Energy Companies

Cambria County | Elk County | Energy Companies | Lease & Royalty Payments | Lycoming County | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania General Energy | Sullivan County | Warren County

PA Game Comm. Does 2 Deals with PGE to Allow Drilling, 16% Royalty
September 22, 2023September 22, 2023

Last week, the Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners announced it had cut two different deals with Pennsylvania General Energy (PGE). Both deals involve land swaps with the prospect of new shale drilling by PGE on the way in both Lycoming County and Sullivan County. The Game Commission’s remit is “to protect, propagate, manage and preserve the game or wildlife of Pennsylvania.” Money from shale drilling helps the Game Commission accomplish its objectives. Both deals with PGE will provide the Game Commission with a 16% royalty for any natural gas produced.
Read More “PA Game Comm. Does 2 Deals with PGE to Allow Drilling, 16% Royalty”
BKV/Banpu | Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Energy Companies | EQT Corp | Industrywide Issues | Inflection Energy | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Repsol | S.T.L. Resources | Seneca Resources | Statewide PA

SRBC Approves 8 New Water Withdrawal Requests for Shale Drilling
September 22, 2023September 22, 2023

The highly functional and responsible Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC), unlike its completely dysfunctional and irresponsible cousin, the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC), continues to support the shale energy industry by approving water withdrawals for responsible and safe shale drilling. Last week, the SRBC approved 22 new water withdrawal requests within the basin, eight of which are for water used in drilling and fracking shale wells in Pennsylvania. The Marcellus/Utica shale drillers receiving a green light from SRBC included BKV (Banpu), Coterra Energy, EQT, Inflection Energy, Repsol (2 requests), Seneca Resources, and S.T.L. Resources.
Read More “SRBC Approves 8 New Water Withdrawal Requests for Shale Drilling”
Antero Resources | Chesapeake Energy | CNX Resources | Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Energy Companies | EQT Corp | Gulfport Energy | Range Resources Corp | Seneca Resources | Southwestern Energy

M-U Drilling Profits Hit Two-Year Low, Better Days Ahead?
September 22, 2023September 22, 2023

Investors in shale oil and gas companies suffered for years with little or no returns for the money they invested. Five of eight large Marcellus/Utica drillers saw their share prices decrease by an astonishing 85% or more from 2008 to 2019 (see Former EQT CEO: Shale Revolution a “Disaster” for Investors). Just before the COVID pandemic hit, shale companies began to change and focus on less drilling and more profitability, which began to turn things around. Then Russia illegally (and unprovoked) invaded Ukraine, driving oil and gas prices to record highs (see How Did M-U Gas Drillers Spend Their 2022 Record Haul of Cash?). Over the past year (five quarters), prices for gas and largely for oil have once again crashed, and along with it, a crash in profits for drillers.
Read More “M-U Drilling Profits Hit Two-Year Low, Better Days Ahead?”
Antero Resources | Ascent Resources | Beaver County | Bradford County | Chesapeake Energy | Doddridge County | Elk County | Energy Companies | EQT Corp | Jefferson County (OH) | Marion County | Marshall County | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Seneca Resources | Southwestern Energy | Weekly Permits | West Virginia | Wetzel County

22 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Sep 11 – 17
September 22, 2023September 22, 2023

New shale permits issued for Sep 11 – 17 in the Marcellus/Utica rebounded. There were 22 new permits issued last week, up from 14 issued two weeks ago. But the increase came from an unlikely source. Last week’s permit tally included 9 new permits in Pennsylvania, 1 new permit in Ohio, and 12 new permits in West Virginia. WV is typically on the low end of permits, not the high end. The top permittee for the week was Antero Resources, which received 6 permits in WV. EQT was a close second with 5 permits in WV.
Read More “22 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Sep 11 – 17”
Ascent Resources | Energy Companies

Ascent Distros $12.5M to Unitholders; Performing Reverse Stock Split
September 21, 2023September 21, 2023

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We spotted an announcement from Ascent Resources that piqued our curiosity. Ascent, founded as American Energy Partners by gas legend Aubrey McClendon, is a privately held company focusing 100% on the Ohio Utica Shale. Ascent, headquartered in Oklahoma City, OK, is Ohio’s largest natural gas producer (356,700 leased acres) and the 8th largest natural gas producer in the U.S. Yesterday, the company announced it is distributing $12.5 million to unitholders (shareholders) of the company next Monday. But the bigger news coming from the announcement is that Ascent will conduct a 1-for-100 reverse stock split, turning the 14.5 billion outstanding units (shares) of ownership into 145 million. Why?
Read More “Ascent Distros $12.5M to Unitholders; Performing Reverse Stock Split”
Energy Companies | Gulfport Energy

Gulfport Energy Expands Stock Repurchases by 63% to $650 Million
September 21, 2023September 21, 2023

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Gulfport Energy, the third-largest driller in the Ohio Utica Shale (by the number of wells drilled), emerged from bankruptcy in May 2021 with a new board and top management. In January of this year, the company appointed a new CEO, John Reinhart, the former President and CEO of M-U driller Montage Resources Corporation before that company was gobbled up by Southwestern Energy. Reinhart subsequently added two former colleagues from his days at Montage Resources to the Gulfport team (see Mgmt Changes at Gulfport – Getting the Montage Band Back Together). Looks like Gulfport’s new management team is working wonders. The Gulfport board announced yesterday it is expanding its stock buy-back program by 63 percent to $650 million.
Read More “Gulfport Energy Expands Stock Repurchases by 63% to $650 Million”
CNG/LNG | Energy Companies | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Repsol

Repsol Joins Shell, BP in Suing Venture Global for Missed LNG
September 21, 2023September 21, 2023

In early August, MDN told you about trouble brewing along the Gulf Coast between Venture Global LNG and its biggest customers: BP, Shell, Edison International (an Italian utility company), Repsol, and GALP Energia (see Shell, Edison, BP File for Arbitration Against Venture Global LNG). Venture Global is building the Calcasieu Pass LNG export facility in southwestern Louisiana’s Cameron Parish, less than 50 miles south of Lake Charles. We suspect Marcellus/Utica molecules flow to the facility, hence our interest. While Venture Global is still working on completing Calcasieu Pass, it has, so far, already shipped over 200 cargoes of LNG, much of that during the mega-high prices of last year when the Russia/Ukraine war was at its peak. Yet none of those cargoes have gone to the facility’s contracted customers. Shell, Edison, and BP sued Venture (in this case, sued means going to arbitration). Now, Spanish energy giant Repsol has joined as the fourth company to pursue arbitration against Venture Global for breach of contract.
Read More “Repsol Joins Shell, BP in Suing Venture Global for Missed LNG”
Commodity Price | Energy Companies | Equinor/Statoil | Industrywide Issues

BofA Predicts NatGas Price Could Crash Below $2 in Early 2024
September 21, 2023September 21, 2023

We continue to monitor the price of natural gas, which has remained mired in the mid-$2 range for months on end. Every time it seems like it might make a run for $3, the price slides–as it did yesterday (down $0.12 to close at $2.73). We spotted two somewhat contradictory stories about the price of gas, both published by Reuters. One story is about a prediction from Bank of America, which said in a note that if we have a mild winter (as some are predicting), it’s quite possible the price of natgas will crash below $2 during the first quarter of 2024.
Read More “BofA Predicts NatGas Price Could Crash Below $2 in Early 2024”
ConocoPhillips | Energy Companies

Shale Energy is on the Verge of Next Oil and Gas Breakthrough
September 20, 2023September 20, 2023

Tim Leach, ConocoPhillips

Every time we read about peak oil or gas (demand or supply), or that there are no more good places left to drill for shale and drillers are now left to scrape and claw at less desirable locations, or that the decline curves are killing shale, etc. — we laugh. How many times over the years has MDN told you something along the lines of this: The shale industry is a marvel. It keeps getting better and keeps discovering new shale layers to drill, new techniques to use, and new technologies to employ. In a talk given at the University of Texas, Tim Leach, a board member with ConocoPhillips and a former Permian Basin explorer, made this prediction: Someone out in the shale world is on the verge of the next oil and gas breakthrough. Sound familiar?
Read More “Shale Energy is on the Verge of Next Oil and Gas Breakthrough”
CNG/LNG | Energy Companies | EQT Corp | Exporting | Industrywide Issues

EQT Signs Deal with Commonwealth LNG in La. to Liquefy 1 MTPA LNG
September 19, 2023September 19, 2023

Commonwealth LNG is developing a 9.3 MTPA (million tons per annum) liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal project located on the Calcasieu River in the Gulf of Mexico near Cameron, Louisiana. Commonwealth anticipates a final investment decision for the project in the first quarter of 2024, with the first cargo deliveries expected in 2027. According to an announcement yesterday, just over 10% of the gas that will get liquefied and exported will come from EQT Corporation’s Marcellus/Utica operations.
Read More “EQT Signs Deal with Commonwealth LNG in La. to Liquefy 1 MTPA LNG”
Enbridge | Energy Companies | Energy Services | EQT Corp | Kinder Morgan | Seneca Resources | TC Energy/TransCanada | Williams

Former Philly Mayor & Fla. Congressman (Dems) Join NatGas Group
September 19, 2023September 19, 2023

Natural Allies for a Clean Energy Future is a 501(c)(4) advocacy group launched in August 2020 to promote natural gas as the best solution to support so-called renewable energy and the best solution to lower greenhouse gas emissions. The leftist rag, The Guardian, reported that Natural Allies for a Clean Energy Future has budgeted over $10 million for its advocacy efforts. The efforts include convincing younger, liberal, and non-white audiences that natural gas is clean and green. Is it working? Last year, the group recruited former U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu (Democrat from Louisiana) and earlier this year recruited former Congressman Tim Ryan (Democrat from Ohio) to sit on the group’s “leadership council.” Natural Allies has just recruited two more Democrats as reps–former Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter and former Florida Congressman Kendrick Meek (both African Americans). Is this Democrats-for-hire? Or do all four of these people really believe in a future with natural gas energy?
Read More “Former Philly Mayor & Fla. Congressman (Dems) Join NatGas Group”
Energy Companies | PennEnergy Resources

Antis Continue to Hammer PA DEP re PennEnergy Creek Water Request
September 18, 2023September 18, 2023

Big Sewickley Creek (Credit: KDKA-TV)

The Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) continues its delay strategy with a request by PennEnergy Resources to draw water from Big Sewickley Creek for use in fracking operations. More than two years ago, PennEnergy requested permission to draw water from the creek. So far, with the help of anti-fossil fuel groups like FrackTracker and Halt the Harm pressuring the DEP, PennEnergy hasn’t withdrawn a single 8-ounce cup of water from the creek. There’s no indication of when the DEP will issue its ruling.
Read More “Antis Continue to Hammer PA DEP re PennEnergy Creek Water Request”
Antero Resources | Butler County | Energy Companies | Marshall County | PennEnergy Resources | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania General Energy | Range Resources Corp | Southwestern Energy | Tioga County (PA) | Tyler County | Washington County | Weekly Permits | West Virginia | Wetzel County

14 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Sep 4 – 10
September 15, 2023September 15, 2023

New shale permits issued for Sep 4 – 10 in the Marcellus/Utica continued to be in the crapper. There were 14 new permits issued last week, up 1 from 13 issued two weeks ago, and down from the 16 issued three weeks ago. Not so long ago we routinely saw 30+ issued each week. Last week’s permit tally included 8 new permits in Pennsylvania, no new permits in Ohio, and 6 new permits in West Virginia. The top permittee for the week was Antero Resources, which received six permits in WV.
Read More “14 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Sep 4 – 10”
Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies

Dell’Osso Says Extra 10 Bcf/d of NatGas Demand Coming in 2024/25
September 12, 2023September 12, 2023

Nick Dell’Osso

While speaking at the Barclays CEO Energy-Power last week, Chesapeake Energy CEO Nick Dell’Osso told attendees there will be 10 Bcf/d (billion cubic feet per day) of more demand for U.S. natural gas beginning in 2024 to help feed new LNG export facilities coming online next year and the year after. Where will the gas come from? Unfortunately, it won’t come from the Marcellus/Utica. According to Dell’Osso, most of the increase will come from the Haynesville and the Permian.
Read More “Dell’Osso Says Extra 10 Bcf/d of NatGas Demand Coming in 2024/25”
Energy Companies | Exxon Mobil | Industrywide Issues | Research

Exxon Annual Report: O&G to Provide 54% of World Energy in 2050
September 12, 2023September 12, 2023

ExxonMobil recently published “The Global Outlook,” the company’s latest view of energy demand and supply through 2050. The document forms the basis for Exxon’s business planning and is “underpinned by a deep understanding of long-term market fundamentals.” Exxon is making short-term decisions based on this long-term document. And what does this document say? It says, contrary to the fantasies of leftists, that fossil energy (petroleum, natural gas, and coal) will still make up 68% of the world’s energy sources in 2050, some 30 years from now. That’s down from 82% today. Oil and gas by themselves will provide 54% of the world’s energy in 2050. O&G is still the one.
Read More “Exxon Annual Report: O&G to Provide 54% of World Energy in 2050”
Energy Companies | Range Resources Corp

Range Resources, Other Shale Drillers Chasing 4-Mile Wells
September 11, 2023September 11, 2023

Last week, MDN told you about Gulfport Energy drilling three Utica Shale wells in Ohio (with a fourth underway) that are massive 4-mile wells (see Gulfport’s 4-Mile Utica Wells Producing 2.5+ Bcfe per 1,000 Ft). Gulfport is not the only company working on these super-long wells. According to the Wall Street Journal, Range Resources has its sights set on drilling 4-mile wells, too.
Read More “Range Resources, Other Shale Drillers Chasing 4-Mile Wells”