Halcon Resources Announces 1-for-5 Stock Split to Avoid De-Listing
Halcon Resources is a driller that “guessed wrong” by leasing 140,000 Utica Shale acres in the northern part of the play and currently doesn’t drill in any of that acreage. Halcon is one of the one of eight Marcellus/Utica companies on David Fessler’s “Oil Company Death List” (see 19 Oil/Gas Companies on “Death List” – 8 are in Marcellus/Utica). As an interesting aside, the “Death List” also includes Marcellus/Utica driller Magnum Hunter, a company filing for bankruptcy earlier this week (see Sad Day: Magnum Hunter Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy). In August Halcon refinanced $1 billion worth of outstanding IOUs with a third lien, paying a 13% interest rate on debts that had been 8.875% to 9.75%, and in November Halcon offered second liens for certain other IOUs, offering a new interest rate of 12% for debts that previously had rates of 8.875% to 9.75%. Halcon’s latest move came yesterday when the company announced a reverse stock split in which they will combine five shares into one share effective Jan. 5. What’s a reverse split and what does it mean?…
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Hilcorp Energy, owned by billionaire Jeffery Hildebrand and founded in 1989, is one of the largest privately-held oil and natural gas exploration and production companies in the United States. Hilcorp is the largest oil producer in Louisiana. The company operates along the Gulf Coast of Texas and Louisiana, in Alaska and in the Marcellus/Utica Shale–in eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania. Hilcorp is an important driller in our neck of the woods. The company is headquartered in Houston, TX and employs over 1,350 employees. Since the company is privately held and no one really knows much about its ownership, most people believe Hildebrand keeps all of the company’s stock for himself. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t reward his employees. During one of the worst downturns in the industry in a generation (2015), Hildebrand is handing out a $100,000 bonus to each employee this Christmas. Talk about generous! Holy smokes. No wonder Hildebrand’s employees are some of the most loyal and hardworking in the business…
Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane, who has been indicted on numerous felony charges and likely to be forced from office any day now, filed a lawsuit yesterday against Chesapeake Energy in Bradford County Court over the issue of shorting landowners out of royalties. What every story we’ve seen (thus far) misses is this: The lawsuit also names Williams as participating in the scheme to defraud landowners out of royalty payments. So this is not just a Chesapeake story, it’s a Williams story too. Landowner groups are “hailing” the decision, jumping up and down with glee. Let us throw a little cold water on your face. Note to landowners and the groups that represent them: When you (metaphorically) crawl into bed with Kathleen Kane, you’re crawling into bed with a rattlesnake. Sooner or later she’s going to turn on you too. Mark it down. It’s in her nature. With that disclaimer in place, we’ll break down the news for you, and show you a copy of the lawsuit Kane’s office filed yesterday…
It’s not often we have the pleasure of announcing the birth of a new company–in particular a new drilling company in the Marcellus/Utica in what has to be the worst economic conditions in a generation in the industry. But, pop the cork on the champagne and break out the cigars! A group of former EQT executives have just launched LOLA Energy with a $250 million investment from private equity firm Denham Capital. The new company is headquartered in Wexford (Pittsburgh area), PA and has already begun leasing land in the Marcellus/Utica. Company execs say they expect to create 10 to 20 new jobs in the Pittsburgh area over the next year. LOLA’s CEO is Jim Crockard, former senior vice president in charge of production for EQT. The strategy of the fledgling company is to pick up good properties cast off by other drillers because there’s not enough money (or enough profit) to drill in this low price environment…