Energy Companies

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    Southwestern Energy Fighting Ohio County, WV Fire Dept. Fee

    Location of Ohio County, WV

    Ohio County, WV, like many rural counties, has a string of volunteer fire departments that respond to calls in their respective localities. When an industrial activity like shale drilling shows up, local volunteers need special (ongoing) training to address the unique circumstances involved with a well pad fire. There’s also all of the extra calls local fire departments get from the sheer volume of vehicle traffic related to workers coming and going, and trucks hauling all manner of materials–from pipes to equipment to water. Those vehicles sometimes get into accidents, requiring a fire truck to respond. So Ohio County passed a $5,000 per well pad fee, per year, to help defray those costs. Southwestern Energy is the only driller active in the county, currently, with some 29 well pads. For Southwestern, the fee equals $145,000 per year, year after year, going to the local fire department effort. When Ohio County sent Southwestern the bill, Southwestern didn’t pay it. Instead, they filed a lawsuit claiming the fee is “arbitrary and excessive”…
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    Chesapeake Deducts from Current Royalty Check for Old Loss in PA

    Truly maddening. A Pennsylvania farming family has had to put up with Chesapeake Energy’s lame justifications for not paying them a dime in royalties over the past two years, even though Chesapeake continues to extract gas from their property. Chesapeake claims that since 2015, their costs to extract/sell gas from Russ Forba’s land exceeded any revenue generated–by $112,000. Chesapeake promised Forba that the company would not try to recoup those “costs” from future royalties. The company just broke its promise. On Monday, Forba received a statement from Chesapeake revising the price of the gas sold (down), and revising the post-production costs claimed (up) for the month of April 2015. Chesapeake then deducted the extra $5,700 “loss” from current royalty payments to cover the difference–something they PROMISED would never happen. This is why PA landowners are incensed and calling for legislation. We don’t blame them…
    Read More “Chesapeake Deducts from Current Royalty Check for Old Loss in PA”

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    Range Resources 1Q17: Production Soars 40%, 1st Profit in 2 Yrs

    Range Resources, one of the most prolific producers in southwestern Pennsylvania, reported its first quarter of profit in two years. Range swung from a loss of $94 million in 1Q16 to a profit of $170 million in 1Q17. After two years of cutting its capital expenditure spending, Range is once again increasing capex. This year, Range plans to spend $1.15 billion, with 65% allocated to the Marcellus Shale in PA, and the rest to the Terryville Field in LA. Production soared for the company by 40% year over year, to a new record high of 1.93 billion cubic feet equivalent (Bcfe) per day. Below we have the full Range 1Q17 update, along with the latest PowerPoint slide deck. We’ve also extracted out some interesting comments from the quarterly earnings call, which highlight Range’s program of drilling longer laterals in the Marcellus…
    Read More “Range Resources 1Q17: Production Soars 40%, 1st Profit in 2 Yrs”

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    EQT 1Q17: Production Up 6%, Revenue Up 2,829%

    EQT, one of the biggest drillers in the Marcellus/Utica, had quite a ride in 2016. A good ride! In the last 10 months EQT has added 220,000 acres to its Marcellus/Utica portfolio–by buying large tracts from other companies. One of the deals included buying the other company (Trans Energy) lock, stock and barrel (see EQT Buys Trans Energy + 60K Marc/Utica Acres in 2 Deals for $683M). EQT recently turned in its 1Q17 update. While EQT’s production went up by 6% in the first quarter, its net income went through the roof–up 2,829%! In 1Q16 EQT’s net income was $5.6 million. In 1Q17, net income was $164 million. Somebody is doing something right. On the ever-present quarterly earnings call, EQT’s newly-minted CEO, Steve Schlotterbeck, said EQT’s strategy is to consolidate “scattered acreage positions in Appalachia.” According to Steve, the companies that consolidate, “will hold a competitive advantage that will yield higher returns for their shareholders” and “further consolidation within the Marcellus core is the best path to creating a sustained competitive advantage.” Below is EQT’s full 1Q17 update, the latest PowerPoint slide deck, and select comments by Steve from the earnings call…
    Read More “EQT 1Q17: Production Up 6%, Revenue Up 2,829%”

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    Rex Energy 1Q17: Production Drops 8.5%

    As they have in previous quarters, Rex Energy released only part of their first quarter 2017 update earlier this week. Rex released an operation update on Monday, but elected to not release (yet) a financial update. Rex has struggled. They are a smaller driller focused mainly on the Marcellus/Utica–headquartered in State College, PA. In 2016, Rex lost $109 million (see Rex Energy Lost $109M in ’16, Drilling to Hold in ’17, NGLs in ’18). In company’s 2016 production was down from the previous year (see Rex Energy 4Q & 2016 Update – Production Slips from 2015). In Monday’s quarterly update, Rex reports production slipping again, down 8.5% from 1Q16. Is Rex Energy still our “little engine that could?” What’s going on with Rex? Perhaps some of the clues can be found in the quarterly production update and latest PowerPoint we could find (from March)…
    Read More “Rex Energy 1Q17: Production Drops 8.5%”

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    WV Supreme Court to Rehear EQT Post Production Royalty Case, Maybe

    More twists and turns to report with respect to an issue we previously reported with the potential to impact every mineral rights owner and driller in West Virginia. In December MDN reported on the huge West Virginia Supreme Court decision against driller EQT that disallows EQT from deducting post-production expenses from royalty checks, even with signed contracts in place (see WV Supreme Court Rules EQT Can’t Deduct P-P Costs from Royalties). The justices, in their ruling, said that drillers can “not deduct from that (royalty) amount any expenses that have been incurred in gathering, transporting or treating the oil or gas after it has been initially extracted, any sums attributable to a loss or beneficial use of volume beyond that initially measured or any other costs that may be characterized as post-production.” A really big deal. Then in February, with a brand new justice on the bench, the WV Supreme Court agreed to rehear the case after an appeal filed by EQT–a rare and unusual step (see EQT Catches Big Break in WV Supreme Court re Royalty Deductions). A member of the West Virginians for Property Rights group said members are “pretty nervous about this.” Those who already won the case say the high court’s decision to rehear is tantamount to playing the fourth quarter of a playoff game all over again–fundamentally unfair. The court will rehear the case next Tuesday–IF they don’t grant a motion to dismiss the rehearing. The mineral rights owners involved filed the motion saying the newest justice who just came on the bench in January should not have voted to rehear a case she previously didn’t hear…
    Read More “WV Supreme Court to Rehear EQT Post Production Royalty Case, Maybe”

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    WV Driller Northeast Natural Energy Gets $300M Investment

    Northeast Natural Energy (NNE) is a midsize driller headquartered in Morgantown, WV. NNE owns 49,000 net acres of leases “in the heart of the Marcellus Fairway,” and operates 27 Marcellus wells and over 100 conventional oil and gas wells. In 2011 NNE fought Morgantown for the right to drill a couple of wells just outside the city limits (see our stories here). NNE won that fight. Yesterday two investment firms–Trioloma EIG Energy Income Fund and EIG Global Energy Partners–announced they have joined forces to infuse $300 million into NNE. Looks like a very active drilling program is just ahead for the WV driller…
    Read More “WV Driller Northeast Natural Energy Gets $300M Investment”

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    New PA Bill an Overreaction to Court Ruling on Strippers

    As previously reported, liberal Pennsylvania House of Representatives Democrat Pam Synder has now introduced a bill (HB 1283, copy below) to “clear up” what the state Public Utility Commission (PUC) is a loophole in the Act 13 law that may allow some drillers to avoid paying impact fees (i.e. drilling taxes) on some Marcellus Shale wells (see PA Lib Dem Introducing Bill to “Fix” Strippers Once and for All). In 2012 Pennsylvania passed the Act 13 law that includes a fee on wells targeting shale layers, including the Marcellus. Snyder Brothers, headquartered in Kittanning, PA, drills mostly conventional (vertical only) wells in southwestern PA. In 2011-2012 they drilled 45 vertical-only wells, targeting the Marcellus–all of the wells fracked. Initially those wells produced more than 90 Mcf/day, but by December of the year they were drilled, they produced less than 90 Mcf/day. The way the 2012 Act 13 law is written, if a well produces less than 90 Mcf/day during “any” month it is considered a stripper well and exempt from paying the impact fee. The state’s Public Utility Commission (PUC) assessed the fee anyway because for 11 months the wells produced more than 90 Mcf/day. Snyder Bros. sued and after an appeal of the case, won their case in March, exempting those wells from paying impact fees (see PA Court Says Snyder Bros Wells are Strippers, No Impact Fees Due). That sent the state Public Utility Commission (PUC) into a tizzy. The PUC and the PA Democrat Party is using the court case to try and accomplish two things they haven’t been able to accomplish heretofore: (1) claim this is a prime example of why a nosebleed high severance tax is needed, in this year’s budget, and (2) fundamentally change the intent of the Act 13 law by passing a “clarification” as introduced by Snyder’s HB 1283 bill. Below we explore this issue in depth and tell you why the Snyder case win is NOT a way for drillers to avoid paying impact fees. In fact, the court’s decision makes it clear that drillers cannot simply reduce production for one month and then claim it’s a stripper well under the 90 Mcf/day definition. Snyder’s bill is an overreaction and does not clear up anything. Instead, it changes everything…
    Read More “New PA Bill an Overreaction to Court Ruling on Strippers”

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    Seneca Resources Fined $375K by PA DEP for “Multiple Violations”

    The Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection has just fined driller Seneca Resources $325,000 for a series of violations that occurred between 2013 and 2015. It seems in moving dirt around when building drill pads, Seneca caused erosion to occur. They also spilled ~100 barrels of crude oil in one location, and ~500 barrels of wastewater at another location. The violations happened in Forest, McKean, and Elk Counties. Here’s the notice issued by the PA DEP…
    Read More “Seneca Resources Fined $375K by PA DEP for “Multiple Violations””

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    Keeping Trans Energy’s Bacon Out of Fire Earned Law Firm an Award

    Last October EQT announced a deal to buy Trans Energy, Inc., a public pure-play driller in the Marcellus in West Virginia, which will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of EQT (see EQT Buys Trans Energy + 60K Marc/Utica Acres in 2 Deals for $683M). EQT also bought Trans Energy joint venture partner Republic Energy’s share in their Marcellus jv. The land is located in Marion, Wetzel and Marshall counties (in WV). When the deal closed, investment bank Gordian Group strutted around making some big boasts about their role in the deal. Gordian, via a press release, took credit for keeping Trans Energy out of bankruptcy court and for soaking EQT on the purchase price (see EQT Closes on Trans Energy Deal; Investment Bank Makes Big Boasts). It seems Gordian isn’t the only one strutting about the the EQT/Trans Energy deal. International corporate law firm Haynes and Boone, with a big energy practice in Texas, also assisted with the deal. In fact, in a Haynes and Boone press release, they boast that keeping Trans Energy solvent long enough to sell out to EQT earned the law firm the 2016 “Out-of-Court Restructuring Deal of the Year” award by The M&A Advisor…
    Read More “Keeping Trans Energy’s Bacon Out of Fire Earned Law Firm an Award”

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    Penn Twp Reverses Course, Leases Town Land for Marcellus Drilling

    In May 2016, MDN told you that the Penn Township (in Westmoreland County, PA) zoning board voted to refuse to grant a permit to Apex Energy to build a DEP-permitted well pad in the town (see Penn Twp Commissioners Block Apex Shale Well Request in 3-2 Vote). In June 2016, Penn began considering a far more restrictive ordinance than it currently has–to limit drilling in the township (see Penn Township Considering More Restrictions on Drilling). That didn’t sit well with Huntley & Huntley, a driller that owns leases for some 23% of the land in the township. In August, the debate continued at a public hearing, with pro- and anti-drillers out in force to discuss the potential Marcellus-killing ordinance that had been drafted (see Penn Twp Hearing Discusses Marcellus-Killing Ordinance). So at last check, things were not looking too favorable in Penn Township. Then yesterday, Penn Township commissioners voted to approve leasing 29 acres of town land to Huntley & Huntley. Somewhere along the way there’s been a 180 degree turnaround by Penn on the issue of drilling. How much is H&H paying the town in bonus and royalties? We have the details…
    Read More “Penn Twp Reverses Course, Leases Town Land for Marcellus Drilling”

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    Encana Says Montney Gas Can Compete with M-U at Dawn Hub

    Click for larger version

    Canadian driller Encana issued a press release two days ago with a pretty big boast. The release touts Encana’s leased acreage in the Montney Shale basin. Where’s that? It’s located along the border of Canada’s British Columbia and Alberta provinces–not far from the West Coast in the northern reaches of Canada. Encana is claiming they will use cheap pipeline rates now offered by TransCanada to transport up to 316 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) of natural gas to the Dawn Hub in Ontario (our neck of the woods), and do so more cheaply than gas arriving at the Dawn Hub from the Marcellus/Utica. You may recall that TransCanada cooked up a plan to cut the price of transporting gas from Western Canada to Ontario in a bid to compete with cheap Marcellus/Utica gas (see TransCanada Says Plan to Lowball M-U Gas Worked, Shippers Sign Up). Look at the map we’ve provided. TransCanada claims it can make it less expensive to get gas from Western Canada, some 2,400 miles away, than from the Marcellus, just 400 miles away. Encana is the first driller we are aware of it give it a go…
    Read More “Encana Says Montney Gas Can Compete with M-U at Dawn Hub”

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    PA Lib Dem Introducing Bill to “Fix” Strippers Once and for All

    Pam Snyder

    The kerfuffle over strippers in PA continues–stripper wells, that is. In brief, in 2012 Pennsylvania passed the Act 13 law that includes a fee on wells targeting shale layers, including the Marcellus. Snyder Brothers, headquartered in Kittanning, PA, drills mostly conventional (vertical only) wells in southwestern PA. In 2011-2012 they drilled 45 vertical-only wells, but targeting the Marcellus, all of the wells fracked. Initially those wells produced more than 90 Mcf/day, but by December of the year they were drilled, they produced less than 90 Mcf/day. The way the 2012 Act 13 law is written, if a well produces less than 90 Mcf/day during “any” month it is considered a stripper well and exempt from paying the impact fee. The state’s Public Utility Commission (PUC) assessed the fee anyway because for 11 months the wells produced more than 90 Mcf/day. Snyder Bros. sued and after an appeal of the case, Snyder Bros. won their case in March, exempting those wells from paying impact fees (see PA Court Says Snyder Bros Wells are Strippers, No Impact Fees Due). That sent the state Public Utility Commission (PUC) into a tizzy. The PUC, under liberal Democrat chairwoman Gladys Brown, is painting nightmare scenarios where impact fee revenue will be in jeopardy (see PA PUC Wants Act 13 Language Changed to Avoid Stripper Abuse). Brown wants the PA legislature to pass a new law amending the Act 13 law to “clear up” the language to say if a well produces more than 90 Mcf/day in ANY month, it qualifies to pay the impact fee. Brown has found a willing accomplice in PA State Rep. Pam Snyder, liberal Democrat representing Greene, Fayette, and Washington Counties. Snyder issued a press release to say she’s about to introduce a bill that Brown wants…
    Read More “PA Lib Dem Introducing Bill to “Fix” Strippers Once and for All”

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    Gulfport Energy 1Q17 – Production Up 23%, Gas Sold Avg $3.98/Mcf

    Sheesh, it seems like we just got done yesterday with reporting quarterly earnings/operations updates. And here we are again. Like the old Dunkin Donuts commercial where the guy who makes the donuts runs into himself coming and going making the donuts. First out of the gate in the Marcellus/Utica is Gulfport Energy, reporting their first quarter 2017 numbers. And the numbers for Gulfport look pretty darned good–at least operationally. Gulfport didn’t report their financials yesterday. On the operations front, production zoomed up 23% to 849.6 million cubic feet equivalent (MMcfe) per day in 1Q17 vs 1Q16–the vast majority of which came from the Utica Shale. The other interesting news is that Gulfport realized an average sale price of $3.98 per thousand cubic feet (Mcf) for the gas they sold. Below is the update along with a recent PowerPoint slide deck with some great slides…
    Read More “Gulfport Energy 1Q17 – Production Up 23%, Gas Sold Avg $3.98/Mcf”

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    EQT Annual Shareholder Meeting – Timing Investments “Fool’s Game”

    Yeterday EQT Corp., one of the biggest drillers in the Marcellus/Utica, held its annual shareholder meeting in Pittsburgh. The crowd that turned up for the meeting wasn’t much of a crowd. There were more security guards on hand than non-board members in the audience. There were no shareholder resolutions on the table, and therefore no apparent interest. Unlike previous years when (at one meeting) security had to clear the room when it got rowdy. EQT Chairman David Porges took about 10 minutes to address those assembled, followed by newly elevated CEO Steve Schlotterbeck. Perhaps the biggest insight we gained in reading about the meeting is learning about EQT’s philosophy when it comes to investing in new drilling. According to Schlotterbeck, “trying to time the market [with capex spending] is a fool’s game.” And so the company is committed to making a “steady” investment in new drilling. They’ll spend $1.5 billion this year to drill 207 new wells…
    Read More “EQT Annual Shareholder Meeting – Timing Investments “Fool’s Game””

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    Thoroughbred Cabot O&G Ready to Bolt When Pipeline Gate Opens

    Cabot Oil & Gas had the highest production in the county with the highest amount of production (Susquehanna County) in 2016 in Pennsylvania. Cabot had the second highest amount of production (coming from that single county) in PA for all of 2016, not far behind Chesapeake Energy. Last year using their “Gen 4” completions in the Marcellus, Cabot increased estimated ultimate recovery (EUR) rates from 3.8 billion cubic feet (Bcf) per 1,000 feet of lateral well to 4.4 Bcf (see Cabot O&G 2016 – Production Grows from 3.8 to 4.4 Bcf per 1K Feet). Cabot gets double the gas per lateral foot of well than some of its competitors. By all accounts, Cabot is the equivalent of a thoroughbred horse. But the Cabot horse is still penned up at the starting gate, waiting for the gate to open. The gate, in this metaphor, is pipeline projects that will carry some of Cabot’s prolific northeastern PA production to other regions where it can fetch a higher price. According to research analyst Michael Fitzsimmons, writing on the Seeking Alpha investor website, Williams’ Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline “will unlock the cage that has kept Cabot Oil & Gas’ reserves bottled up” by flowing an eye-popping 1 Bcf per day of Cabot natgas south…
    Read More “Thoroughbred Cabot O&G Ready to Bolt When Pipeline Gate Opens”