Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Seneca Resources | Tioga County (PA)
Enviro Group Objects to Well Pad Location in Tioga State Forest
In 2015, the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) axed a plan to use shale drill cuttings combined with concrete to extend the Wellsboro-Johnston Airport in Tioga County (see PA DEP Nixes Plan to Use Drilling Cuttings for Tioga Airport Runway). One of the environmental groups that helped defeat that safe project was Tioga County’s Pine Creek Headwaters Protection Group (PCHPG). The same group has trained its sights on blocking a proposed Seneca well pad on state forest land where Seneca has the legal right (under lease) to drill for gas.
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Ascent Resources, originally founded as American Energy Partners by gas legend Aubrey McClendon, is a privately-held company that focuses 100% on the Ohio Utica Shale. Ascent is Ohio’s largest natural gas producer (352,000 leased acres) and the 8th largest natural gas producer in the U.S. The company issued its fourth quarter and full-year 2022 update yesterday. Ascent net production averaged 2.2 Bcfe/d (billion cubic feet equivalent per day) during 4Q, and averaged 2.1 Bcfe/d for the year. The company made $1.6 billion in profit during 4Q, and $361 million in profit for the entire year (versus losing $806 million in 2021).
New shale permits issued for Feb. 27 through Mar. 5 in the Marcellus/Utica stayed the same as the prior week. There were 29 new permits issued in total last week, including 7 new permits for Pennsylvania, 20 new permits for Ohio, and 2 new permits issued in West Virginia. Last week the top receiver of new permits was Hilcorp Energy with 8 new permits–all of them in Columbiana County, OH. The second highest number of permits went to Encino Energy, with 4 permits in Carroll County and 2 in Columbiana County. EOG Resources also received 4 permits in Carroll County. It seems the northern part of the Ohio Utica saw a lot of love last week.
CERAWeek, happening this week in Houston, Texas, is one of (perhaps THE) premier oil and gas conferences held each year. Everybody who’s anybody attends, except for yours truly. Sometimes it’s the things you (over)hear around the proverbial water cooler at such events that are more interesting than what is said from the stage or in media interviews. For example, Banpu’s BKV, with major assets in the northeast Pennsylvania Marcellus, filed plans with the Securities and Exchange Commission late last year to launch an initial public offering (see 
Two weeks ago, MDN brought you a summary of the latest quarterly update from Chesapeake Energy, which includes guidance (a forecast) for what the company plans to do in 2023 vis-à-vis drilling in the Marcellus and the Haynesville (see 
As we have been reporting, CERAWeek, the world’s premier energy conference, is happening all this week in Houston, Texas. MDN is not there, but there are a number of news organizations on site. One of them is Bloomberg. Yes, we know, Bloomberg tilts left. But sometimes they send reporters out who actually do real reporting, as is happening from CERAWeek. On Monday, Bloomberg filed a roundup/overview of things said at the event–both in sessions and in interviews with Bloomberg reporters. Below is the roundup from Day One of CERAWeek, which includes an interesting summary of Repsol comments that the company is investing close to $1.5 billion in 2023 in exploration and production in North America. Repsol has major operations in the Marcellus–so we can expect an expanded drilling program in Repsol’s northeastern PA assets.
As we have been reporting, CERAWeek, the world’s premier energy conference, is happening all this week in Houston, Texas. On Tuesday, Bloomberg reporters filed a roundup/overview of happenings at the event. Below is the roundup from Day Two of CERAWeek, which includes a comment by EQT CEO Toby Rice, who said he believes the natural gas market will come back into balance in the “middle half” of this year as production adjusts (i.e., less drilling) following the recent precipitous collapse in prices.
Spanish-owed Repsol owns 214,000 net acres of leases in the Marcellus Shale, primarily located in northeastern Pennsylvania in Bradford, Susquehanna, and Tioga counties. Early last year (in January 2022), Repsol closed on a deal to buy Rockdale Marcellus out of bankruptcy for $222 million, adding Rockdale’s acreage and wells to Resol’s portfolio (see 
In 2020, EOG Resources, one of the largest oil and gas drillers in the U.S. (with international operations in Trinidad and China), sold *all* of its Marcellus assets, which were located in Bradford County, PA, to Tilden Resources for $130 million (see 
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 new 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 (see 
Range Resources Corporation, the very first driller to sink a Marcellus shale well back in 2004 in western Pennsylvania, issued its fourth quarter and full-year 2022 update yesterday. During 2022, Range generated record cash flow from operations of $1.9 billion and produced an average of 2.1 billion cubic feet equivalent per day (Bcf/d) of natural gas. The company spent $492 million on drilling in 2022. Of keen interest to us was a response by Range’s CEO about the rumors that Pioneer Natural Resources is interested in buying or merging with Range.
Looks like the rumors were true. Last December, we told you that oil giant BP (formerly British Petroleum) was considering axing its annual Statistical Review of World Energy publication, which the company has published since 1952. Why stop publishing it? Because being honest about the data was exposing the so-called transition to green energy as the hoax that it is (see 
The rumor mill kicked into overdrive on Friday when Bloomberg published an article saying Pioneer Natural Resources Co., one the largest independent oil producers in the U.S., is considering (negotiating for) an acquisition of Marcellus driller Range Resources Corp., according to “people familiar with the matter.” Range was the very first company to drill a Marcellus shale well back in 2004 in western Pennsylvania. By the end of Friday, Pioneer issued an abrupt statement saying it “is not contemplating a significant business combination or other acquisition transaction.” It wasn’t an outright denial that such talks are taking place. Range could not be reached for comment.
Southwestern Energy used to be a pure-play Marcellus/Utica driller until it picked up leases and wells in the Louisiana Haynesville play in 2021. Last Friday, the company issued its fourth quarter and full-year 2022 update. The update shows Southwestern now gives more love (i.e., money) to Haynesville drilling than it does to Marcellus/Utica drilling, even though the M-U produces more gas than the company’s Haynesville assets.