Antero Resources announced its 2012 capital budget today. Among the plans: 79 percent of the drilling budget is allocated to Marcellus Shale. Antero currently operates six drilling rigs in the Marcellus. They also announced today they are selling a portion of their Marcellus gathering pipeline system to Crestwood Holdings for $375 million in cash.
Read More “Antero Allocates 79% of 2012 Drilling Budget to Marcellus”
Chesapeake Energy released fourth quarter 2011, and full year 2011 numbers on Tuesday. About one month ago Chesapeake announced they were curtailing 0.5 billion cubic feet (bcf) of gas production per day because of low commodity gas prices. At the time they threatened to up that number to 1.0 bcf. According to Tuesday’s announcement, they have made that adjustment. Chesapeake wants to save its gas to sell it when the prices go back up, and likely hopes that by taking a good amount of gas out of circulation, it will help drive up the historically low prices sooner rather than later.
In addition to curtailing current production, Chesapeake also announced they will spend 70 percent less on drilling in dry gas areas this year from last year.
From the relevant portions of the Chesapeake press release:
Read More “Chesapeake Lowers Production 1 BCF/D & Dry Gas Drilling 70%”
Steubenville, Ohio is about to close a lease deal on a former city landfill. Hess has agreed to pay $5,400 per acre for a signing bonus on the 110 acre site, and 19 percent royalties.
Read More “Hess to Lease OH City Landfill for Drilling – $5,400/Acre”
The city of Steubenville in Jefferson County, Ohio has struck a deal to sell Chesapeake Energy treated wastewater, untreated river water and potable water—700,000 gallons of it a day for five years.
Read More “Steubenville Selling 700K Gallons of Water/Day to Chesapeake”
Rex Energy, a prolific driller in the Marcellus Shale, reported its 2011 financial and operational results along with 2012 capital budget projects on Tuesday. In what has become a near unanimous refrain from drilling companies, Rex also says less drilling in the dry gas areas and more drilling in the natural gas liquids areas.
From the Rex press release:
Yesterday, Tompkins County (NY) Supreme Court Judge Phillip Rumsey handed anti-drillers a first, and likely short-lived, victory. He ruled that the Town of Dryden, located near Ithaca, has the right to ban shale gas drilling. As with many legal issues, this one is complicated, so let’s take a look at the case, Judge Rumsey’s decision, and what happens next.
Read More “NY Judge Rules Town of Dryden can Ban Shale Gas Drilling”
Range Resources released its 2012 capital budget and operating plans yesterday. Range announced that Marcellus drilling is full steam ahead, especially in the liquids-rich southwestern PA area. But they also announced they are reducing dry gas drilling to just 25 percent of the total capital budget. So, more drilling in southwest PA, less drilling in northeast PA.
Here are the relevant portions from the Range announcement that touch on the Marcellus Shale:
Read More “Range 2012 Capital Plan – More Marcellus Drilling Ahead”
Cabot Oil & Gas is teaming up with Williams Partners to construct a new pipeline that will stretch from Cabot’s Marcellus gas wells in Susquehanna County, PA to Schoharie County, NY where it will connect to two interstate pipelines. The new pipeline will let Cabot sell its ever-increasing production of northeastern PA shale gas into more lucrative markets in New York and New England. The new pipeline is due to go online in March 2015.
Read More “Cabot O&G Partners with Williams on New Marcellus Pipeline”
The rumor mill is buzzing that Range Resources is a prime candidate for a takeover. With 1.2 million acres of Marcellus leases, whoever buys it will need deep pockets. Both BP and Exxon Mobil have been mentioned as potential suitors.
Read More “Rumor Mill Buzzing: Is Range Resources Takeover Target?”
A group of 18 Tioga County, NY landowners have sued Inflection Energy to overturn Inflection’s “force majeure” claim to extend the lease on their collective 1,200 acres. A force majeure clause is written into most gas lease contracts. It means a driller can automatically extend the length of the lease if there are unforeseen events that hinder the terms of the contract—in this case commencement of drilling—from happening.
Read More “NY Landowners Sue Inflection Energy over Force Majeure”
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection released new gas well production data on Friday for the second half of 2011. Gas production was up an aggressive 40 percent in the second half of the year. PA now produces more gas than they consume, making the state a net exporter of natural gas.
Read More “Where was PA’s Top Producing Marcellus Well in 2011? Dimock”
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection reports it is investigating a spill of condensate at a gas well in Washington County, in the southwestern part of the state.
Read More “Drilling Liquids Spill at Chevron Gas Well in SW PA”
Magnum Hunter’s subsidiary company, Triad Hunter, has just closed on a lease deal to take possession of 15,558 gross (12,186 net) acres in Ohio’s Utica Shale. The deal is for $2,037 per acre, or $24.8 million total. The seller has not been identified and according to the press release the seller may have more acreage to sell to Triad Hunter if they can clear up problems with title to some of the additional property.
Read More “Triad Hunter Buys Leases for 15.5K Acres in OH Utica Shale”
Talisman Energy is the latest major driller to announce they are cutting back on drilling in the dry gas Marcellus to instead concentrate on drilling in wet gas areas.
Read More “Talisman Cutting Back in Marcellus from 10 Rigs to 3”
Under pressure from low commodity prices for natural gas causing a cash deficit for drilling, Chesapeake Energy is looking to sell off some of its oil and gas fields in Texas, Mexico and Oklahoma so it can continue to concentrate on drilling in eastern Ohio’s Utica Shale and other “wet gas” areas of the country.
Read More “Chesapeake Selling Assets to Concentrate on OH/Wet Gas”
One of the possible locations for a new ethane cracker plant in West Virginia is a 1400-acre parcel of land owned by Bayer Corp. located on the border of Marshall and Wetzel counties. Ahead of an announcement on a cracker plant, Bayer has decided to move forward with leasing the New Martinsville plant for shale gas drilling to Gastar Exploration in a deal expected to net Bayer $30 million over 30 years.
Read More “Potential Cracker Plant Site in WV Leased for Drilling”