Range Resources Corp

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    Chesapeake & Range Resources Peg Value of Their Marcellus Shale Holdings from $36K – $56K per Acre

    Range Resources CEO John Pinkerton said that their holdings in the Marcellus Shale play are worth more than four times the $14,000 per acre that recent deals between energy companies have brought. Chesapeake Energy CEO Aubrey McClendon says his company’s Marcellus Shale holdings are worth $35,900 per acre to the company. With 1.57 million acres leased, that’s an astonishing $53 billion worth of value for Chesapeake!

    If those values are true—and not just hype for investors—that would make the recent deals between Reliance and Atlas Energy ($14,167/acre) and Misui and Anadarko Petroleum ($14,000/acre) real bargains.

    MDN Note: These prices are not the prices energy companies pay landowners to lease land. Lease prices are more in the range of $5,000 per acre recently. Rather, this is the value energy companies say an average acre of Marcellus Shale land will eventually supply in revenue to the company. Not all land is productive, so the number is an average across all leased acreage.

    *Tulsa World/Bloomberg News (Apr 14) – Marcellus Shale assets considered valuable

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    Range Resources Increases its Marcellus Output Estimates by 25 Percent

    Range Resources, the very first horizontal driller in the Marcellus Shale, is even more bullish about the Marcellus Shale now than in the past. In a press statement released today, Range says due to the longer lateral wells they now use, the average potential gas that can be harvested from each well has gone from 3 to 4 billion cubic feet to 4 to 5 billion cubic feet, a 25 percent increase. Range estimates the total gas it can realize across all of it’s current lease holdings in the Marcellus Shale is 20 to 27 trillion cubic feet. According to Range CEO John Pinkerton, Marcellus Shale play economics are “extremely attractive even in a low gas price environment.”

    From the Range press statement:

    FORT WORTH, TEXAS, APRIL 12, 2010…Range Resource Corporation today provided an update of its Marcellus Shale operations. Range currently owns approximately 1.3 million net acres in the Marcellus Shale play, with approximately 900,000 net acres in the “fairway” of the play. Of the fairway acreage, approximately 600,000 net acres are located in the southwest portion of the play and 300,000 net acres are located in the northeast portion. Range had previously estimated that its horizontal wells in the southwest averaged 4.4 Bcfe per well at a development cost of $3.5 million. On average, these wells have lateral lengths of about 2,500 feet and eight stage completions.

    In mid-2009, Range began drilling wells in the southwest using longer laterals and more completion stages. In 2009, Range drilled 17 horizontal wells with average lateral lengths of 3,056 feet with an average completion of ten stages. Based on the results to date, Range estimates the longer lateral wells have reserves of 5.0 Bcfe with an average development cost of $4.0 million per well. The impact of the longer lateral wells is very favorable as Range believes it will be able to recover more of the gas in place with fewer wells, while generating higher rates of return. Range is continuing to evaluate longer laterals and more completion stages to determine the optimal design. Like other shale plays, Range believes the optimal lateral length and optimal number of completion stages will vary depending on different areas of the play.

    Read More “Range Resources Increases its Marcellus Output Estimates by 25 Percent”

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    PA DEP Staffs Up with More Gas Well Inspectors

    The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection is hiring more inspectors for gas and oil wells. Right now there are 125 inspectors statewide. By the summer, an additional 68 will be on board bringing the total to 193 inspectors. Which is a good thing according to the York (PA) Dispatch, which notes:

    In the last year, to cite two examples, inspectors noted that a brine pipeline operated by Range Resources Corp. was spilling production fluids into the ground at Cross Creek Park near Avella, resulting in a $23,500 penalty for the Texas-based company; and Atlas Resources was fined for violations at 13 of its wells in Washington, Fayette and Greene counties.*

    MDN agrees. More inspectors are a good thing. It keeps everyone honest, and reassures the general public that drilling can be done safely.

    *York Dispatch (Mar 10) – Marcellus Shale: Drilling inspectors welcome

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    New Pipelines Coming to Lycoming, Tioga and Bradford Counties in Pennsylvania

    PVR Midstream, a division of Penn Virginia Resource Partners, has signed an agreement with Range Resources to construct and operate pipelines and compression facilities for Range’s drilling in the Marcellus shale in PA.

    According to the press release:

    PVR Midstream and Range have agreed to an area of mutual interest (AMI) that covers parts of Lycoming, Tioga and Bradford Counties in north central Pennsylvania, in which Range currently holds a substantial acreage position. Within this AMI, PVR Midstream will construct approximately 16 miles of 24- and 30-inch gathering trunklines, smaller-diameter field gathering lines and compression facilities required to gather Range’s production from the AMI. The gathering system will have over 700 million cubic feet per day (MMcf per day) of throughput capacity, and the initial phase is expected to become operational in the fourth quarter of 2010. The agreement provides Range significant firm gathering capacity in the system, and PVR Midstream will be compensated for the gathering and compression services provided to Range through a combination of volumetric fees, with no direct commodity exposure. Excess capacity on the system and the location within a core area of Marcellus Shale development should allow PVR Midstream to develop additional revenue by providing gathering and compression services to area producers.

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    William Zagorski, “Father of the Marcellus Shale”

    William Zagorski, geologist and musician, is credited as being the “Father of the Marcellus Shale.” It’s an interesting story how he convinced Range Resources to try drilling in the Marcellus using hydraulic fracturing. Mr. Zagorski even has a music CD! Read the story of the beginning of drilling in the Marcellus Shale and about the man who pioneered it:

    PA Observer-Reporter (Mar 7) – Riding high on the range, the ‘Father of the Marcellus Shale’ leading a busy life these days

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    Range Resources Will Drill 150 Horizontal Wells in PA in 2010

    Range Resources Press Release (Feb 24)
    Range Announces 2009 Results

    Range Resources held an investors conference call today, and released a report on the health of the company for 2009, with predictions for 2010. In advance of the call, they issued a comprehensive press release detailing all of their operations. Below is the portion of the release dealing with Range’s drilling activities in the Marcellus Shale. Although originally the information below was in one large paragraph, MDN has formatted it to be more readable.

    From the press release:

    During the fourth quarter, the Marcellus Shale division continued to make outstanding progress. Most notably, we drilled and completed our first two horizontal wells in the northeastern portion of the play in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania. The average seven-day test rate for the first well was 13.3 Mmcfe per day, while the average seven-day test rate for the second well was 13.6 Mmcfe per day. These two wells are now shut-in awaiting pipeline hook-up. The pipeline to the first well is expected to be completed late in the fourth quarter of 2010 with the pipeline to the second well expected to be completed in 2011.

    We also drilled our first horizontal Upper Devonian Shale well and our first horizontal Utica Shale well. The Upper Devonian well has been completed and is testing, and the Utica well has been drilled and cased and is awaiting completion.

    Currently, Range’s net production in the Marcellus is approximately 115 Mmcfe per day. We have 31 horizontal wells that have been drilled, of which 26 are awaiting completion and five are awaiting pipeline hook up. In the southwest portion of the play, where we have drilled the majority of our wells and have been accumulating data for the past 2.5 years, the average estimated ultimate recovery for a Marcellus horizontal is 4.4 Bcfe gross.

    Prior to August 2009, typical Range Marcellus wells had horizontal laterals that averaged 2,200 to 2,800 feet and were typically fraced with eight stages. Since then, we have been experimenting with longer laterals and more frac stages. The longer laterals range from 2,900 up to 5,000 feet and the higher frac stages range from nine stages up to 17 stages. As has been demonstrated in other shale plays, it appears that the longer laterals result in higher initial production rates, higher EURs and improved economics.

    Currently we are running 13 drilling rigs in the play. Plans are to add more rigs in the fourth quarter and exit at 16 rigs. During 2010, we expect to drill and case 150 horizontal Marcellus Shale wells. For 2011, we plan to increase our rig count and exit the year with 24 rigs running. Finally, the build out of the Marcellus midstream infrastructure is progressing as scheduled. In the high Btu portion of the play, gross cryogenic processing capacity increased to 155 Mmcf per day in the fourth quarter of 2009, and an additional 30 Mmcf per day is expected to be added in mid-2010. Another 150 Mmcf per day has been requested for first quarter 2011, which will bring gross cryogenic processing capacity to 335 Mmcf per day. In the dry gas portion of the play, we have 160 Mmcf per day of pipeline tap capacity with 20 Mmcf per day of compression capacity in place currently. Plans are in place to steadily increase dry gas pipeline compression capacity to meet our needs.

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    Range Announces Management Additions and Bank Borrowing Base Reaffirmation

    Press Release from Range Resources (Oct 7):
    Range Announces Management Additions and Bank Borrowing Base Reaffirmation

    FORT WORTH, TEXAS – Range Resources Corporation announced today that it has hired Joseph H. Frantz, Jr. as Vice President of Engineering and K. Scott Roy as Vice President of Government and Regulatory Affairs for the Marcellus Shale Division located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

    Mr. Frantz brings more than 26 years of petroleum engineering experience with Texaco, S.A. Holditch & Associates and Schlumberger. Recently, Mr. Frantz led Schlumberger’s shale evaluation team for various emerging shale formations, including the Barnett, Fayetteville and Marcellus. Mr. Frantz has extensive experience working in the Appalachian Basin, and he has performed studies on topics ranging from reservoir simulations to hydraulic fracture optimization. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering from Penn State University.

    Mr. Roy previously served as Executive Deputy Chief of Staff in the Office of the Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He has spent more than 17 years in public service in various positions, including key roles in both the Rendell and Ridge administrations and acting as the Governor’s liaison to various regulatory and environmental agencies. Mr. Roy earned his bachelor’s degree from Allegheny College and his juris doctorate from the Dickinson School of Law at Penn State University.

    Range also announced that at its regularly scheduled review, the Range bank group unanimously reaffirmed the Company’s $1.5 billion borrowing base effective September 30, 2009. Range elected to retain the existing $1.25 billion commitment amount, which provides in excess of $800 million in available liquidity. There were no changes to the interest rate, repayment terms or number of banks in the credit facility.

    Range’s Chairman and CEO, John H. Pinkerton, commented, “We are extremely pleased to announce these two new management additions to our Marcellus Shale team. Both Joe and Scott are Pennsylvania natives, who will report to Ray Walker in our Pittsburgh Marcellus Shale Division. Joe Frantz will head up our technical evaluation, not only of the Marcellus, but also for the other Appalachian shale formations. His extensive technical background in shale reservoir evaluations and optimized completion techniques is a key addition to our technical team. As the pioneer of the Marcellus Shale play, we fully understand the importance of forging a strong partnership among public, regulatory and industry interests to ensure that the development of the Marcellus Shale is accomplished in a responsible way. The addition of Scott Roy reflects Range’s commitment to being a good steward of Pennsylvania’s resources. Lastly, the unanimous affirmation of our borrowing base by our bank group reflects our low-cost structure, high-margin asset base and strong financial position. We are well positioned to continue to execute our plan of low-cost, consistent per share growth.”

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    Top Rendell aide quits to join gas driller

    Philadelphia Inquirer (Oct 7):
    Top Rendell aide quits to join gas driller

    An interesting bit of news: A top aide to Gov. Ed Rendell is stepping down to take a job in the drilling industry:

    K. Scott Roy is stepping down as the $146,000-a-year executive deputy chief of staff to Rendell to become vice president for government relations and regulatory affairs for Range Resources Corp., a Texas-based company with a major drilling stake in Pennsylvania.

    And another bit of interesting news found in this article is that Gov. Rendell wants to forego an extraction tax–for now (although the Democrats in the legislature are still trying to get a tax passed for this year):

    [Rendell’s call for an extraction tax] changed Aug. 31. In a move that took even some of his top aides by surprise, Rendell said at a news briefing that he was giving up his push for the tax this year.

    He said he changed his mind after meeting with industry executives who convinced him that imposing the tax now would stunt the growth of drilling in the state.

    “We felt we should let the industry get off to a good start, and that surpasses our need for money,” Rendell said Aug. 31. He said he favored starting such a tax next year.

    The article is mostly quoting eco-nut groups moaning about a potential conflict of interest by Mr. Roy’s “sellout” to the drilling industry.

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    Range Resources Looks for Gas Deposits in Beaver County, PA

    The Beaver County & Allegheny Times Online news site reports Range Resources has hired Conquest Seismic Services to vibrate the ground around Hopewell and Independence Townships, located in Beaver County, Pennsylvania (near Pittsburgh).

    For now, Range is looking along Route 151, according to Dave Schieck, a geophysicist for Range Resources. But don’t look for production wells for quite a few years:

    “We’re looking here, and we’ll be looking in the northern part of Beaver County later on,” Schieck said of a stretch between Zelienople and the Beaver River. “It may be as much as a decade before any extraction takes place here, but I’d bet we’ll see some once the area is ready.”

    Read the full article: Company vibrating ground in search of natural gas

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    Range Resources Hands Out $1.2M in Royalty Checks in PA

    Breaking news, this just in from the Wilkes Barre Times-Leader:

    A leading company drilling on the Marcellus Shale natural gas formation in Pennsylvania says it handed out nearly $1.2 million in royalty checks last week.

    Range Resources Corp. spokesman Matt Pitzarella said Monday the distribution is the first significant royalty the company has paid from its 120-plus Marcellus shale wells.

    People in the exploration industry say they haven’t yet heard of such a large distribution of royalties from Marcellus shale gas wells in Pennsylvania.

    The money went to 31 landowners who have wells on or near their land and live near Range’s gas-processing plant about 20 miles south of Pittsburgh.

    Read the article: Marcellus shale wells royalty checks go out (Wilkes Barre Times-Leader)