Energy Companies

Broome County | Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Lease & Royalty Payments | Litigation | New York | Tioga County (NY)

Done Deal: Chesapeake Drops Leases on 13K Acres in NY
September 10, 2013September 10, 2013

Last week MDN told you that Chesapeake was set to release 12,000 acres of leases in the Southern Tier of New York, abandoning a legal fight to extend those leases (some of which they paid $2-3 per acre for) by using a legal concept called force majeure (see Chesapeake to Release 12K Acres of NY Leases Next Week). Major media outlets from AP to Reuters are reporting Chesapeake, as of Monday, has officially dropped those leases.

One slight update: it was actually 13,000 acres, not 12,000 acres as originally reported…
Read More “Done Deal: Chesapeake Drops Leases on 13K Acres in NY”
Energy Companies | Rhino Resource Partners | Utica Shale

Rhino Resources Issues 1.1M Common Units to Repay Debt
September 10, 2013September 10, 2013

Rhino Resource Partners is a master limited partnership (MLP) that produces coal in various basins throughout the U.S. They also invest in oil and gas acreage in both the Utica and Cana Woodford shale plays. In April MDN told you that Rhino had decided to “flip” 20% of their Utica royalty interests to an undisclosed third party for $10.5 million (see Rhino Flips 20% of Utica Investment to Undisclosed 3rd Party).

Yesterday Rhino issued another brief press statement–this one stating they are issuing a public offering of 1.1 million shares of common units (rough equivalent of stock). They’re issuing the new units in order to pay off loans they previously borrowed under their revolving line of credit. No word on how much money they hope to raise…
Read More “Rhino Resources Issues 1.1M Common Units to Repay Debt”
Energy Companies | Halcon Resources | Industrywide Issues | Mahoning County | Ohio | Seismic Testing

Halcon Resources to Begin Seismic Testing in Mahoning County, OH
September 9, 2013September 9, 2013

Let the thumping (in Mahoning County, OH) begin. Mahoning County commissioners have approved a one-year road use agreement with Halcon Resources that allows them to perform seismic testing along county and town roadways. Halcon will pay $600 per mile, post a $100,000 bond (for the county) and a $50,000 bond (for each of six townships) where they will test. Halcon will also spend some major money repairing roads even before they begin testing…
Read More “Halcon Resources to Begin Seismic Testing in Mahoning County, OH”
Energy Companies | Halcon Resources | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pipelines | Regulation | Trumbull County

US Army Corp Engineers OKs Halcon Pipeline in Trumbull County, OH
September 9, 2013September 9, 2013

Good news for Halcon Field Services: The Pittsburgh District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has cleared the way for Halcon to horizontally drill and install a natural gas gathering pipeline beneath federal land in Trumbull County, Ohio…
Read More “US Army Corp Engineers OKs Halcon Pipeline in Trumbull County, OH”
Chesapeake Energy | Columbiana County | Energy Companies | Lease & Royalty Payments | Ohio | Utica Shale

Is Chesapeake Robbing Graves in OH Village…or Getting Robbed?
September 6, 2013September 6, 2013

We can see the headlines now: Chesapeake Energy is a (Gas) Grave Robber! Wait until the anti-drillers get hold of this story… Chesapeake has struck a deal with the Village of Salineville (Columbiana County), OH to lease and drill under 17 acres at the Woodland Cemetery. The deal stipulates no surface disturbance of any kind (a very good idea).

But who is robbing whom? Listen to the deal the village got: Chesapeake is paying Salineville $44,145 annually for five years, plus 15% royalties. The annual payments add up to $220,725, or if you think of it as a signing bonus stretched over 5 years, it’s $12,984 per acre. Wow!! That’s perhaps the highest per acre signing bonus we’ve heard of in the entire Marcellus or Utica Shale. Kudos to the Salineville board members who ~~suckered~~ negotiated the deal with Chesapeake…
Read More “Is Chesapeake Robbing Graves in OH Village…or Getting Robbed?”
Broome County | Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Lease & Royalty Payments | Litigation | New York | Tioga County (NY)

Chesapeake to Release 12K Acres of NY Leases Next Week
September 5, 2013September 5, 2013

About a month ago, MDN told you that Chesapeake has decided to end their fight with New York landowners over extending their leases (see Chesapeake Energy Throws in the Towel on NY Shale Drilling). Although it’s taken the past month to iron out the paperwork, it seems that Chesapeake (and NY landowners) will finalize and sign an agreement “sometime next week” to release 12,000 acres of leases in Broome and Tioga counties.

Chesapeake walking away from these leases is bittersweet. Sweet because it releases landowners from old leases signed before fracking was even contemplated, allowing them to re-sign a new lease with better terms. Bitter because it indicates Chesapeake is unwilling to put up with Gov. Andrew “Ditherer” Cuomo any longer as he agonizes over whether he will or whether he won’t allow fracking…
Read More “Chesapeake to Release 12K Acres of NY Leases Next Week”
Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Energy Companies | Pennsylvania | Susquehanna County

Cabot Investor Presentation from August: Cool Maps & More
September 5, 2013September 5, 2013

A few weeks back Cabot Oil & Gas released their latest Investor Presentation, prepared for the EnerCom Oil & Gas Conference held in Denver (August 12, 2013). We always enjoy Cabot’s PowerPoint presentations because they’re so informative. This latest presentation doesn’t disappoint.

We’ve embedded the full presentation below. Our favorite slides: Cabot’s Marcellus Summary map on page 12, which overlays a map of Susquehanna County, PA with township boundaries and flags showing not only where their wells are located (by township), but also which ones are producing the most (by color). Very cool. We also like the Interstate Pipeline map on page 18, showing how Cabot gets all that gas–now over 1 billion cubic feet per day–to market…
Read More “Cabot Investor Presentation from August: Cool Maps & More”
Energy Companies | Energy Services | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Range Resources Corp | Sunoco Logistics

Sunoco Says Mariner West Opening Soon, but Range Already Using??
September 4, 2013September 4, 2013

Although not publicly announced by Sunoco Logistics Partners, MDN told you back at the end of July that we spotted an admission from Range Resources that the first batch of ethane had been piped from the Marcellus Shale in western PA to Sarnia, Ontario (Canada) via the Mariner West pipeline (see Big News: Marcellus Ethane Now Exporting to Canada Cracker Plant). Was Range lying? We don’t think so–but today we noticed a small article published by Bloomberg (known to fudge the truth) that says the Mariner West pipeline will begin service in late September or early October. Huh?…
Read More “Sunoco Says Mariner West Opening Soon, but Range Already Using??”
Carrizo Oil & Gas | Energy Companies

Carrizo Dumps “Non-Core” Assets in Barnett, E Texas & Marcellus
September 4, 2013September 4, 2013

Carrizo Oil & Gas, a driller in the Marcellus Shale as well as in other shale plays, announced today it has sold the rest of its remaining Barnett Shale properties (the first shale play for Carrizo’s drilling) as well as selling off other “non-core” assets in East Texas and in the Marcellus itself. Proceeds from the sales: $268 million, which Carrizo plans to use to pay back loans and for more drilling mostly in the Eagle Ford Shale. The Utica Shale is in Carrizo’s sites for 2014.

There’s nothing in today’s statement that indicates Carrizo is abandoning the Marcellus, although their recent 2Q13 financial/operational update indicates they have scaled back a great deal on the Marcellus (see Carrizo Oil & Gas 2Q13: Scaling Back in the Marcellus…for Now). Carrizo’s statement (below) does not indicate where the 2,850 “non-core” acres they’ve just sold in the Marcellus are located…
Read More “Carrizo Dumps “Non-Core” Assets in Barnett, E Texas & Marcellus”
Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Lease & Royalty Payments | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

Chesapeake Settles PA Royalty Lawsuit for Pittance: $7.5M
September 3, 2013September 3, 2013

In July, MDN told you about a class action lawsuit by some Pennsylvania landowners against Chesapeake Energy over the issue of deducting certain costs from post-production when calculating royalties–costs that the landowners say are not listed in the original lease and for which Chessy does not have the right to deduct (see Some PA Landowners Mull Decision to Sue Chesapeake over Royalties). A number of landowners joined the class action lawsuit. The lawyers worked feverishly and both sides have now settled.

Chesapeake will pay $7.5 million to settle the lawsuit, to be share with the lawyers (of course) and then amongst the landowners. Apparently the settlement will benefit “several thousand leaseholders” who have the option to either accept the settlement or continue on their own by filing their own lawsuit…
Read More “Chesapeake Settles PA Royalty Lawsuit for Pittance: $7.5M”
American Energy Partners | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Ohio | Statewide OH

McClendon Gets Sued in OH Over New Company’s Name
September 3, 2013September 3, 2013

It’s no secret that coal has taken a beating from abundant, cheap shale gas. Natural gas burns cleaner than coal–there’s just no disputing that fact. And because of it, natural gas has displaced coal at a number of electrical generating plants around the country. However, coal remains a very important fossil fuel that powers much (in fact most) of American electricity. So it’s no surprise that the owner of a number of Ohio coal mines is a bit miffed with Aubrey McClendon.

Robert Murray operates a coal mine near Beallsville (Monroe County), OH under the name American Energy Corp. Aubrey McClendon named his new shale oil & gas company American Energy Partners. Murray is miffed enough with McClendon to sue him for misappropriation of the name American Energy. He believes McClendon has intentionally tried to confuse the marketplace…
Read More “McClendon Gets Sued in OH Over New Company’s Name”
Belmont County | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Harrison County | Hess | Industrywide Issues | Jefferson County (OH) | Ohio | Pipelines | PVR Midstream | PVR Partners | Utica Shale

PVR Partners to Build $150M Utica Shale Pipeline System for Hess
September 3, 2013September 3, 2013

Midstream company PVR Partners has been selected by Hess to construct 45 miles of gathering pipelines in eastern Ohio’s Utica Shale region. In an announcement issued today, PVR said the new pipelines will be built to cover Belmont, Jefferson and Harrison Counties where Hess holds a substantial acreage position. The new pipeline project will end up costing somewhere in the neighborhood of $125-$150 million and will be completed in 2015.

The PVR announcement:
Read More “PVR Partners to Build $150M Utica Shale Pipeline System for Hess”
Antero Resources | Energy Companies

Antero Resources Gets Extra $250 Million Credit Line
September 3, 2013September 3, 2013

Antero Resources was recently crowned as the driller with the most productive Utica Shale well in Ohio, a single well that will provide the company with an enormous amount of revenue (see WVU Prof Says Antero Well will Generate $300K Revenue…Per Day!). Apparently the publicity has been good for Antero, who announced today they’ve upped their line of credit at the bank–from $1.75 billion to a whopping $2 billion. So far Antero has used about $1 billion from their line of credit to finance drilling operations in the Utica and Marcellus Shale.

Must be the bankers at JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo were impressed with the performance of Antero’s latest wells–$250 million impressed…
Read More “Antero Resources Gets Extra $250 Million Credit Line”
American Energy Partners | Energy Companies | Ohio | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

More Evidence that Aubrey McClendon Loves OH’s Utica Shale
September 3, 2013September 3, 2013

Aubrey McClendon is former CEO of Chesapeake Energy and now CEO of an upstart competitor he started named American Energy Partners (see AEP’s just launched website here). Aubrey is high on the Ohio Utica Shale. He’s rumored to be close to signing a deal with Shell for 50,000 OH Utica Shale acres, and is also rumored to be the unnamed buyer for EnerVest’s 22,535 OH Utica Shale acres sold just a few weeks ago (see He’s Baaaack! Aubrey McClendon is Back in OH Shale Country).

More evidence that Aubrey is focusing on Ohio: A bunch of advertisements AEP is running in OH media seeking to sign leases in the following counties…
Read More “More Evidence that Aubrey McClendon Loves OH’s Utica Shale”
Antero Resources | Energy Companies | Lease & Royalty Payments | Monroe County | Utica Shale | West Virginia

WVU Prof Says Antero Well will Generate $300K Revenue…Per Day!
August 30, 2013August 30, 2013

The Yontz 1H well may not produce at these unheard-of levels for an extended period, but heck, if a gas well is bringing in $300,000 per day in revenue, it doesn’t have to last long! That’s the staggering amount of revenue that a West Virginia University professor predicts will be produced by the monster well recently drilled by Antero Resources in Monroe County, WV (see Antero Resources Utica Well Produces Stratospheric 38.9 Mmcf/d). At the rate the gas and gas liquids are flowing from the well right now, it will bring in over $2 million per week in revenue for Antero. If royalties are 20% for the landowner, that’s $400,000 per week for the Yontz family!

With those kinds of numbers, no wonder Antero is willing to “roll the dice” and spend a half billion dollars to build a new water pipeline (see Antero Resources Rolls Dice on 1/2 Billion Dollar Marcellus Pipe)…
Read More “WVU Prof Says Antero Well will Generate $300K Revenue…Per Day!”
Allegheny County | CONSOL Energy | Economic Impact | Energy Companies | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania

NIMBY Town to Provide Water for Fracking at Pittsburgh Airport
August 30, 2013August 30, 2013

Two towns located near the Pittsburgh Airport are set to make big money from the drilling that will happen at the airport–even though the drilling is not within their own boundaries. How? They’re going to sell water to CONSOL Energy to be used for fracking 47 wells at the airport–up to 300 million gallons of water.

One of the towns selling water, Findlay, recently approved three new shale wells in the town–the first three to be drilled there (see Findlay Twp, PA Approves First 3 Marcellus Wells, Range to Drill). Findlay’s approval of Marcellus wells indicates they are favorable to shale drilling. The second town that will sell water for fracking at the airport, Moon Township, is not so favorable toward fracking. Last December the Moon Board of Supervisors voted to ban drilling in 75% of the their town (see Moon Twp, PA Votes to Ban Fracking in 75% of the Town). We find it interesting that a town that leans against drilling is willing to sell water for drilling–as long as the drilling is not in their backyard…

Read More “NIMBY Town to Provide Water for Fracking at Pittsburgh Airport”