Energy Companies

Energy Companies | EnerVest | EV Energy Partners | Utica Shale

EVEP 3Q13: No New Land Deals to Announce
November 14, 2013November 14, 2013

EV Energy Partners/EnerVest has, almost by happenstance, accumulated a huge position in the Utica Shale–760,000 acres according to NaturalGasIntel.com. They are the second largest leaseholder in the Utica, behind Chesapeake Energy (who has about 1 million acres). A little over a year ago EVEP put half a million of those acres on the auction block. No takers. They eventually sold 22,535 acres in Guernsey, Harrison and Noble counties in Ohio for $284.3 million (see EVEP/EnerVest Cuts Deal to Sell 22.5K OH Utica Acres for $284M).

On a 3Q13 analyst call earlier this week, EVEP Executive Chairman John Walker said there’s still no new deals to announce and that selling off a big slug of their acreage is “too valuable not to be patient.” Translation: Sit tight, we’re still working on it, but we won’t sell it at fire sale prices. It’s going to take more time. Here’s a transcript of John Walker’s opening comments on the analyst call:
Read More “EVEP 3Q13: No New Land Deals to Announce”
Cameron County | Endeavour International | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | M&A | Pennsylvania | Samson Investment Co

Endeavour Intl & Samson Exploration Form 50/50 Marcellus JV
November 14, 2013November 14, 2013

One of the Marcellus Shale’s smaller drilling/midstream companies is Endeavour International, with 15,800 acres of leased Marcellus acreage according to NaturalGasIntel.com. Endeavour announced yesterday they’ve sold a 50% stake in their Marcellus assets to Samson Exploration, forming a joint venture with Samson. The amount of cash involved in the transaction was undisclosed.

According to the announcement, Endeavour will use the money from Samson to complete three previously drilled Marcellus wells in Cameron County, PA and hook them up to an EQT Corp. gathering pipeline. The wells should be online by the middle of 2014…
Read More “Endeavour Intl & Samson Exploration Form 50/50 Marcellus JV”
Energy Companies | Energy Services | EQT Corp | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Statewide PA | Valerus | Washington County

EQT Hires Valerus for 2 New Compressor Stations in SW PA
November 14, 2013November 14, 2013

Valerus, a Houston, TX-based company with a growing facility in Smithfield, PA manufactures/creates compression solutions–assembling the pipelines, valves, engines, etc.–that move natural gas through a pipeline. Think of them as the people that come in and install the guts of a compressor station.

EQT Corp., a major Marcellus Shale driller, has just hired Valerus to do just that–install new compression solutions at two compressor stations in southwest PA. It means more jobs and more investment on the way in PA…
Read More “EQT Hires Valerus for 2 New Compressor Stations in SW PA”
Beaver County | Energy Companies | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Processing Plants | Shell

PA Ethane Cracker – On Again, Off Again…Now On Again?
November 13, 2013November 13, 2013

MDN recently brought you rumors (evidence?) that the prospects of Shell building a multi-billion dollar ethane cracker plant in western Pennsylvania were seriously dimming (see Rumor Mill: PA Ethane Cracker Plant on Shell Chopping Block?). The most ominous two pieces of evidence against Shell moving forward was doubt cast by industry expert Rusty Braziel and the statements from Shell’s outgoing CEO Peter Voser who said that Shell would not be able to build all three major projects they now have on the books (one of the three being the PA cracker plant). Delays in committing to the project, negative speak from the CEO and numerous NGL and ethane pipelines coming online seem to cast doubt on Shell building the cracker.

But wait, what’s this? We have a new, happier rumor to share with you. According to a reliable source, Shell has hired Linde and Bechtel to perform front end engineering and design (FEED) work on the PA cracker plant! It seems to us if the cracker were truly dead Shell would not spend big bucks to design it (although we may be wrong on that score). Here’s the latest rumor courtesy Gas Business Briefing:
Read More “PA Ethane Cracker – On Again, Off Again…Now On Again?”
Clay County | Cunningham Energy | Energy Companies | West Virginia

The Injuns are Coming! Injun Formation Drilling, that is
November 12, 2013November 12, 2013

Sorry, but we can’t avoid using a politically incorrect term in this report: “Injun.” As in the Big Injun Formation, a layer of tightly-packed sandstone that lies above the Marcellus Shale layer in several West Virginia counties. Apparently there’s natural gas in the Big Injun in Clay County, WV, and Cunningham Energy (of Charleston) is going to drill three horizontal/fracked wells to try and get that gas. Fracking the Big Injun has been talked about for a long time (here’s a Society of Petroleum Engineers conference paper that specifically addresses that very topic from 1988!). However, combining horizontal drilling with fracking is relatively new and didn’t happen in the northeast until Range Resources drilled the first Marcellus Shale well in 2004 in western PA.

Until now, we’ve heard of the horizontal drilling/fracking combination being used in the Marcellus, the Utica and the Upper Devonian. Looks like we can now add a fourth formation to that illustrious list: the Big Injun. Good luck to Cunningham Energy as they go Big Injun hunting for natural gas…
Read More “The Injuns are Coming! Injun Formation Drilling, that is”
Energy Companies | Talisman Energy

Icahn Now Throwing His Weight Around at Talisman, Like Chesapeake
November 11, 2013

What a shame. Carl Icahn is now the evil puppet master behind the curtain pulling the strings at Talisman Energy the same way he’s done at Chesapeake Energy. MDN recently told you that Icahn–a corporate raider whose sole purpose is to swoop in, dismember parts of a company so its stock price goes up and then cash out his stock at a profit–has his claws in Talisman (see Carl Icahn Snaps Up 6% of His Next E&P Victim: Talisman Energy). His meddling at Chesapeake has led to a loss of 1,200 jobs in that company over the past six months or so.

Now Icahn is at it with Talisman, forcing them to sell off part of their Montney Shale acreage in northeast British Columbia. On the plus side the sale likely means more drilling emphasis on the Marcellus. However, if we worked at Talisman, we’d be looking over our shoulder wondering when the pink slip will arrive. Talisman CEO Hal Kvisle is trying to put on a brave face about being micromanaged by Icahn, but you know he hates it…
Read More “Icahn Now Throwing His Weight Around at Talisman, Like Chesapeake”
Allegheny County | Energy Companies | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp

More Marcellus Drilling on the Way in Allegheny County, PA?
November 11, 2013November 11, 2013

So far there’s been some, but not a lot, of shale drilling in Allegheny County, PA (Greater Pittsburgh area). A few weeks ago MDN told you about an offer from Huntley & Huntley–essentially a leasing agent for Range Resources–to lease a Deer Lakes Park, a county park in Allegheny County. The point of that story was not to focus on the big issues involved in leasing county-owned land in an urban area, but on the shameless way anti-drillers brainwash and use their own very young children as media props (see PA Anti-Drillers Shove Their Children Before the Microphones).

We said in that post we would return to the issue of whether or not it’s a good idea to drill under county parks. Today, we do that. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette provides an update on the deal Huntley & Huntley is trying to broker for drilling under (not on) Deer Lakes Park. The article also tackles other county-owned land (parks) in Allegheny County that may one day soon see drilling…
Read More “More Marcellus Drilling on the Way in Allegheny County, PA?”
Blue Ridge Mtn Res/Magnum Hunter | Energy Companies

Magnum Hunter 3Q13: Revenue Up 80%, Losses Up 636% (Ouch)
November 11, 2013November 11, 2013

Magnum Hunter is a small but growing driller (and midstream) company in both the Marcellus and Utica Shale. Last week Magnum Hunter released their third quarter update. Among the highlights: the company has now drilled 14 wells in the Marcellus Shale (in Wetzel County, WV). They started drilling a new Utica well (Munroe County, OH) and have now completed fracking a previously drilled well in Washington County, OH during 3Q13. Magnum Hunter has drilled and completed more than twice the Marcellus/Utica wells combined in the Willston Basin (i.e. Bakken Shale of North Dakota).

Revenue for Magnum Hunter was up an impressive 80% over 3Q12, but the company reported an unimpressive net loss of 636% over 3Q12. The company certainly needs to do more to stop the bleeding and get a handle on expenses if they plan to stay in the game. Here’s most of the 3Q13 update from Magnum Hunter (scroll down near the bottom for the operations update for the Marcellus and Utica regions):
Read More “Magnum Hunter 3Q13: Revenue Up 80%, Losses Up 636% (Ouch)”
Antero Resources | Energy Companies | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Antero Resources 3Q13: Stars Aligned, More Marcellus/Utica
November 8, 2013November 8, 2013

Antero Resources continues to focus on the Marcellus and increasingly the Utica Shale. Antero claims to be the most active driller in the Marcellus with 15 active drilling rigs–we don’t doubt it. Earlier this week as part of their third quarter update, Antero announced they will add a fifth drilling rig in the Ohio Utica where they’ve already drilled 12 wells (now online and producing) and with another 12 wells currently in process of being drilled. Antero loves the Utica.

The stars certainly seem to be in alignment for Antero. A month ago the company went public and their stock price soared (see Antero’s Stock Climbs 18% on First Day of Trading). The day the company went public it was valued at $11 billion. As of this morning, a month later, it’s worth $14 billion. Yow! Antero can also boast of having the Utica Shale’s #1 producing well (see Antero Resources Utica Well Produces Stratospheric 38.9 Mmcf/d). Lot’s of good things happening for Antero, especially in the Utica. Here’s what they say about the last 3 months, and what they think lies ahead…
Read More “Antero Resources 3Q13: Stars Aligned, More Marcellus/Utica”
Atlas Energy | Energy Companies

Atlas Resource 3Q13: Production Up, Losses (Way) Up Too
November 8, 2013November 8, 2013

Atlas Resource Partners is a Pittsburgh-based exploration and production (E&P) company with active drilling operations not only in the Marcellus/Utica region but another four resource plays as well. Production for the company has gone up–way up–in 3Q13 thanks to newly acquired acreage and operations, but also due to more wells going online in the Marcellus/Utica. However, the company’s financials continue to be troubled. They show a net loss of $39.7 million for 3Q13–which is almost 4x the loss for the same period last year.

Revenue was up for Atlas in 3Q13 (that’s a good thing), but costs and expenses rose even more (that’s a bad thing). Selected portions of the Atlas 3Q13 update:
Read More “Atlas Resource 3Q13: Production Up, Losses (Way) Up Too”
Antero Resources | Doddridge County | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | MarkWest Energy | NGLs | Processing Plants | West Virginia

MarkWest to Build 5th Cryo Plant in WV Courtesy Antero Resources
November 8, 2013November 8, 2013

MarkWest Energy continues its Marcellus/Utica infrastructure expansion. In an announcement yesterday, MarkWest said they will build a fifth (!) 200 million cubic feet per day cryogenic gas processing plant at its Sherwood (Doddridge County), WV facility. In the latest edition of the Marcellus and Utica Shale Databook (2013 Volume 2), MDN lists all of the projects announced by MarkWest and others (111 projects in all). This one is brand new and would be 112. MDN estimates this new cryogenic processing plant along with two others currently under construction at the Sherwood complex cost in the neighborhood of $200 million each to build.

Cryogenic plants separate natural gas liquids (NGLs, or “wet gas”) from methane (“dry gas”). Why a fifth plant at the same facility? It’s being built at the request of Antero Resources. MarkWest signed a deal with Antero to provide them with wet gas processing capacity at the plant. MarkWest says the new plant will be built and online by third quarter of 2014. When it goes online, the total processing capacity at the Sherwood complex will be 1 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day–a really astonishing number. Here’s the MarkWest announcement:
Read More “MarkWest to Build 5th Cryo Plant in WV Courtesy Antero Resources”
CNG/LNG | Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Education | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Lackawanna County | Luzerne County | NG Vehicles | Pennsylvania | Wyoming County (PA)

Cabot’s Big CNG Celebration at Johnson College in Scranton, PA
November 8, 2013November 8, 2013

Yesterday Cabot Oil & Gas held a “CNG Celebration” at Johnson College in Scranton, PA. Unfortunately MDN could not be on hand to help celebrate. However, we do have a couple of stories to bring you from that event.

The purpose of the event was several-fold: announce Johnson College’s curriculum expansion with new courses in compressed natural gas (CNG) technology and eventually a certification (with financial and technical assistance from Cabot); PA DEP Sec. Chris Abruzzo was on hand to announce $3 million in grants to businesses and organizations to purchase or retrofit vehicles to run CNG (see our companion story today); welcome the Marcellus Shale Coalition’s new executive director, David Spigelmyer; and show off some impressive big trucks and other vehicles running CNG. “Celebration” is an appropriate word that about covers it!…
Read More “Cabot’s Big CNG Celebration at Johnson College in Scranton, PA”
Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies

Chesapeake’s Lawler Says 3Q13 was “Transformational” for Company
November 7, 2013November 7, 2013

Chesapeake CEO Doug “the ax man” Lawler said the company had “an exciting third quarter” (tell that to the families of 1,200 people now out of a job), and that the company saw a “significant transformation and the implementation of a new strategy for Chesapeake” during the past quarter. That’s certainly a true statement. The numbers for the company have improved over a year ago, which will be music to the ears of Lawler’s boss corporate raider Carl Icahn (and will fatten Icahn’s bank account when he sells in the next year or two, sleazeball).

Yesterday Chesapeake issued their third quarter operations and financial update, accompanied by a phone call with select analysts who asked puff questions of Lawler and former Aubrey McClendon “friend” and CFO Nick “Dom” Dell’Osso. One bit of good news amongst all the hot air issued yesterday: Chesapeake’s Utica Shale production went up a dramatic 91% from 2Q13 to 3Q13, as pipelines and processing plants have come online. According to Lawler, that trend will continue into 2014 as more infrastructure comes online…
Read More “Chesapeake’s Lawler Says 3Q13 was “Transformational” for Company”
Energy Companies | Rex Energy | Upper Devonian Shale | Utica Shale

Rex Energy 3Q13: Continued NE Expansion, Including Upper Devonian
November 7, 2013November 7, 2013

As the third quarter reports continue to flood in, we have an update from Rex Energy, one of our favorite smaller (but important) Marcellus/Utica Shale drillers. Rex Energy, an independent exploration and production (E&P) company headquartered in State College, PA issued their 3Q13 update on Tuesday, and company leaders conducted a phone call with analysts yesterday. Among the important gleanings: Rex is doing interesting and important drilling in the Upper Devonian Shale layer (above the Marcellus) with impressive results. They’ve reached almost 100 million cubic feet of gas production per day, a 39% increase over the same time last year. And Rex now has leases on 21,000 Utica Shale acres in Ohio.

An interesting tidbit from yesterday’s phone call: Rex co-founder and CEO Thomas C. Stabley says one of the secrets of Rex’s success has been to develop “quality midstream solutions” in each of their core areas. Here is the 3Q13 update issued by Rex on Tuesday, followed by (some of) the phone call transcript from yesterday:
Read More “Rex Energy 3Q13: Continued NE Expansion, Including Upper Devonian”
Energy Companies | Halcon Resources | Ohio | Trumbull County | Utica Shale

Halcon CEO Says No More S***** Wells in Northern OH Utica
November 7, 2013November 7, 2013

Drillers are still figuring out the Utica Shale–the best places to drill, and the best places to not drill. Sometimes the “don’t drill here” lessons are tough because each well drilled costs a lot of money ($8 million or more, typically). On an analyst call Tuesday to discuss third quarter results, Halcon Resources Corp. CEO Floyd Wilson used some salty language to describe where they don’t intend to do more Utica drilling, which is in northern Trumbull County, OH. Instead, he said they’ll concentrate their efforts on the southern part of the county where they have more leased acreage that he believes will yield a better result.

Here’s a small portion of the phone transcript where Wilson talks about the Utica and where he definitely won’t be drilling again:
Read More “Halcon CEO Says No More S***** Wells in Northern OH Utica”
1st NRG | Energy Companies | Ohio | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

1st NRG Inches Closer to Utica Drilling – Still Not There Yet
November 7, 2013November 7, 2013

1st NRG Corp. is a small-but-growing exploration and production company headquartered in Denver, CO. Their drilling program to date has been centered in Wyoming (coal bed methane drilling). For more than year 1st NRG has been saying “we’re gonna start drilling in the Utica, you wait and see” (our words). They issued a press release more than a year ago that said, essentially, they are interested in the Utica (see 1st NRG Corp Newest Entrant in OH Utica Shale). They then issued a release saying they had raised $7 million for Utica drilling (see 1st NRG Corp Gets $7M Loan to Begin Drilling in Utica, Other Plays), and another saying they were looking for more money to drill in the Utica (see 1st NRG Still Looking for $ to Drill 7K Acres in Utica Shale).

It’s November and has been eight long months since the last press release–so it must be time for another. Lookie here, we have one! This time, however, there’s been a change. 1st NRG says they have “signed an agreement with a private energy company to participate in the development of prospective acreage.” That still isn’t “we’re drilling our first well,” but we guess it’s a half step closer. Here’s the latest press release that’s short on details and long on puffery and descriptions of the Utica…
Read More “1st NRG Inches Closer to Utica Drilling – Still Not There Yet”