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Williams, Southwestern Join Group Pushing for M-U Hydrogen Hub
In early February, MDN told you about an industry-led group collaborating to attract one of four $2 billion hydrogen hubs to the Marcellus/Utica region provided for in the so-called Biden infrastructure bill (see EQT, Shell, Others Launch CCUS/Hydrogen Hub Initiative for OH-PA-WV). EQT appears to be taking the lead on this effort, but it includes other big names as well, including Equinor, Shell Polymers, and U.S. Steel. Two more big M-U companies have joined the club: Williams and Southwestern Energy.
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The Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) reporting website finally fixed whatever problem was plaguing it (this time), so we now have the permit report from August 1-7. Pennsylvania only issued seven new permits during that time, with three going to Range Resources in Washington County and three going to Southwestern Energy in Susquehanna County. Ohio issued a single new permit to Southwestern in Monroe County. And West Virginia issued five new permits, with four of the five going to EQT in Wetzel County.
Epsilon Energy concentrates most of its effort on developing Marcellus Shale wells in Susquehanna County, PA. Epsilon typically does not do its own drilling. The company joint venture partners with (gives money to) other companies, like Chesapeake Energy, and the other company typically does the drilling. Epsilon issued its second quarter 2022 update earlier this week. The company’s Marcellus net gas production was 2.324 Bcf (billion cubic feet) in total, not per day, during 2Q22. That number is down from 2.548 Bcf in 2Q21.
Oil and gas companies have fallen into line over the past few years, bowing to pressure to play the silly games the left sets up, including generating reports on how much greenhouse gases (GHG) a company produces. The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), an extremely arrogant organization, declares itself to be the arbiter of what is and is not acceptable for carbon dioxide and methane emissions. When oil and gas companies begin to play the game a little too well (winning the game), the left gets torqued off and attacks. Attack of the Big Green clones. Here’s an example from the Marcellus/Utica, involving Range Resources, of how Big Green attacks when companies begin to win the game…
In June, a Shell executive told the Appalachian Energy Innovation Collaborative conference that the company’s Pennsylvania ethane cracker project was 98% done and would be fully online within “a couple of months” (see 
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 (337,000 leased acres) and the 8th largest natural gas producer in the U.S. The company issued its second quarter update yesterday. Ascent averaged production of 2.0 Bcfe/d for the quarter, the same as 1Q22 and virtually the same as 2Q21. By the end of June, Ascent was producing 2.2 Bcfe/d. Nearly all of Ascent’s production (93%) was natural gas, while the rest was oil and NGLs.
ECA Marcellus Trust I, the royalty interest holder in some of the wells drilled and maintained by Greylock Energy in Greene County, PA, announced it will issue a payout (the equivalent of a dividend) to unitholders of 17.6 cents for 2Q22. That is the highest payout we’ve seen since we’ve been actively tracing it quarter by quarter. The company continues to hold back some of the profits it makes to build a $3.8 million cash reserve.
Southwestern Energy, which along with EQT and Chesapeake Energy, is one of the three leading producers of natural gas in the U.S., issued its second quarter update last Friday. The company reported total net production of 438 Bcfe (billion cubic feet equivalent), or 4.8 Bcfe/d, including 4.2 Bcf/d of natural gas and 100,000 barrels per day (Bbls/d) of liquids. Southwestern invested $585 million of capital during 2Q and placed 42 wells to sales, including 23 in the Marcellus/Utica and 19 in Haynesville. The company made $1.2 billion in profit during 2Q22, versus losing $609 million in the same quarter a year ago.
On July 1, just as everyone was heading out the door for summer vacation, Ascent Resources announced it is buying another 26,800 acres in the Ohio Utica for $270 million (see 
PennEnergy Resources LLC, which according to the Pittsburgh Business Times is the 11th largest shale driller in Pennsylvania (with 405 active shale wells), achieved responsibly sourced natural gas certification from Project Canary on nearly all of its wells in January of this year (see 
Make no mistake: The Manchin-Schumer “Soar Inflation Higher” bill is bad for the country in EVERY way, including bad for the fossil energy industry via an industry-killing methane tax (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. By September of last year, the rumors began circulating that the company was shopping itself for sale (see 
Chesapeake Energy issued its 2Q22 update on Tuesday and held a conference call with analysts yesterday. The big news is that Chesapeake has come full circle, back to its natural gas roots. Chessy CEO Nick Dell’Osso said the company will focus more on drilling for natural gas in both the Marcellus and Haynesville shale plays, and less on drilling in the company’s oil-focused Eagle Ford play. In fact, Chesapeake now views the Eagle Ford as “non-core” and will (soon) stop investing in drilling new wells there. Our take is that you can look for a sale of the EF assets soon.