is “the biggest thing to hit Ohio since the plow.” While McClendon rightly deserves credit for launching the development of the Utica, he guessed wrong on the best places to drill in the Utica.
Read More “Glimmer of Hope for Utica Drilling in Northeastern Ohio”
Back in 2012 Gulfport Energy drilled a pair of exceptional Utica wells in Belmont County, Ohio–both on the same pad. The first was the Shugert 1-1H which had an initial production (IP) rate of 20 million cubic feet of natural gas per day (Mmcf/d). It also produced an initial 144 barrels of condensate per day, and 2,002 barrels of natural gas liquids per day (see New ‘King’ of Utica Wells? Gulfport Shugert Well @ 20 Mmcf/d). The second was the Shugert 1-12H well, with an IP rate of 28.5 MMcf/d (see Gulfport’s New Utica Well Produces Mind-blowing 28.5 Mmcf/d!). Somewhere along the way, the Shugert family claimed Gulfport was making post-production royalty deductions it should not have taken.
Read More “Gulfport, OH Landowner Settle Royalty Lawsuit re Monster Utica Wells”
We don’t often see news about a Marcellus producer called Alta Resources. Alta was one of the first drillers we wrote about just after launching the MDN website back in 2009 (see Texas Billionaire George Mitchell is Betting on the Marcellus in PA). George Mitchell, widely recognized as the father of shale energy, was a partner in Alta and had glowing things to say about the Marcellus. Mitchell died in 2013. His legacy lives on. Alta is in the news again. The company recently began using a software program from Ambyint to increase production across the 900 or so Marcellus wells it owns in northeastern PA.
Read More “Alta Resources Uses Software to Make Marcellus Wells Produce More”
On Sunday, June 28, Chesapeake Energy, with major operations in the northeast Pennsylvania Marcellus, filed for bankruptcy (see Chesapeake Files for Bankruptcy – Debtors to Take Ownership). As part of the filing, the company asked the bankruptcy court to allow it to break existing, legal, enforceable contracts with several pipeline companies, including Energy Transfer’s Tiger Pipeline (see Chesapeake Asks Court to Break Pipeline Contracts, Including M-U). The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is siding with Energy Transfer against Chessy.
Read More “FERC Sides with Energy Transfer Against Chesapeake re Pipe Contract”
Oil and gas drilling giant Equinor (formerly called Statoil) is owned by the Norwegian government. Equinor/Statoil has drilled in the Marcellus/Utica for years. As recently as June 2019 the company reported drilling 9-14 Utica wells per year (see Equinor (Statoil) Drilling Long Utica Laterals, Production Up 5X). But then in March of this year, just prior to the pandemic, the company decided to temporarily suspend it’s Utica (and Bakken) drilling program (see Equinor (Statoil) Stops All U.S. Shale Drilling, Incl. Marcellus). The company is now saying it won’t drill any more new wells this year in the U.S. and is cutting jobs here (and in Canada and the U.K.).
Read More “Equinor (Statoil) Cutting US Workforce, No New M-U Drilling 2020”
Range Resources issued its annual Corporate Sustainability Report (CSR) this morning (full copy below). The report lays out the company’s performance on key issues. It also sets so-called greenhouse gas reduction targets. Of particular note, Range has set a target to achieve net-zero emissions by 2025. If they do, they would be the first oil and gas company to achieve a net-zero threshold by 2025–less than five years from now.
Read More “Range Resources Aims to be 1st O&G Company to Hit Net-Zero Carbon”
CNX was fracking their Shaw 1G Utica well in Washington Township (Westmoreland County) in early 2019 when they detected “a strong drop in pressure” and stopped fracking (see CNX Hits Major Problem Fracking Utica Well Near SWPA Reservoir). Turns out the well was “communicating” (i.e. losing gas to) several nearby conventional wells. The Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) finally assessed a fine for that episode late last week: $175,000.
Read More “CNX Agrees to $175K Fine for Faulty Utica Well in SWPA”
Pittsburgh-based IntegrServ, a trucking company partly owned by former Pittsburgh Steeler Jerome Bettis, filed a federal lawsuit yesterday against EQT claiming discrimination against the company as a minority-owned company after it canceled a contract worth some $66 million last year. This is an involved story and of course, there are always two sides to every story (and two sides to every lawsuit).
Read More “Trucking Company Sues EQT for Racial Bias, Canceled $66M Contract”
Peregrine Energy Partners, headquartered in Dallas, Texas, continues a program to buy royalty rights in the Marcellus/Utica. Peregrine announced yesterday the company has cut a deal to buy “producing royalties in Doddridge County, West Virginia from several private sellers.” The private sellers are landowners/rights owners with wells drilled by Antero Resources and Jay-Bee Oil & Gas. No details on how much the deal was for.
Read More “Peregrine Buys Royalty Rights from Doddridge County, WV Landowners”
Last week we brought you the bombshell news that Southwestern Energy is buying out and merging in Montage Resources in an all-stock deal worth roughly $857 million (see Stop Press! Southwestern Energy Buying Montage Resources for $857M). In a series of announcements yesterday, Southwestern said it has just finished raising $152 million from selling more stock, and is in the process of raising another $350 million from issuing new notes (debt, IOUs). The money raised ($502 million total) will be used to pay off debt owed by Montage.
Read More “Southwestern Raises $502M to Pay Off Montage Debt”
Range Resources is running up the debt tab. In January the company issued $550 million in new notes (debt, IOUs) which they used to turn around and pay down older notes (see Range Refinancing $500M in Debt, Writing Down Value of LA Shale). Yesterday Range said it is issuing another $300 million in new notes. The company is using the money to help pay off $400 million in older notes.
Read More “Range Res. Sells $300M in New Notes, Buys Back $400M Old Notes”
Today is “notes” day on MDN. Yesterday three major Marcellus/Utica drillers, including Southwestern, Range, and the subject of this post–Antero Resources–all said they are issuing notes, or what we think of as IOUs (debt) in varying amounts. All of the notes issued are for the same reason–to pay down debt. Issue new debt to pay down old debt. Only in the world of high finance! For Antero, the company is issuing $250 million with an extra option to issue another $50 million, or $300 million total, potentially.
Read More “Antero Res. Selling $250-$300M in New Notes to Pay Down Debt”
Last week, in one of the biggest news stories (for us) so far this year, Southwestern Energy announced it is buying out and merging in Montage Resources (see Stop Press! Southwestern Energy Buying Montage Resources for $857M). The combined companies will create the third-largest (by acreage) Marcellus/Utica driller. Yet investors have pretty much yawned. The company’s stock went down after the announcement. According to one analyst, Southwestern’s purchase is a “grand slam” home run and investors should sit up and take notice.
Read More “Southwestern Hits “Grand Slam” with Purchase of Montage Resources”
ECA Marcellus Trust I, traded over-the-counter on the pink sheets, announced on Friday that there will be no distribution (i.e. dividends) paid for the quarter ended June 30, 2020 to shareholders because expenses exceeded net revenues to the Trust for the quarter. This is the second quarter in a row the Trust has not paid investors (see ECA Marcellus Trust I Cancels 1Q20 Distribution to Investors). Who is ECA?
Read More “ECA Marcellus Trust I Cancels 2Q20 Distribution to Investors”