Antero Resources 3Q15: Bucks the Trend, $237M in the Black!
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)…
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Along with releasing their third quarter financial update yesterday, Antero 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 (big) Antero 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…
It’s obvious that Hess has pretty much given up on its Utica Shale drilling program. Just last week we told you that Hess is shopping the rest of its remaining Utica acreage (see 
EdgeMarc Energy is a small driller headquartered in the Pittsburgh area, formed in 2012. The company has leased 50,000 acres in the Marcellus and Utica Shales. On Monday EdgeMarc issued a press release to announce they’ve attracted a new investor–the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan–which has promised the company up to $300 million in cash in return for part ownership (called an “equity commitment”). The announcement also says EdgeMarc currently drills and produces natural gas in Monroe and Washington counties in Ohio, and Butler County in Pennsylvania. In checking the latest issue of our 
EXCO Resources is an exploration and production company operating in East Texas/North Louisiana (the Haynesville Shale), South Texas (the Eagle Ford Shale), and in the Marcellus Shale region–in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. EXCO has a sizable Marcellus presence with 145,000 net acres in the Marcellus and having drilled and operating 124 horizontal Marcellus wells. EXCO is also a company in trouble. Their stock price has gone so low the New York Stock Exchange is threatening to de-list them (see 
CONSOL Energy released their third quarter 2015 financial and operating results today. Among the highlights: After adjusting for “certain unusual items,” CONSOL “only” lost $64 million in 3Q15. Natural gas production was up 33% over the same period last year. But because the price of natural gas has been hammered so hard, CONSOL’s natgas revenue for the quarter was down $56 million over the same period last year. Below are select sections of update, including information about CONSOL’s first dry Utica well in Westmoreland County, PA…
Although headquartered in Radnor, Pennsylvania (near Philadelphia), Penn Virginia Corporation is an oil and gas driller with only a small presence in the Marcellus Shale: 21,700 net acres with no drilled wells. They concentrate on oil drilling the Texas Eagle Ford Shale play. MDN told you in March that Penn Virginia’s top stockholder, the vile corporate raider George Soros, forced them to put themselves up for sale so George can line his pockets with more cash (see 
Although Chesapeake Energy under Doug “the ax” Lawler has sold off everything but the kitchen sink (see 
We always thought Aubrey McClendon could sell snow to Eskimos–as the now-politically incorrect but old saying goes. Aubrey can charm money out of your grandmother. At last check more than a year ago he’d raised $8.7 billion of OPM–other people’s money–for use in his aggressive drilling ventures (see 
In addition to releasing their third quarter 2015 results yesterday, the top brass from EQT also held an analyst phone call. On that call we got updated details from EQT’s president of exploration and production, Steven Schlotterbeck, about the single highest initial-producing Utica Shale well ever drilled, EQT’s Scotts Run 591340. We also heard from Steve about two more Utica wells they’re currently drilling–one in Greene County, PA (about five miles from the Scott’s Run well), and one in Wetzel County, WV. But the big news from yesterday’s call came from EQT CEO David Porges. He said EQT has decided to suspend drilling in central PA and in the Upper Devonian–anyplace outside of their “core” Utica locations. Essentially, EQT is giving up on the Marcellus (for now) and going after the Utica instead. This is certainly big news and affects landowners in Marcellus-only areas–pretty much any place outside of southwest PA and the northern panhandle of WV. Porges says IF the Utica pans out as expected, it will be bigger than the Marcellus production-wise over time. EQT’s current thinking is that they will trim their drilling program to concentrate on drilling 10-15 Utica wells in 2016…
Yesterday Southwestern Energy Company, one of the the major players in the Marcellus Shale, posted its third quarter 2015 earnings and operational update. In many ways Southwestern is one of the most exciting companies drilling in the northeast. A year ago Southwestern purchased 413,000 acres and 435 operating and non-operating wells from Chesapeake Energy in the southwestern portion of the Marcellus for $5.4 billion (see 
Cabot Oil & Gas, one of the best-performing Marcellus Shale drillers in the entire play, issued their third quarter 2015 update today. They did pretty well all things considered. The company reports a slight increase in production of 7% year over year. However, the even the mighty Cabot can’t overcome wicked low prices for natural gas in northeastern Pennsylvania–the lowest in the country. Cabot made just over $100 million in profit in 3Q14. This year? They lost $15 million–which ain’t all that shabby compared to just about every other driller in the northeast. By comparison Southwestern, with more acreage and a larger drilling program, lost $1.8 billion in 3Q15. Yikes! Here’s the update issued today by Cabot…
EQT published their third quarter 2015 financials and operating update yesterday. Like Southwestern and other Marcellus/Utica drillers releasing their updates, EQT shows good news, like an increase in production (27% higher in 3Q15 than in 3Q14). However, there’s also the bad news: EQT got 55% less money for their gas in 3Q15 than they did a year ago. Consequently it shows up in the bottom line. In 3Q14 EQT had a $77 million profit, in 3Q15 they had a $50 million loss. Here’s the full update with select financials…
Not long after she took office, Pennsylvania’s Democrat Attorney General, Kathleen Kane, brought criminal charges against XTO Energy for an accidental spill in Lycoming County, PA that happened two years before she was in office (see 
In August MDN brought you the news that Antero Resources has decided to build a new state-of-the-art frack wastewater treatment plant in Doddridge County, WV for $275 million (see