Energy Companies

Allegheny County | CNX Resources | Energy Companies | Pennsylvania

CNX CEO Backs New SWPA Group to Counter “Elites and Extremists”
March 13, 2020March 13, 2020

Credit: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (click for larger version)

Some 500 people from labor unions and industry met in Pittsburgh yesterday to launch an organization called Pittsburgh Works Together, dedicated to fighting back against those who want to end southwest PA industries including steel, natural gas, and petrochemicals. Among those who attended and spoke was CNX Resources CEO Nick Deluliis who said he wants to create a future for everyone, not just “elites and extremists.” Deluliis also said the new Pittsburgh Work Together group “is about one thing in the end, and that’s fighting for the soul of this region.” Nick is on a tear!
Read More “CNX CEO Backs New SWPA Group to Counter “Elites and Extremists””
Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

Susquehanna County Judge Sanctions Defendants in Cabot Lawsuit
March 12, 2020March 12, 2020

Last week MDN brought you news (from the Associated Press) that Cabot Oil & Gas had “abandoned” negotiations to settle a lawsuit they brought against attorneys who had sued Cabot for something already settled in a previous lawsuit (see Cabot Ends Lawsuit Settlement Talks, Prefers Trial in Dimock Case). What we have today is “the rest of the story,” as Paul Harvey used to say. Last week we told you we only had a single AP article, and that AP is known for its biased reporting when it comes to Cabot. And indeed, our words were prophetic. We now have the full story of why Cabot pulled out of settlement negotiations.
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Energy Companies | Energy Services | Energy Transfer Partners | Range Resources Corp

Board Members, Management Snap Up Shares in Shale Companies
March 12, 2020March 16, 2020

We always take it as a good sign when board members and upper management decide to buy up shares of the companies they operate. One might colloquially say they “eat their own dog food.” That’s what’s happening with at least some shale oil companies. Board members and upper management are buying shares of company stock because those shares are currently at super low prices, given the Saudi-Russia oil war and COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic scare. These people know that sooner or later the economy will straighten out and their company’s share prices will zoom skyward again–making them wealthy.
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Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies

Chesapeake Floats Reverse Stock Split – Turn 200 Shares into 1
March 11, 2020March 11, 2020

Last December the New York Stock Exchange sent Chesapeake Energy an official notification that the company’s stock price has fallen below the $1/share threshold for more than 30 consecutive trading days and because of it, Chessy’s stock will be delisted from the exchange–unless it can boost the share price within a certain period of time (see NYSE Warns Chesapeake Energy Stock to be Delisted…Unless). Speculation immediately began that Chessy would do a reverse stock split–combining multiple shares into a single share, thereby boosting the price of the remaining shares. Yesterday Chesapeake announced they will ask shareholders to approve such a reverse split.
Read More “Chesapeake Floats Reverse Stock Split – Turn 200 Shares into 1”
Energy Companies | Montage Resources

Montage Resources 2019 in Review, What’s Ahead in 2020
March 10, 2020March 10, 2020

Montage Resources provided an update on fourth-quarter and full-year 2019 performance and what to expect in 2020 last Friday. You may recall Montage is the name of the company that resulted after the merger of Eclipse Resources with Blue Ridge Mountain Resources one year ago (see Blue Ridge Merges with Eclipse, Renamed to Montage Resources). Montage previously announced it will mainly focus on drilling Marcellus wells in Ohio (not a typo!). Perhaps most notable about the company update from Friday is that for three years running (consolidated numbers) the company has turned a profit–the largest profit being in 2019, with $31.8 million. That’s remarkable given the economic pickle drillers are in right now.
Read More “Montage Resources 2019 in Review, What’s Ahead in 2020”
Beaver County | Energy Companies | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Processing Plants | Shell

“Mammoth” Shell Cracker Currently Employs 7,500 Daily – An Update
March 9, 2020March 9, 2020

Credit: Youngstown Business Journal (click for larger version)

Activity in building the mighty Shell ethane cracker in Monaca, PA (Beaver County) has reached a fevered pitch. Its apex. Its zenith. Currently, there are some 7,500 workers who visit and work at the site on a daily basis. Can you imagine?! That’s like a small town coming and going each and every day. There are some 1,000 workers who work all through the night! We’re still a year or two away from the beginning of operations at the plant, but all of the key structures are now in place and the work has shifted to connecting everything. Here’s an update on this massive, jobs-producing economic bonanza happening in southwestern PA…
Read More ““Mammoth” Shell Cracker Currently Employs 7,500 Daily – An Update”
Beaver County | Energy Companies | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Processing Plants | Shell

Penn State Peddles PIE in the Sky – Takes Swipe at Shell Cracker
March 9, 2020March 9, 2020

Increasingly Penn State is taking swipes at the Marcellus Shale industry that has so richly blessed the state–and has blessed Penn State and its various educational programs. It’s really disappointing. The latest attempt is something called PIE–or political industrial ecology. It’s a made-up academic term that means judging an economic miracle like the Shell cracker through the lens of leftist political dogma. Essentially a Penn State researcher tries to find people who don’t like the cracker and give them “a voice.” Apparently they misplaced their own voice.
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Ascent Resources | Commodity Price | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Meetings | Ohio | Statewide OH

OOGA 73rd Annual Mtg: More Downsizing Ahead
March 6, 2020March 6, 2020

Over 700 people gathered yesterday in Columbus, OH for OOGA’s (Ohio Oil & Gas Association) 73rd Annual Meeting. Industry leaders soberly assessed the state of current affairs. According to OOGA president Matt Hammond, the industry may have to downsize for a while. Jeff Fisher, CEO of Ascent Resources, agreed. Hammond said, “it’s just going to look a little bit different in the next few years” before the price of gas rebounds. The sentiment was clearly what we’ve been preaching: Expect lower for longer when it comes to gas prices.
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Susquehanna County

Cabot Ends Lawsuit Settlement Talks, Prefers Trial in Dimock Case
March 6, 2020March 6, 2020

In April 2017 Dimock Township (Susquehanna County, PA) resident Ray Kemble and lawyers from two different law firms filed a new lawsuit against Cabot Oil & Gas over claims of contaminated water from local fracking. Thing is, those claims were settled by Cabot with Kemble years earlier. Cabot said this was a renewed attempt to sully its good name and reputation and countersued Kemble and his lawyers for $5 million (see Cabot O&G Countersues Dimock Anti, Lawyers).
Read More “Cabot Ends Lawsuit Settlement Talks, Prefers Trial in Dimock Case”
Energy Companies | Gulfport Energy | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Ohio | Statewide OH | Tug Hill Operating

Judge Rules Tug Hill Not on Hook to Buy Gulfport OH Marc. Assets
March 5, 2020March 5, 2020

A kerfuffle between Gulfport Energy and Tug Hill Operating has been settled by a Texas judge. Gulfport and Tug Hill cut a deal in November 2018 for Tug Hill to purchase certain Marcellus shale assets in Ohio from Gulfport for $26 million. According to Gulfport, Tug Hill never sealed the deal and should be forced to complete it now. Tug Hill said Gulfport didn’t come through with necessary releases from third parties related to the deal, and therefore the deal is null and void. The judge agreed with Tug Hill.
Read More “Judge Rules Tug Hill Not on Hook to Buy Gulfport OH Marc. Assets”
Energy Companies | Gulfport Energy | Ohio | Statewide OH

Ohio’s #3 Utica Driller, Gulfport Energy, Slashes 2020 Budget 50%
March 3, 2020March 3, 2020

Last Friday the Ohio Utica’s third-largest (by the number of wells drilled) shale driller, Gulfport Energy, filed its fourth-quarter and full-year 2019 update. The bad news is that the company lost just over $2 billion in 2019. The good news is that the entire loss was an impairment charge, a “paper loss” and not an actual, out-of-pocket money loss. When you dig deeper into the numbers, you’ll find the company actually produced free cash flow of $37.8 million last year.
Read More “Ohio’s #3 Utica Driller, Gulfport Energy, Slashes 2020 Budget 50%”
Energy Companies | Gulfport Energy

Gulfport’s Largest Investor Wants to Pack Board, Force Change
March 3, 2020March 19, 2020

Last November Gulfport Energy, the Ohio Utica’s third-largest driller, announced they would lay off 13% of their workforce, end (for now) their stock share buy-back program, and “refresh” the board with three new members (see Gulfport Fires 13% of Workers, Ends Stock Buy-Back, Board Changes). Since that time they’ve added another two new board members, making the turnover five total (see Gulfport Continues Board “Refreshment” – 5th Change in 2 Months). Who lit a fire under Gulfport? That would be Firefly Value Partners, Gulfport’s single largest investor. Firefly and Gulfport are in another public spat over adding yet more new board members.
Read More “Gulfport’s Largest Investor Wants to Pack Board, Force Change”
Chevron | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

Chevron Tries to Make Room for M-U Workers with Buyout Offers
March 3, 2020March 3, 2020

Last week MDN brought you the news that Chevron will begin to trim 320 jobs in the Marcellus/Utica beginning in early April (see Chevron Cutting 320 Jobs in Marcellus/Utica Beginning April 6th). The Chevron job cuts should not be a surprise, given the company is selling all of its M-U assets (see Chevron Writes Down $5B+ in Marc/Utica Assets, Looks to Sell All). From the beginning of the M-U exit process, Chevron has made it plain it hopes to transfer at least some of the M-U positions to other regions/areas of the company. We now have more insight as to how that may happen.
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BKV/Banpu | CNG/LNG | Energy Companies | Exporting | Industrywide Issues

Banpu Ponders Entering U.S. LNG Export Market
March 3, 2020March 3, 2020

Banpu, Thailand’s largest coal mining company, loves American shale gas. Over the past several years Banpu has invested ~$500 million in the PA Marcellus, going as far as building a new regional office in northeastern PA (see Banpu Opens New $5M Marcellus Operations Office in NEPA). Recently the company announced a deal to buy Devon Energy’s Barnett Shale assets in Texas (see Banpu Invests Another $770M in Shale – but Not in PA Marcellus). It seems Banpu is not yet done with American shale energy.
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Energy Companies | Range Resources Corp

Range Resources Puts Louisiana, Some PA Assets Up for Sale
March 2, 2020March 2, 2020

Range Resources turned in its fourth-quarter and full-year 2019 update on Friday. The company lost $1.72 billion last year, after losing $1.74 billion the year before. Ouch. The company is actively shopping its northern Louisiana shale assets hoping a sale will help reduce debt. You may recall Range bought out Memorial Resource Development Corp. (MRD) in a stock swap/debt assumption deal worth $4.4 billion back in 2016 (see Range Resources Buys Louisiana Driller in Deal Worth $4.4B).
Read More “Range Resources Puts Louisiana, Some PA Assets Up for Sale”
Energy Companies | Southwestern Energy

Southwestern’s 2020 Game Plan: Spend Less, Produce More & Hedge
March 2, 2020March 2, 2020

Southwestern Energy issued its 2019 update on Friday, with talk about what’s ahead for 2020. Southwestern is something of a unicorn. They made $891 million in profit for 2019! Even in a low price environment. Well done. Like every other Marcellus/Utica driller, Southwestern plans to spend less on drilling in 2020, yet they also say they will produce more gas, and sell it at favorable prices. What’s Southwestern’s magic?
Read More “Southwestern’s 2020 Game Plan: Spend Less, Produce More & Hedge”