Range Resources, one of the largest drillers in the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania, just posted year-end results and said that despite selling their Barnett Shale acreage, 2011 was the eighth consecutive year of double-digit gains for the company. In the Marcellus, Range doubled their output from 2010 levels.
Read More “Range Resources Doubles PA Marcellus Output in 2011”
Enerplus Corp. , a Calgary-based oil and gas producer, has approved an $800 million capital spending program for 2012 the company expects will help boost production 10 percent. Of that $800 million, Enerplus will spend $190 million (24 percent) in the Marcellus Shale, focused primarily on drilling to delineate and retain leases. The target is to drill 20 Marcellus wells in 2012, with 18 of those wells coming on-stream by the end of the year. They plan to nearly triple their Marcellus production from 25 mmcf/d (million cubic feet per day) now to 70 mmcf/d by the end of the year.
Read More “Enerplus Allocates 24% of 2012 Capital Budget to Marcellus”
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) sent a violation notice to Chief Oil & Gas on Jan. 4 for three gas wells in Nicholson Township (Wyoming County) saying there is 100 percent combustible gas between the cemented steel casings, which the DEP uses as a sign of flaws in construction of the well. The investigation began after a nearby resident complained of high methane levels in well water supplies. The DEP is still investigating two nearby water wells with high levels of methane and has not yet determined if Chief’s wells are the cause.
Read More “Possible New Case of Methane Migration in Wyoming County, PA”
Two days ago MDN reported, based on copies of paperwork filed with Monroe County, Ohio, that Exxon Mobil via its subsidiary XTO Energy had acquired 13,200 acres of Utica Shale gas leases from Beck Energy (see this MDN story). It turns out there’s more to the story.
MDN received a copy of an additional purchase agreement between Beck and Exxon for another 7,627 acres, for a total deal between the two companies of 20,827 acres of leases in Monroe County. The new/second agreement appears to be property held by Beck with delayed rental payments—that is, property where there is currently no active drilling.
Read More “Correction: Exxon Buys 25K Acres of Utica Shale Leases in OH”
CONSOL Energy is increasing its capital projects budget by 21 percent in 2012, including a ramp-up in their commitment to both the Marcellus and Utica Shale plays. CONSOL says they will spend $395 million to drill 122 new Marcellus Shale wells in 2012 (their portion of a joint venture with Noble Energy), 39 of those wells will be in the liquids-rich portion of the Marcellus. They will invest $50 million in Utica Shale drilling for the year.
From the CONSOL press release:
Read More “CONSOL Increases 2012 Capital Spending in Marcellus/Utica”
Talisman Energy announced yesterday that it plans to spend 11 percent less on capital projects in 2012 than it did in 2011. They also announced they would reduce the number of Marcellus drilling rigs from 11 in use during 2011 down to between five and seven for 2012.The reason? Low natural gas prices. Talisman expects natural gas prices in North America to remain low for the foreseeable future. Although they are decreasing overall spending, Talisman will increase spending, and shifting their focus, to shale gas liquids.
From the Talisman press release:
Read More “Talisman to Reduce Spending, Rig Count in Marcellus for 2012”
The news out of Dimock, PA is coming so fast and furious, it’s hard to keep track of it all. First, a brief background on the situation in Dimock, the context you almost never read in the mainstream media:
In 2008, Cabot Oil & Gas drilled a number of Marcellus Shale gas wells in Dimock Township in Pennsylvania, a rural area in the northeastern part of the state, in Susquehanna County. Homeowners located along the Carter Road area noticed high levels of methane in their drinking water. After an investigation by the PA Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), the DEP fined Cabot in 2009 stating that Cabot’s operations in the area caused methane to migrate into a local water aquifer serving anywhere from 13 to 19 houses, depending on the changing storyline.
Read More “EPA Promises Water for Dimock PA, Reneges 24 Hours Later”
Exxon Mobil, through it’s subsidiary XTO Energy, recently acquired just over 13,200 acres of Utica Shale leases from Beck Energy Corp. in Monroe County, Ohio. A copy of the Bill of Sale, dated Dec. 20, 2011, is embedded below, containing a list of all the parcels in the transaction. Terms of the purchase are not disclosed in the document. Neither Exxon Mobil nor Beck Energy have disclosed the price and terms of the deal.
Read More “Exxon Buys 13,200 Acres of Utica Shale Leases in Ohio”
Three private water wells in Lenox Township (Susquehanna County), PA have been contaminated with methane from nearby Marcellus Shale drilling done by Cabot Oil & Gas according to the PA Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). Cabot has installed methane detection alarms in the three homes and has vented the affected wells.
Read More “New Cases of Methane Water Well Contamination by Cabot in PA”
Norse Energy, with substantial leases in New York State, clings to the hope that New York will soon allow shale gas drilling. In the meantime, they continue to try and hold on. Last week they sold some of their NY acreage along with a slice of the royalty rights on acreage they retain for $26.7 million (see this MDN story). Today we learn that Norse is converting $3.5 million worth of debt they owe into equity. That is, they’ve sold off another slice of the company by swapping bonds for stocks.
Read More “Norse Energy Converts $3.5M in Bonds into Stock Ownership”
An interesting comment from Southwestern Energy. According to Southwestern’s CEO Steven Mueller, it’s more expensive to drill for shale gas in the Fayetteville Shale than in the Marcellus Shale, and if prices for natural gas remain as low as they are now, Southwestern will elect to reduce spending and drilling in the Fayetteville, but not the Marcellus.
Read More “Southwestern Says Marcellus Cheaper to Drill than Elsewhere”
Cabot Oil & Gas finished 2011 as the S&P 500 top performer. The energy company’s stock value increased by a whopping 101% in 2011, despite falling natural gas prices. Cabot increased their dividend to shareholders by 33 percent and the company has declared a two-for-one stock split to be distributed later this month.
Cabot more than doubled natural gas production in the Marcellus Shale last year, largely due to their exceptionally productive wells in northeastern Pennsylvania, including Dimock, PA in Susquehanna County. Yesterday, Cabot released new numbers for just how productive their wells have become, passing the 600 million cubic feet (Mmcf) per day mark in combined output:
Read More “Cabot is S&P 500’s Top Performer for 2011, Production Up 154%”
Nearly a year after an accident which happened during hydraulic fracturing of a gas well in Tioga County, PA, the State Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has fined Talisman Energy $51,478. From a DEP press release issued yesterday:
Read More “Talisman Fined for Drilling Accident from January 2011”
The Chinese government, through state-controlled Sinopec, yesterday signed a deal with Devon Energy to buy into five prospective new exploration areas in the U.S. One of those areas is the Ohio Utica Shale, where Devon has increased it’s position to 235,000 net acres. With a $2.2 billion cash infusion coming from Sinopec, Devon will have the money to develop all five plays, including the Utica.
From the Devon press release:
Read More “China Makes $2.2B Investment in U.S. Shale, Including Utica”
In February of last year, Williams, one of the 10 largest natural gas producers in the U.S., announced that it would split the company and spin out the exploration & production (E&P) business into a new company (see this MDN story). True to their word, the split is now complete, and yesterday WPX Energy, the new company formed to take on the E&P division, began trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
In early November, Chesapeake Energy announced a major cash infusion into their Utica Shale exploration and production would come from a new joint venture with a mystery/unnamed “international major energy company” to the tune of $2.14 billion (see this MDN story). The amount turned out to be even higher: $2.32 billion, and we now know who the mystery company is: Total E&P USA, Inc., a subsidiary of Total S.A.
Read More “Chesapeake’s Utica Shale Mystery JV Partner Revealed”