Gastar Puts All Marcellus/Utica Assets (Leases/Wells) Up for Sale
What a difference a few months, or even a week, can make. In August, Gastar Exploration, which owns roughly 60,000 acres of leases in the Marcellus/Utica mostly in Marshall and Wetzel counties in West Virginia, was talking up their drilling program in the northeast (see Earnings Call Reveals More Details on Gastar’s Marcellus/Utica Plans). Just last week we reported on Gastar CEO Russ Porter’s talk at OGIS in San Francisco about the Marcellus/Utica and what’s ahead for his company (see Gastar CEO Porter Talks about Marcellus/Utica at San Fran Conf). Lately it seems like Gastar, which also drills in the Mid-Continent region of the country, has been giving a little more love to Mid-Continent area because gas prices in the northeast remain stubbornly low. Looks like the Mid-Continent is about to get all of Gastar’s love. The company announced yesterday they’ve put all of their Marcellus/Utica assets up for sale, including leases and drilled/producing wells…
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An expert speaking at the Utica Summit III yesterday in Stark, OH said he believes the Marcellus/Utica region will see three, possibly four, ethane crackers built. Tom Gellrich of consulting firm TopLine Analytics, a company that “closely follows ethane markets,” said he thinks the first ethane cracker to get built will be the Shell cracker plant in Beaver County, PA…
Stone Energy is one of the smaller drillers in the Marcellus/Utica, drilling 38 wells in the Marcellus and a single Utica test well in 2014. Early in 2015 Stone said they wouldn’t be drilling any new Marcellus/Utica wells beyond the first quarter (see 
In April 2013 MDN reported on the tragic death of 56-year-old Bruce Phipps from Marietta, OH who was working at a Eureka Hunter “pig” (Pipeline Inspection Gauge) receiving station near near Wick (Tyler County), WV (see 
The last vestiges of the Aubrey McClendon era at Chesapeake have now been swept away. In June 2012, Aubrey was demoted from his position as chairman of the board of directors. Archie Dunham, the retired chairman of ConocoPhillips, was tapped to replace him and help the company navigate the transition from dumping McClendon (see 
Today Antero Resources became the first major Marcellus/Utica driller to issue their third quarter 2015 update. The company reports a 39% increase in production over the same quarter last year, and a 1% increase from 2Q15. They must have some sharp financial types at Antero because the average price they received for their natural gas was $3.99 per thousand cubic feet (Mcf) in 3Q15, which is $1.22 higher than gas sold for in the NYMEX futures market. What that means is that they’re really good at hedging and using complicated financial instruments called derivatives in order to get a higher price for their gas than many others get. Good for them! However, not part of the update released today are Antero’s income statement and balance sheet–which will show the true financial condition of the company. They’re holding that back until the quarterly analyst phone call on Oct. 28. Here’s the operational report they filed today, with details about their Marcellus and Utica operations. We also spotted a new 10-year agreement to LNG to Chubu Electric via the Freeport (TX) LNG terminal…
Antero Resources’ chief administrative officer, Al Schopp, shared an update on Antero’s activity in WV at the West Virginia Oil and Natural Gas Association’s annual meeting two weeks ago at Oglebay Resort. Schoop’s update was enlightening. Although Antero has cut back from running 15 drilling rigs in WV last year to only 6 this year (due to the low price of natural gas), they remain active and employ 2,000 people in the state–that’s LOCAL people. Since 2009 Antero has spent nearly $5 billion (!) in WV. Some of that money–$500 million–was spent to create a pipeline system to deliver water to drill pads so they don’t have to clog narrow mountain roads with thousands of truck trips. The company spends $20 million a year to employ safety consultants at every major Antero construction, drilling and fracking operation 24/7/365. How long does Antero plan to be a major presence in the Mountain State, and what’s ahead in the near-term? Read on…
We continue to bring you news about what may seem to be esoteric and perhaps not relevant for most MDN readers–but we think it is important. Yesterday we told you about an increase in “short selling” of Gastar Exploration’s stock (see 
Sure looks to us like time has finally run out for Marcellus/Utica driller Magnum Hunter Resources (MHR). The company is now either shopping itself looking for a buyer, or preparing to file for bankruptcy. Our evidence? On Friday, MHR suspended monthly dividend payments on their stock and hired financial advisory firm PJT Partners and law firm Kirkland & Ellis to advise MHR’s board of directors “regarding potential strategic alternatives to enhance liquidity and address the Company’s current capital structure.” According to one analyst we’ve read, addressing a company’s capital structure is coded language for “we’re about to file for bankruptcy protection.” Here’s MHR’s recent history and the announcement from Friday, to provide more context…
A Belmont, Ohio man is accused of stealing more than $100,000 worth of equipment from two CNX Marcellus well sites just across the border in Greene County, PA. Two thefts happened in mid-August, and a third one on Sept. 21. Matthew Bartimus, currently hailing from Bethesda, OH, is accused of stealing a flaring chimney, pipeline choking systems, shutoff values and numerous studs and bolts. Not stuff you just throw on eBay or peddle at the local flea market. But then nobody ever accused common criminals of actually having any brains. Apparently he had a market for his stolen goods from August because Bartimus showed up to steal again in September. This time, however, he was caught red handed by employees arriving for work who held Bartimus until the police arrived. In later questioning, Bartimus confessed to the thefts…
Short selling of Gastar Exploration stock has increased–certainly not a positive sign for the company. From time to time we bring you a story, like this one, that on the surface appears to be of interest only for investors rather than landowners or companies that sell goods and services to the shale industry (supply chain). MDN does have a number of investors who subscribe, but if you think stories like this one are only for investors, you are mistaken. Landowners, supply chain companies, even those in elected government are all affected and should pay attention. Short selling is when investors buy stock on a gamble that the stock will decrease–not increase–in price. When a company’s stock decreases in price, the company has a lower market capitalization and it makes it (a) harder to borrow money, and (b) if they can borrow the money, they have to do it at a higher interest rate, making business activities less profitable. If we cut out all of the connections from point A to point B and just boil it all down: when a driller’s stock price decreases significantly, it means less drilling and financial instability for the company, which does not benefit landowners and the supply chain companies that want to sell goods and services to that driller. In other words, it means less royalties, less business opportunities, less jobs and less economic impact. That’s why we report stories like the following…
Yesterday Rice Energy announced that the company’s subsidiary, Rice Midstream, has signed a joint venture agreement with competitor Gulfport Energy to develop a pipeline gathering and water delivery system for Gulfport’s Utica Shale drilling program in Ohio’s eastern Belmont County and Monroe County. Rice will be 75% owner and in charge of the jv. Rice and Gulfport plan to invest a combined $640 million into the jv over the next six years. Construction begins immediately and the first gas (and water) will begin to flow through the new system by middle of next year. Here’s the details…
One of the arguments sometimes trotted out by anti-drillers is that heavy trucks lumbering up and down rural roads will destroy them. And indeed, sometimes it does–when the road is old or not constructed to handle heavy truck traffic. Typically drillers will repair the roads to better-than-new condition–we’ve seen it in some PA counties. But here’s something you don’t often hear: Gulfport Energy is about to spend $8 million on road repairs to roads BEFORE they use them, not after. The repairs will be done over the next six weeks in Belmont County, OH, and it delights Belmont County Commission members. Somebody else footing the bill for rebuilt roads will put a smile on any county commissioner’s face…
Carrizo Oil & Gas CEO S.P. “Chip” Johnson continues to sell off his personal shares of the company’s stock that he leads. On June 1, Johnson sold 24,661 shares of company stock for $1.2 million (see 
The Independent Petroleum Association of American (IPAA) held their San Francisco Oil and Gas Investment Symposium on Monday. Among the speakers was J. Russell Porter, president and CEO of Utica Shale driller Gastar Exploration. Porter gave his thoughts on the Marcellus/Utica, wet and dry gas, and what’s ahead for his company…