Energy Companies

Energy Companies | Range Resources Corp | Statewide VA | Virginia

Range Sells Coal Bed Methane Wells in VA, Focusing on Marcellus
November 4, 2015November 4, 2015

Range Resources announced yesterday they are selling off 3,500 operated wells and approximately 460,000 net acres in the Nora/Haysi combined fields located in southwestern Virginia for $876 million to an unnamed buyer. The reason for the sale? Range is using the money to reduce debt and further concentrate on the “core” of their operations in the Marcellus/Utica. Range’s Nora/Haysi wells are coal bed methane wells. Drilling coal bed methane is akin to conventional drilling. All 3,500 of those wells produce an average of 109 million cubic feet per day (Mmcf/d) of natural gas. By comparison, using a very low number of 5 Mmcf/d for an average Marcellus well, it only takes 22 Marcellus wells to equal those 3,500 coal bed methane wells. Behold the power of fracking. Here’s what Range said yesterday about the sale…
Read More “Range Sells Coal Bed Methane Wells in VA, Focusing on Marcellus”
Blue Ridge Mtn Res/Magnum Hunter | Energy Companies

Magnum Hunter’s Latest Woes: More Investor Unrest, $29M Payment Due
November 4, 2015November 4, 2015

MDN has recounted numerous Magnum Hunter Resources (MHR) woes, including a threat to de-list their stock on the New York Stock Exchange (see Magnum Hunter Stock Avg Falls Below $1, Receives NYSE Warning), the threat of a takeover by a plucky young investor who owns 5% of the company (see Activist Investor Threatens Magnum Hunter with Takeover Unless…), and rumors the company may be preparing to file for bankruptcy protection (see Magnum Hunter: Preparing to Sell, or Filing for Bankruptcy?). A few new woes to add to the list: Another investor is threatening to form a coalition to “protect our interests” (i.e. force MHR to sell), and MHR needs to make a $29 million interest payment on bonds, due Nov. 15. The bondholders have hired lawyers in anticipation they may not get paid…
Read More “Magnum Hunter’s Latest Woes: More Investor Unrest, $29M Payment Due”
CONSOL Energy | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Noble Energy | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Regulation | Statewide PA | Wastewater

PA Allows Wastewater Pipelines to be Buried – With No Regulations
November 4, 2015November 4, 2015

A last minute change made to proposed new drilling regulations in Pennsylvania will mean (if adopted) that drillers can bury wastewater pipelines instead of being required to run them on top of the ground. Companies typically use pipelines in areas where it would be disruptive to have multiple truck trips in and out of an area. They’re also used to lower the cost of transporting wastewater (cheaper through a pipeline than by tanker truck). The change came after a letter-writing campaign launched by CONSOL Energy and their joint venture partner Noble Energy. But there’s a bit of controversy over the new standard that permits lines to be buried: the buried wastewater lines aren’t regulated. Not yet anyway…
Read More “PA Allows Wastewater Pipelines to be Buried – With No Regulations”
CONSOL Energy | Energy Companies

CONSOL Board Member Snaps Up $70K of Company Stock
November 4, 2015November 4, 2015

From time to time we highlight “insider buying” and “insider selling”–when top management either buys or sells their own company’s stock. Here’s one we’ve not seen before: A member of the board of directors for CONSOL Energy, Alvin R. Carpenter, has just bought himself 10,000 shares of CONSOL stock for $70,400. What does Carpenter know about CONSOL that we don’t? That’s the question that always runs through our heads when we read about these transactions. Here’s the low-down on Mr. Carpenter…
Read More “CONSOL Board Member Snaps Up $70K of Company Stock”
Energy Companies | Marshall County | Noble Energy | Utica Shale | West Virginia

Noble Energy 3Q15: Marcellus Prod. Up 50%, 1st Utica Well Drilled
November 3, 2015November 3, 2015

Noble Energy is a global driller involved in a number of shale plays in the U.S. including the DJ Basin, Eagle Ford Shale, Delaware Basin and Marcellus Shale. Noble idled the last remaining drilling rig they were operating in the Marcellus in September (see Noble Energy to Idle Remaining Marcellus Rig Next Month). Even so, they had a banner third quarter in the Marcellus. Noble issued their third quarter update yesterday and although the section on their Marcellus operations is brief (read it all below), it packs a punch. Even with reducing rigs to zero, Noble completed and brought online their first Utica Shale well (in Marshall County, WV). Noble’s production volumes in the Marcellus in 3Q15 rocketed to 493 million cubic feet of natural gas equivalent per day (MMcfe/d), more than a 50% increase over 3Q14 numbers. But wait, there’s more!…
Read More “Noble Energy 3Q15: Marcellus Prod. Up 50%, 1st Utica Well Drilled”
Energy Companies | Statewide WV | Stone Energy | West Virginia

Stone Energy 3Q15: Shut Down 110 Mmcfe/d of Marcellus Production
November 3, 2015November 3, 2015

Stone Energy, an independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company (E&P) headquartered in Lafayette, Louisiana drills mainly in the Gulf of Mexico but also has a presence in the Marcellus/Utica Shale. Earlier this year the company released the one active Marcellus rig they were running and said they would not resume drilling in the northeast until receiving a hybrid rig in late 2015/early 2016 that can drill both Marcellus and Utica wells (see Stone Energy 1Q15: No New Marcellus Drilling, But More Production). In September Stone said they were shutting in most of their production in the Marcellus/Utica (see Stone Energy Shuts in Most of their WV NatGas Production). And indeed they did. Yesterday Stone released their third quarter 2015 update and it shows the company turned off the spigots in their northeast operations, cutting out all 100-110 million cubic feet equivalent per day (Mmcfe/d) of production in what they call their Mary field. The company continued to produce 20-25 Mmcfe/d from their Heather and Buddy fields (in the Marcellus). Here’s the latest update from Stone Energy…
Read More “Stone Energy 3Q15: Shut Down 110 Mmcfe/d of Marcellus Production”
Energy Companies | Rex Energy

Rex Energy 3Q15: Production Up 14% from 3Q14, Down 6% from 2Q15
November 3, 2015November 3, 2015

Rex Energy, a pure play driller focused totally on the Marcellus/Utica, released their third quarter production and price realizations update yesterday. It is a short update (below) that does not include Rex’s financials. We’ve seen this with a few companies–they release what is typically the “good news” first and then the other shoe drops a few weeks later. So we’ll keep a sharp eye out for Rex’s financial update when that gets published. In the meantime, Rex’s production in 3Q15 was up 14% from 3Q14, but down slightly–6%–from 2Q15 (last quarter). Rex explains why…
Read More “Rex Energy 3Q15: Production Up 14% from 3Q14, Down 6% from 2Q15”
BP | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Research | Reserves (Proved and Unproved)

New BP Technology Report Predicts O&G Supplies will Double by 2050
November 3, 2015November 3, 2015

Peak Oil theorists like Art Berman won’t be happy with the latest report just published by oil giant BP. BP and other large energy companies publish annual energy outlook studies that we’ve highlighted in the past (see BP’s Annual Energy Report: Smallest Demand Increase since 1990s). For the first ever, BP has just published a report called the BP Technology Outlook (full copy below) that reveals much of their internal research on new technologies that will keep energy supplies plentiful and affordable, “enough to meet projected demand many times over” according to the study’s authors. While BP pays much lip service to so-called renewable sources of energy in this new study, here’s the part that will give Berman and other Peak Oil fanatics heartburn: “applying today’s best technologies to discover oil and gas resources could significantly increase ‘proved reserves’ from 2.9 trillion barrels of oil equivalent to 4.8 trillion barrels – nearly double the 2.5 trillion barrels required to meet projected cumulative global demand through to 2050.” Did you catch that? New tech available today can and will double the amount of recoverable oil and gas. So much for Peak Oil and Gas! We’re awash in it and will remain so for generations…
Read More “New BP Technology Report Predicts O&G Supplies will Double by 2050”
Chesapeake Energy | Columbiana County | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Lease & Royalty Payments | Litigation | Ohio | Statewide OH

OH Landowners File Royalty Class Action Lawsuit Against Chesapeake
November 2, 2015November 2, 2015

A group of Ohio landowners is doing what others have previously done in Pennsylvania, Texas and elsewhere–they’ve filed a proposed class action lawsuit against Chesapeake Energy claiming Chessy has screwed them and about 1,000 other Ohio landowners out of a collective $30 million in royalty payments. The lawsuit was filed last Monday in Columbiana County Common Pleas Court (copy embedded below) by an Akron, OH woman and the owners of two Columbiana County farms. In addition to Chesapeake, French company Total E&P USA, Pelican Energy LLC and Jamestown Resources LLC were also named in the lawsuit. The plaintiffs claim the only allowed deduction from royalties, according to signed leases, is for taxes–not for drilling expenses, not for post-production costs, etc. The lawyers filing the lawsuit figure there are at least 1,000 landowners with 40,000 acres who have been negatively affected by Chesapeake’s royalty shenanigans…
Read More “OH Landowners File Royalty Class Action Lawsuit Against Chesapeake”
Energy Companies | Range Resources Corp

Range Says Forget Utica, Our Focus “Totally on the Marcellus”
October 30, 2015October 30, 2015

Yesterday we brought you Range Resources’ third quarter update (see Range Resources 3Q15: Marcellus Prod Up 27%, but $301M Net Loss) and Range’s newly revised PowerPoint slide deck (see Range Resources Oct 2015 Investor Slide Presentation, Our Favs). As is typical, the top brass from the company, including CEO Jeff Ventura, held a quarterly analyst/investor phone call to go along with the release of the quarterly update. These phone calls are often treasure troves of additional information–and yesterday’s call was one of the richest troves we’ve seen in a while. What we learned from that call is this: Although early Utica Shale results in southwestern PA have turned the head for some companies, like EQT, who is refocusing on the Utica for 2016 (see EQT Dumps Marcellus Drilling, Concentrates on the Utica in 2016), it’s just the opposite for Range. Jeff Ventura said yesterday that while his company is interested and still testing their first three Utica wells, Range will focus exclusively on the Marcellus in 2016 as being the best/most productive option for them. We find it fascinating when two heavy weights like EQT and Range come to opposite conclusions…
Read More “Range Says Forget Utica, Our Focus “Totally on the Marcellus””
Energy Companies | EXCO Resources

EXCO’s Top Mgmt Talks About Shutting in Production in Marcellus
October 30, 2015October 30, 2015

Earlier this week MDN brought you EXCO Resources’ third quarter update, with the news that they have a “strategic plan” to turn things around at the troubled company (see EXCO Resources 3Q15: $42M Loss, Plan to Turn Things Around). EXCO has a sizable Marcellus presence with 145,000 net acres in the Marcellus and having drilled and operating 124 horizontal Marcellus wells. However, with natgas prices in the northeast the lowest in the country, EXCO is not drilling any new Marcellus wells save one appraisal well earlier this year. On Wednesday EXCO’s top management hosted a quarterly earnings call with analysts. We went fishing through the call transcript to find references to the Marcellus/Utica–to see if there was anything new in their thinking about the northeast. Here’s what we found…
Read More “EXCO’s Top Mgmt Talks About Shutting in Production in Marcellus”
Chesapeake Energy | Commodity Price | Crude Oil | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues

Chesapeake’s Doug Lawler Talks About ‘Frightening’ NatGas Prices
October 29, 2015October 29, 2015

Doug “the ax” Lawler, CEO of Chesapeake Energy, was the keynote speaker on Tuesday at the Louisiana Gulf Coast Oil Exposition (LAGCOE). Lawler became CEO after corporate raiders Mason Hawkins and Carl Icahn, the two biggest investors in Chesapeake, forced Aubrey McClendon out–out of the company he co-founded. That’s what happens when you take other people’s money. You lose control. Lawler embarked on massive layoffs and selling everything but the kitchen sink. How’s it worked out? Lawler claims the company now has $1.5 billion in cash, giving them some breathing room. Lawler had some very interesting comments at LAGCOE on the price of natural gas–where he sees it going over the next five years, and at what price his company (and other companies) can’t make money. Lawler also talked about the price of oil, oil production and Saudi Arabia’s rather bizarre behavior with respect to oil production…
Read More “Chesapeake’s Doug Lawler Talks About ‘Frightening’ NatGas Prices”
Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Susquehanna County | UGI Energy Services | Wyoming County (PA)

UGI Completes Auburn Loop Pipeline in NEPA, Benefits Cabot O&G
October 29, 2015October 29, 2015

Way back in May 2014 MDN told you that UGI Energy Services, a subsidiary of UGI (a utility company in northeast PA) would build two new pipelines in northeast PA for $80 million that will allow them to transport cheap, abundant, locally extracted natural gas from Cabot Oil & Gas in Susquehanna County to residents in the greater Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area (see UGI Energy Building 2 New Pipelines in NEPA for Cabot O&G). One of those two projects was completed last November (see UGI Turns on New Pipeline for Cabot in NEPA). Earlier this week UGI completed the second project, called the Auburn Loop–9 miles of new pipeline that parallels existing pipeline and, along with compressor upgrades, allows UGI to pump an additional 270 million cubic feet per day (Mmcf/d) of Marcellus Shale gas from Susquehanna County, PA to the Scranton area…
Read More “UGI Completes Auburn Loop Pipeline in NEPA, Benefits Cabot O&G”
Energy Companies | Range Resources Corp

Range Resources 3Q15: Marcellus Prod Up 27%, but $301M Net Loss
October 29, 2015October 29, 2015

Range Resources, the driller that started it all in the Marcellus when they drilled the very first Marcellus Shale well in 2004, released their third quarter 2015 update yesterday. There is a LOT in this very readable and informative update. For example: Marcellus production volumes averaged 1.3 billion cubic feet equivalent per day (Bcfe/d) in 3Q15, an increase of 27% over 3Q14. During the quarter Range brought online their second Utica well drilled in Washington County, PA–the Claysville Sportsman’s Unit 9H. By all accounts Range expects it will be even more productive than the first Utica well they drilled (also in Washington County). A third Utica well is being drilled now and will be completed in early 2016. Range drilled a total of 25 wells in 3Q15, and brought 31 wells online. They are on target to spend $870 million on drilling in 2015–most of it in the Marcellus/Utica. Range reports the Mariner East 1 pipeline will be, according to Sunoco Logistics, fully operational by the end of the year–with ethane beginning to flow “within the next month.” Costs are down and Range gets more than many others for the gas and NGLs they sell. But amidst all of the good news, you can’t miss the fact that they lost $301 million in 3Q15…
Read More “Range Resources 3Q15: Marcellus Prod Up 27%, but $301M Net Loss”
Energy Companies | Range Resources Corp

Range Resources Oct 2015 Investor Slide Presentation, Our Favs
October 29, 2015October 29, 2015

Along with releasing their third quarter update yesterday, Range Resources also released an updated investor PowerPoint presentation. There’s a lot of interesting slides in the deck, and we didn’t want it to get lost with the other Range news in their update, so we’re bringing you this second, separate post. Below we have the presentation embedded, along with a listing of our favorite slides and brief description of what they show/why the slides are notable…
Read More “Range Resources Oct 2015 Investor Slide Presentation, Our Favs”
Antero Resources | Energy Companies

Antero Resources 3Q15: Bucks the Trend, $237M in the Black!
October 29, 2015October 29, 2015

Antero Resources, perhaps the largest driller completely focused on the Marcellus/Utica (by acreage), is also one of the few drillers that separates their operational updates from financial updates. Two weeks ago Antero published their third quarter 2015 operational update–the “good news” if you will (see Antero 3Q15 Operational Update: Production Up 39%, Gets $3.99/Mcf). There was, justifiably, plenty to crow about in their operational update. With yesterday’s financial update, this is normally where you might expect to the see “the bad news.” So far every driller we’ve covered lost money in 3Q15. But not, it seems, Antero! They made money in 3Q15. If we’re reading the financials correctly, it looks to us like Antero’s net revenue was $237 million in 3Q15. While net revenue is down slightly from 3Q14, Antero stayed in the black, which is no small feat. How did they do it? Some of it may be accounting maneuvers–selling their water business to their midstream subsidiary for $794 million. However, it appears Antero’s ace in the hole was their ability to hedge and get more money for their gas than others (an average of $3.99/Mcf). Antero’s production increased dramatically in 3Q15 over the previous year–up 39%. And they got more money for their gas. And they didn’t spend as much money in 3Q15, scaling back on their drilling budget. Combine it all together and it’s big news indeed that Antero did well financially in 3Q15. Perhaps the only dark cloud (a seriously dark cloud) is that the company continues to swim in debt. Antero’s debt increased from $4 billion to $4.5 billion in 3Q15 (the company’s stock is only worth $5.7 billion)…
Read More “Antero Resources 3Q15: Bucks the Trend, $237M in the Black!”