Energy Companies

Accidents | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Lycoming County | Pennsylvania | XTO

XTO Sues DOJ for Documents Needed in PA Trial over 2010 Spill
January 19, 2016January 19, 2016

Last Thursday XTO Energy sued the U.S. Department of Justice to obtain documents that XTO says may help clear its good name in the vicious (we’d say illegal) criminal lawsuit against it over an accidental spill that happened in Lycoming County, PA in 2010. The DOJ investigated and found XTO did not act criminally and the case was settled. Then, more than three years later, PA’s new Attorney General, Kathleen Kane (now under criminal indictment herself and about to be removed from office) decided she would charge XTO with crimes against the environment–for an accident (see PA AG Abuses Her Authority, Files Criminal Charges Against XTO). Since the feds had already investigated and found no wrongdoing, XTO would like their documents to use in defending themselves in a lawsuit that’s about to begin (see XTO Criminal Trial for Accident Spill in PA Delayed Until 2016). But the feds are dragging their feet and making fishy excuses, like they don’t have enough secretaries to find and copy all of the documents requested. XTO has had to sue the DOJ to force them to go find the documents…
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American Energy Partners | Energy Companies

McClendon Signs Deal with Argentina to Drill in “Dead Cow” Shale
January 15, 2016January 15, 2016

One has to marvel at how Aubrey McClendon has done, and keeps doing it. The “it” being raising money for drilling holes in the ground. McClendon, as we and others have chronicled over the past several years, was unceremoniously dumped as CEO of the company he co-founded, Chesapeake Energy, by corporate raiders Carl Ichan and Mason Hawkins. Chesapeake is still in the crapper, financially, so we see how that’s turned out. McClendon went on to found American Energy Parnters (AEP), raising billions of dollars of investments for various drilling programs, notably in the Utica Shale. McClendon is about to pull another $500 million rabbit out of his hat. McClendon has just inked a deal with Argentina’s YPF SA to drill 20 wells in Argentina’s Vaca Muerta (translated “dead cow”) shale formation, located in the Patagonian Province of Neuquén. Argentina is the biggest shale gas producer outside of the U.S. In order to seal the deal, McClendon has to raise $500M in the next three months. If anyone can do it, Aubrey can!…
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Chesapeake Energy | Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Energy Companies | Range Resources Corp | Southwestern Energy

4 Biggest Marcellus Gas Drillers Cutting Budgets 53% This Year
January 15, 2016January 15, 2016

We spotted a mention of “the four largest U.S. independent gas producers” (meaning natural gas producers) in an article about the challenges drillers are facing in cutting their spending while getting less money for the gas they produce. The article is a somber look at just how hard it is to not spend more than you make, if you’re a gas driller. Oh, and those four largest gas producers in the U.S.? Yep, everyone of them is a major player in the Marcellus/Utica…
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Antero Resources | Energy Companies

Antero Resources 4Q15 Update: NatGas Sales Averaged $4.40/Mcf
January 14, 2016January 14, 2016

Yesterday Antero Resources, one of the biggest drillers in the Marcellus/Utica, filed their fourth quarter 2015 operational update. As in the past they did not disclose their financials–they wait a few more weeks to disclose those numbers. However, as in the past, the operational update is full of great information. Of chief importance (for us) is how much they sell their natural gas for. Because they have such a great hedging program–locking in future sales at a given price–Antero sold their gas for an average of $4.40 per thousand cubic feet (Mcf) during 4Q15–which is an average of $2.13 MORE than gas sold for at the benchmark Henry Hub! Astonishing. Companies can make money selling gas at those prices. Antero reports that although 4Q15 production volumes were 18% higher than 4Q14, the volume was down 1% from the previous quarter, 3Q15. Why? Antero is selectively shutting in production at some locations so they don’t have to sell it at depressed prices at the Dominion South and TETCO M2 trading points. Smart. During 4Q15 Antero drilled and brought online 14 Marcellus wells and 16 Utica wells. Below is the full update they released yesterday, along with a copy of their latest PowerPoint presentation…
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Atlas Energy | Energy Companies

Atlas Energy Subsidiary Threatened with NYSE De-Listing, IPO?!
January 14, 2016January 14, 2016

As we pointed out last week in a post, Atlas Energy (based in Pittsburgh) used to be a major player in the Marcellus but sold off huge holdings in the Marcellus in two different tranches–in a $4.3 billion deal with Chevron in 2011 and in a $7.7 billion deal with Targa Resources in 2014. Atlas still has some holdings in the northeast, but as we previously pointed out, the company with a golden touch seems to have lost that touch. In December the New York Stock Exchange sent Atlas Energy (stock ticker ATLS) a notice that the stock price had fallen so far they are in danger of having it de-listed (see Atlas Energy Luck Run Out? NYSE Threatens Company with De-Listing). We noticed two more stories from yesterday. One story is about a second notice from the NYSE telling Atlas that their subsidiary company Atlas Resource Partners (ticker symbol ARP) is now also in danger of being de-listed. The other story is about yet another Atlas subsidiary company–Atlas Growth Partners–filing a plan with the Securities and Exchange Commission to float an initial public offering (IPO) of 100 million shares of stock, hoping to raise $1 billion! Stock for two parts of the company is threatened with becoming penny stock, and yet they’re offering new stock in essentially the same company hoping to raise another bil. Go figure…
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Chesapeake Energy | Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Devon Energy | Energy Companies | EOG Resources | EQT Corp | Industrywide Issues | Research

Which Marcellus/Utica Drillers are Part of the “Thousand Club”?
January 12, 2016January 12, 2016

It’s difficult to compare apples with apples when it comes to evaluating how productive, or profitable, a hydrocarbon-producing well is. We typically think of wells as “oil wells” or “natural gas wells” or perhaps “wet gas (NGL) wells.” While there are some wells that produce almost all natgas or almost all oil, etc., most wells produce multiple hydrocarbons. Oil wells in the Permian Basin or Eagle Ford Shale (in TX) produce natural gas along with the oil coming out of the well. Many Marcellus and Utica wells in southwestern PA and eastern OH produce very profitable quantities of natural gas liquids, a mish mash of ethane, propane, butane, isobutane, and pentane. And don’t forget condensate (natural gasoline). So how do you compare the relative output/profitability/production for different “types” of wells? One way is to convert all of those hydrocarbons into one hydrocarbon–oil. Specifically, barrels of oil. Once you convert all hydrocarbons into barrels of oil, you have a way to compare apples to apples–comparing wells located in the same shale play or comparing wells from one play with wells from another. Recently the sharp analysts at investment firm Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. ran the numbers to convert and compare wells across different plays. They issued a report showing wells that belong to the “Thousand Club”–wells producing at least 1,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. Where are the most such wells located? The Eagle Ford Shale, the Bakken Shale, and yes, the Marcellus and Utica Shale. Which drillers are in the club?…
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Eclipse Resources | Energy Companies

Is Eclipse’s Move to Curtail Prod. a Preview of Things to Come?
January 12, 2016January 12, 2016

Last week Eclipse Resources, a smaller but important Marcellus/Utica driller with its headquarters in State College, PA, announced it would drill a single well in 2016 and was embarking on a program of choking back production–until prices go back up (see Eclipse Resources Drilling 1 Well in 2016, Restricting Production). That move caught the attention of analysts at investment firm Tudor Pickering Holt & Co. They issued a note saying Eclipse’s move may well be a preview of things to come in the Marcellus/Utica…
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Cunningham Energy | Energy Companies | Kanawha County | West Virginia

Cunningham Using Horizontal Drilling to Target Weir Sand in WV
January 11, 2016October 23, 2017

This story is, for us, fascinating. A small driller based in West Virginia, Cunningham Energy, is zagging while everyone else is zigging. We told you in 2013 that Cunningham planned to drill three “shallow” horizontal wells in Clay County, WV (see The Injuns are Coming! Injun Formation Drilling, that is). Cunningham targeted the Big Injun sandstone formation, looking for oil. They struck oil this past year (see Cunningham Strikes Oil in West Virginia’s Big Injun Territory). Once again Cunningham is targeting a shallow formation, this time the Weir Sand formation, a few layers below the Big Injun (same group of rocks called the Mississippian system), once again looking for oil. Cunningham announced last week they are drilling two new horizontal wells, this time in Kanawha County, WV…
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Energy Companies | Lease & Royalty Payments | Marshall County | Ohio County | Southwestern Energy | West Virginia

Southwestern Energy Renewing Leases in WV, PA
January 8, 2016January 8, 2016

Tick tock tick tock. Every day that passes brings landowners and drillers closer to the end of an initial five-year lease contract. In October 2014, Southwestern Energy purchased a humongous 413,000 acres of leases from Chesapeake Energy, most of that land in West Virginia (see Chesapeake Sells Close to 25% of Marcellus/Utica Operation). Southwestern paid over $5 billion for the deal. That leased acreage came with an expiration–which is happening now, at least for some (most?) of the acreage. Every lease is different. Some leases allow the driller to pay the same (or a different) renewal payment to keep the lease going for another period of time, typically another five years. The $5 billion question is, what will Southwestern do? Everyone is scaling back right now. Companies just can’t afford to do much drilling. Will Southwestern opt to renew those leases that they paid big bucks for? It seems we have an answer to that question. A WV newspaper is reporting that Southwestern has begun extending leases in Ohio and Marshall counties…
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CNG/LNG | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Regulation | Repsol | Spectra Energy

Repsol Not Happy with Spectra’s Atlantic Bridge, Pipeline Reversal
January 8, 2016January 8, 2016

A number of Canadian LNG export facilities being planned for eastern Canada are dependent on obtaining cheap, abundant Marcellus and Utica Shale gas from the U.S. Today we highlight news of a new (to us) entrant into the LNG race, AC LNG (see our companion story). How will Marcellus and Utica Shale gas get to the northern reaches of Canada? Via the Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline LLP (M&NE), a pipeline that stretches from the Boston area all the way to the northern reaches of Nova Scotia. Historically the M&NE pipeline has brought natural gas south, from Canada to the U.S. One of the sources of the gas traveling south on the M&NE is the Canaport LNG facility in New Brunswick–which imports LNG and regassifies it and sends it out over the M&NE. Repsol, a huge Spanish oil company, is the owner of the Canaport facility. So it’s no surprise that Repsol is sounding the alarm and asking the question: What happens to the gas we send south if M&NE reverses its flow and begins sending gas north?…
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Energy Companies | Noble Energy

Noble Energy Refinances $1.4B of Notes, Gets “Flexibile”
January 8, 2016January 8, 2016

Noble Energy says it got a $1.4 billion bump up in its line of credit. That’s on top of a $4 billion line of credit. Noble is also offering to swap out old IOUs for new ones. All of these financial machinations mean the company now has “enhanced financial flexibility” according to their press release…
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Allegheny County | CNX Resources | CONSOL Energy | Energy Companies | Pennsylvania | Utica Shale

CONSOL Pursues Drilling Test Utica Well at Pittsburgh Airport
January 7, 2016January 7, 2016

Sometimes when we’re wrong, we’re still right! Last June MDN reported that CONSOL Energy, currently in the process of drilling a series of Marcellus and Upper Devonian shale wells at the Pittsburgh International Airport, was mulling over the possibility of drilling a single test Utica well at the airport (see CONSOL Energy May Add More Utica Wells to Pitt. Airport Project). Our error was in reporting CONSOL had already received a permit to drill a Utica well–they had not. However, CONSOL has just received permission from local town officials to swap out one of the planned Marcellus wells with a Utica well…
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CNX Resources | CONSOL Energy | Energy Companies

CONSOL Energy Slashes 2016 Drilling Budget 50% from Previous Plan
January 7, 2016January 7, 2016

There’s just no ignoring the fact that most (many? all?) Marcellus/Utica drillers are pulling in their horns for 2016 and, as things stand right now, will drill far less this year than they did last. Take CONSOL Energy as an example. Yesterday CONSOL issued a revised 2016 capital budget and operational forecast (full copy below). CONSOL has decided to spend even less on drilling in 2016 than previously announced. CONSOL spent $1.3 billion on drilling in 2014, $1 billion last year, and was planning “$400-$500 million” this year. Now? That number has crumbled to $205-$325 million. You don’t drill many wells with $200 million. CONSOL’s update says the company plans to spend $110-$210 million on drilling and completing wells, with an emphasis on completing already-drilled wells. Of note and interest is the increasing number of Utica wells that are in the CONSOL portfolio. Even though CONSOL will drill and complete far fewer wells than previous years, they still expect production to increase by 15%…
Read More “CONSOL Energy Slashes 2016 Drilling Budget 50% from Previous Plan”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Companies | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | New York | Shell | Steuben County

NY Town Barred from Selling Water to Shell for PA Fracking
January 7, 2016January 7, 2016

In March 2012, the village board in Painted Post (Steuben County), NY voted to sell water to Shell for use in fracking operations across the border in Pennsylvania. The Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC) gave its blessing to Painted Post to sell up to 1 million gallons of water day. But the decision didn’t sit well with power-hungry anti-drillers. The nutters from the radical Sierra Club sued to stop the deal in June 2012 (see Sierra Club Sues to Stop Water Sales in Steuben County, NY). A lower court ruled in favor of the radicals and struck down the deal. On appeal, a corrupt state appellate court has upheld the lower court’s ruling. Shell will have to find water from another source–not that they’re drilling any wells right now anyway…
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CNX Resources | CONSOL Energy | Energy Companies

Corporate Raider Mason Hawkins Now Owns 23.1% of CONSOL Energy
January 7, 2016January 7, 2016

There’s little doubt about who now is, or soon will be, calling the shots at CONSOL Energy: corporate raider Mason Hawkins. Hawkins, along with corporate raider buddy Carl Icahn, is responsible for firing Aubrey McClendon from the company he co-founded (Chesapeake Energy) and further firing some 2,000 or more Chesapeake employees–all in a bid to put more money in his pocket. Hawkins and Icahn control Chesapeake by owning a combined 20% or so of the company’s outstanding shares of stock. In February 2015, MDN shared the disturbing news that Hawkins and his Southeastern Asset Management had amassed 14% of CONSOL’s outstanding shares of stock (see Corporate Raider Mason Hawkins Holds 14% of CONSOL Energy Stock). By July that number ballooned to 21% and Hawkins was throwing his weight (and money) around (see CONSOL’s #1 Stockholder Says Spin Off CNX Gas…or Sell It). Now? We spotted a notice that Southeastern Asset Management’s stake in CONSOL has grown to 23.1% of the company’s outstanding shares. Which means Hawkins can have his way with the company…
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Energy Companies | Southwestern Energy

Southwestern Energy Gets New CEO – What’s Ahead for 2016?
January 7, 2016January 7, 2016

Southwestern Energy CEO Steve Mueller is stepping down (or is it up) from his position as CEO. Mueller will remain on the board of directors as non-executive chairman. In his place, Southwestern’s current president, Bill Way, will take on the added title and responsibility of CEO. Southwestern is one of the biggest, and most important, drillers in the Marcellus/Utica. When there’s a change in leadership, it has the potential to impact company strategy. So we’re always interested when changes of this type come along. It was just two years ago that Steve Mueller stepped down as president but retained his title of CEO and was appointed to succeed the outgoing chairman of the board (see Southwestern Energy’s Board Changes, Marcellus Plans for 2014). The company has been on a mission to expand its Marcellus/Utica footprint ever since. In October 2014 Southwestern announced a deal to buy 413,000 Marcellus/Utica acres from Chesapeake Energy, most of it in West Virginia, along with 435 drilled wells in a deal costing the company $5.375 billion (see Chesapeake Sells Close to 25% of Marcellus/Utica Operation). Then in December 2014, Southwestern bought 46,700 net acres of leases and 63 operating Marcellus Shale wells in northeastern PA from WPX for $300 million (see First Shoe Drops: WPX Sells 1/2 Marcellus Assets to Southwestern). When everyone else was slowing down, Southwestern was doubling down on their drilling program (see Southwestern’s Contrarian Plan: Double Down on Drilling in the Marcellus). The question now is, what’s ahead for 2016 with Bill Way at the helm?…
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