Range Resources Corp

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Which 5 Companies Dominate Production in the SW Marcellus?
July 20, 2016July 21, 2016

7/21/16 Update: Please see our note below updating production numbers to include Antero Resources in the top tier of Marcellus producers.

Which companies “dominate” the Marcellus Shale in southwestern Pennsylvania? It depends on how you define “dominate.” Typically that means “which companies produce the most natural gas and/or oil from the Marcellus play.” That makes sense. We spotted an article on The Motley Fool investors’ website on that very topic. However, the Fool article was titled “The 5 Companies Dominating the Marcellus Shale Play.” In reading it, we immediately knew this was tilted to the SWPA area and not all of the PA Marcellus because the three most productive drillers in the entire Marcellus–Chesapeake Energy, Cabot Oil & Gas, and Southwestern Energy–weren’t in the Fool’s Top 5 list! Below we have a portion of the Fool article because it’s still interesting to see which companies are dominate in the SWPA area. We also have a list of the top 20 Marcellus producers for the entire state of PA–including those located and operating mainly in the NE portion of the play…
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Commodity Price | Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Energy Companies | EQT Corp | Industrywide Issues | Range Resources Corp

Which 3 Marc. Drillers Best Able to Ride Price Roller Coaster?
July 20, 2016July 20, 2016

Click for larger version

The price of natural gas at the benchmark Henry Hub trading point has slow risen through the spring and summer–in particular since June (see the chart at left). A collective sigh of relief has come from investors, traders, drillers and just about everyone. But don’t break out the party hats just yet. Analysts are warning that “the party is already coming to an end.” The stark reality is this: the price of natural gas is and will gyrate up and down. That is, the price of natgas is highly volatile and remain so for the foreseeable future. Why? Lots of reasons. Weather is always a big factor. When it’s real hot or real cold, natgas is used to heat or cool, drawing down reserves and boosting the price. When storage levels get high (too much supply, not enough demand), the price goes down. New markets appear to soak up some of the supply, like more electric plants converting to natgas or being built to use natgas, less supply, price goes higher. Hey, it’s complicated. The question is, which Marcellus drillers (i.e. “producers”) are best positioned to ride out these gyrating up and down cycles when it comes to the price natgas will fetch? An analyst with S&P Global Market Intelligence believes he has the answer to that question…
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Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Washington County

Homeowner Claims Range Doctored Well Test Results, Suing for Fraud
June 16, 2016June 16, 2016

In 2014, the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) fined Range Resources a whopping $4.15 million for violations related to several of Range’s wastewater impoundments in Washington County, PA (see PA DEP Fines Range Resources $4.15M for Wastewater Impoundments). Some of the nearby neighbors claimed that Range’s impoundments had leaked, contaminating their water wells. One of those landowners was Loren Kiskadden, who sued Range in civil court. The problem is, the DEP found that the nearby Yeager impoundment had not contaminated Kiskadden’s well, which led to allegations that the DEP had bungled the investigation (see Did DEP Mishandle Range Wastewater Impoundment Investigation?). Kiskadden had to press on, because if the DEP didn’t reverse its finding, he would have no civil case against Range. Press on he did (see Hearing on Range Yeager Impoundment/Water Contamination Continues). The matter was heard by the DEP’s Environmental Hearing Board (EHB). The EHB found that Kiskadden didn’t have a case–his well was not contaminated by Range’s impoundment. So Kiskadden and his lawyers asked for a re-hearing. Kiskadden’s re-hearing request got turned down (see DEP Final Determination: Range Didn’t Pollute Kiskadden Water Well). End of story. Except, we now have a new wrinkle. Another homeowner–we’re not sure if this is for the Yeager or a different impoundment–is suing both Range and a lab Range used to test their water well claiming fraud–that Range changed the test results that the DEP based its “faulty” investigation on…
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Bradford County | Energy Companies | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp

Thai Company Buys Out Range Resources’ JV in NEPA for $112M
May 24, 2016May 25, 2016

5/25/16 NOTE: Our thanks to a sharp MDN reader (Chris H.) for pointing out we had this story slightly wrong. Banpu is not entering a JV with Range, they are, instead, buying Range’s portion of an existing JV. That is, Range is exiting the JV by selling its share to Banpu. Range was not the operator in the JV acreage–they only owned a piece of the action. Talisman is the operator of the wells and the company that does the drilling.

Range Resources, the company that just committed to buying another driller based in Louisiana for $4.4 billion (see Range Resources Buys Louisiana Driller in Deal Worth $4.4B), has just ~~gotten itself a joint venture partner/investor in its own Marcellus operations~~ just sold its portion of a joint venture in northeast Pennsylvania. Banpu Pcl, Thailand’s largest coal producer, yesterday invested $112 million ~~in some of~~ to purchase Range’s Marcellus non-operated JV operations in Bradford County, PA. The “Chaffee Corners Joint Exploration Agreement” will give Banpu an ownership share in 62 producing wells and another 14 wells waiting on completion, and a share in 170+ more drilling locations. The wells currently produce an average 21 million cubic feet per day (Mmcf/d) of natgas…
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PA DEP Drops $8.9M Fine Against Range Res. re Methane Migration
May 23, 2016May 23, 2016

In June 2015 then-Secretary of the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP), John Quigley, slapped Range Resources with an $8.9 million fine–the largest such fine ever levied by the DEP (see PA DEP Slaps Range with Record $8.9M Fine for Methane Migration). Range’s enviro “crime?” Methane migration from a well in Lycoming County, PA. The DEP says the Range well, drilled in 2011, leaked methane since at least 2013 via an improperly cemented well casing, and the methane “contaminated the groundwater-fed wells of private water supplies, and a nearby stream.” Range and the landowner where the well is drilled say methane was in groundwater supplies long before Range drilled the well. Range fought the action tooth and nail, appealing the determination and fine to the PA Environmental Hearing Board (see PA DEP’s $8.9M Methane Migration Fine Appealed by Range Resources). Although the DEP is being hush hush, in early May the DEP dropped the fine and the case against Range…
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Energy Companies | Range Resources Corp

Range Resources Buys Louisiana Driller in Deal Worth $4.4B
May 17, 2016May 17, 2016

Credit: Oil & Gas Journal – Click for larger version

Range Resources, the very first driller in the Marcellus Shale (in 2004) and one of the largest Marcellus drillers, has decided to take advantage of the down market and branch out into another shale play. Yesterday Range announced a deal to buy Memorial Resource Development Corp. (MRD) in a stock swap/debt assumption deal worth $4.4 billion. MRD holds 220,000 acres of leases and drills in the Terryville Field in northern Louisiana. Essentially Range has purchased themselves a Gulf Coast operation which sets them up nicely to export natural gas to Mexico. That’s at least part of the attraction. Perhaps another part of the attraction is that gas from Terryville Field, part of the Cotton Valley Tight Gas formation, is cheaper to drill and in many cases just as productive as shale wells in the Marcellus. At least according to an MRD investor’s presentation (see below). Below is the Range announcement and other associated details to help understand that announcement…
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Energy Companies | Range Resources Corp

Range Res. 1Q16: Still Running 3 Rigs, Drilled a Big Utica Well
April 29, 2016April 29, 2016

Range Resources, the very first driller to sink a hole in the Marcellus Shale back in 2004, issued their first quarter 2016 update yesterday. Range reports losing $92 million in 1Q16 after making $28 million in 1Q15 (not uncommon among drillers right now). The company cut production costs by 10%, always a good thing when every penny counts, and they secured a $3 billion borrowing base. During 1Q16 Range became the first U.S. driller to export ethane to Europe, a shipment that left from Marcus Hook near Philadelphia. Marcellus production was up 17% over 1Q15, and according to Range, they recently completed a new Utica well that “appears to be one of the best in the play” based on early results from the well. Range is currently operating three rigs in the Marcellus/Utica and plans to keep them busy for the rest of 2016. Here’s the full update from Range…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Statewide PA

Range Exec Apologizes for Remark about Avoiding Wealthy Houses
April 25, 2016April 25, 2016

Terry Bossert – Range Resources

Last week MDN told you of a concerted campaign by anti-drilling groups to use a dry and sarcastic remark made by one its executives to accuse of the company of avoiding drilling near “rich houses” and instead targeting “poor neighborhoods” for their drilling program (see Radical Groups Claim Range Resources Avoids Rich Neighborhoods). The executive who made the remark (taken out of context by the antis) has now apologized for that (boneheaded) remark, explaining it was a poor attempt at humor, to lighten up the audience. But antis insist they’re godlike with the ability to know what was in the head of the executive. Antis claim the comment was no joke…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Statewide PA

Radical Groups Claim Range Resources Avoids Rich Neighborhoods
April 18, 2016April 18, 2016

Three radical environmental groups well-known for lying about fracking and the oil and gas industry in Pennsylvania–The Center for Coalfield Justice, the Pennsylvania Chapter of the Sierra Club and the Clean Air Council–are accusing Range Resources of intentionally avoiding “wealthy” neighborhoods and instead targeting low-income neighborhoods when drilling wells. The three groups make the claim that Terry Bossert, Range VP for legislative and regulatory affairs, told a meeting of the Pennsylvania Bar Institute that his company company tries to avoid siting shale gas wells near “big houses” where residents might have the financial resources to challenge drilling. Reps from the radical groups claim they heard him say this at the meeting. Range has responded that the comment was a joke–made in jest. The radical groups say it certainly didn’t seem that way to members of the audience. If the comment was not made in jest, it’s deeply troubling and, frankly, boneheaded. The problem is, the groups doing the accusing have lied so much about fracking and frackers, you simply can’t believe what they say. Is this a case of yet another ginned up lie by Big Green groups, or a case of the “boy who cried wolf” by those groups?…
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Top 10 Marcellus/Utica Drillers in SWPA – Ranked by Production
April 4, 2016April 4, 2016

Everybody loves a list. We do too! We spotted a ranking in a recent issue of the Pittsburgh Business Times that lists the top 37 shale gas producers in southwestern Pennsylvania, based on the amount of gas they produced in 2015. We pulled the names of the top 10, listed in order from most to least…
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Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Lycoming County | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Regulation

PA DEP’s $8.9M Methane Migration Fine Appealed by Range Resources
April 4, 2016April 4, 2016

Last June the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) sent Range Resource a notice they planned to fine the company a whopping $8.9 million for methane migration into water wells and a nearby stream in Lycoming County, PA (see PA DEP Slaps Range with Record $8.9M Fine for Methane Migration). The DEP said the Range well, drilled in 2011, had been leaking methane since at least 2013 (improperly cemented well casing) and the methane had “contaminated the groundwater-fed wells of private water supplies, and a nearby stream.” But the DEP never actually sent a bill for the fine to Range. Why? Because Range immediately appealed the DEP’s initial notice to the PA Environmental Hearing Board. It now appears the appeal process will drag on at least until the dog days of summer–in July…
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Top 10 Shale Wells of 2015 for Marcellus, Utica, Entire Country
April 1, 2016April 1, 2016

Rystad Energy Ranks, a data company based in Norway, hosts web-based portal with easy-to-use access data on oil and gas wells around the globle. They call their service “Rystad Energy cubes.” Rystead has made a wealth of data available in predefined “ranking lists” where the user can change filter settings to drill into and slice and dice the data. They call it their “database list format Ranks.” Up to now, Rystad Energy cubes have been available only through Rystad Energy’s proprietary Cube Browser. With “Ranks” users can now access predefined analyses based on the same databases. The really cool thing? They offer the “top 10” for various queries absolutely free. No registration required. We took it for a spin and produced Top 10 lists for Marcellus Shale well production in 2015, Utica Shale well production in 2015, and all American shale wells for 2015. As you might imagine being an MDN reader, most of the wells in the “all American” list are wells located in the Marcellus/Utica…
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Bradford County | Energy Companies | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp

Range Resources Gets $110 Million for Bradford County, PA Assets
March 29, 2016March 29, 2016

In February MDN told you that Range Resources had inked a deal to sell non-operated assets–some 11,000 acres of leases along with shale wells located in Bradford County, PA–for $112 million (see Range Resources 2015: $714M Loss, Sells Non-Operated Marcellus). Range is famously tight-lipped about these kinds of deals and didn’t identify who the buyer is. Yesterday Range issued another press release to say that the deal is now done and dusted–the money received and already spent. In the end, Range got $110 million (not $112 million). They still don’t say who the buyer is…
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Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Landfills | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Regulation | Statewide PA

PA DEP Won’t Renew Permits that Allow Drill Cuttings to be Reused
March 28, 2016March 28, 2016

A few years ago (not sure exactly when) three companies were issued permits by the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) to reuse drill cuttings–leftover rock and dirt that come out of a borehole–on construction sites. The three companies were issued the permits on an experimental basis. The permits will expire March 1, 2017. Even though DEP officials openly state, on the record, that “drill cuttings aren’t dangerous,” the DEP has indicated they will not renew the permits after they expire. However, the DEP appears to leave the door open to issuing more permits in the future, once they make a final determination after reviewing the results from these three companies. Who are the companies that were issued permits?…
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Energy Companies | Range Resources Corp

Banks Reaffirm Range Resources’ $4B Line of Credit
March 18, 2016March 18, 2016

Range Resources, one of the premier drillers in the Marcellus/Utica, and the company that drilled the very first Marcellus well in 2004, just passed its annual financial physical. The 29 banks that loan Range money say the company’s $3 billion “borrowing base” and its $4 billion line of credit are still OK by them. Which put a smile on the face of Range’s CFO Roger Manny…
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Energy Companies | Range Resources Corp

Range Resources 2015: $714M Loss, Sells Non-Operated Marcellus
February 26, 2016February 26, 2016

Range Resources released their fourth quarter and full year 2015 financial and operational update yesterday. Some interesting items of note. The company lost $714 million for the year, much of that a paper loss of impairments and depreciation. Also of note, the company sold non-operated wells and leases in the Marcellus in Bradford County, PA for $112 million. Range has reduced the 2016 drilling budget by 45% over 2015, down to just $495 million. Hey, it’s better than not spending at all. Below is the 2015 update…
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