Range Resources Publishes 2023/24 Corporate Sustainability Report
Yesterday, Range Resources, the very first driller to sink a Marcellus shale well back in 2004, released its 2023-2024 Corporate Sustainability Report (CSR). Some companies call these CSR or sustainability reports, while others still use the now hugely unpopular ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) label. We’re glad to see Marcellus/Utica drillers moving away from using the ESG label. In this latest report, Range says it has made “significant strides” in meeting its emissions targets, including progress towards its goal of net-zero scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 2025.
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We noticed that permit data has already been updated for last week, so we’re bringing you our weekly permit report a day early. For the week of July 1 – 7, a total of 18 permits were issued to drill new shale wells in Marcellus/Utica. There were six new permits issued in Pennsylvania, with four of them going to Range Resources for a pad in Washington County. There were four new permits in Ohio, all of them going to Encino Energy for a pad in Guernsey County. West Virginia was the surprise with eight new permits, six of which were issued to Antero Resources in Tyler County.
While oil-focused and large diversified drillers in the U.S. made healthy profits during the first quarter of this year (January through March), such was not the case for natural gas-focused drillers. RBN Energy tracks 43 exploration and production (E&P) companies that are publicly traded and reports of those 43 that the 16 oil-focused and 15 diversified E&Ps were solidly profitable in 1Q24, earning $20.65/boe (barrels of oil equivalent) and $18.49/boe, respectively. However, the 12 gas-focused E&Ps were “under siege,” posting a loss of $1.65/boe.
Range Resources Corporation, the very first company to drill a shale well targeting the Marcellus Shale layer in Pennsylvania (in 2004), issued its first quarter 2024 update earlier this week. Unlike other large Marcellus/Utica drillers, Range is holding its production flat (not decreasing). The company zags while everyone else zigs. During 1Q, Range produced 2.14 Bcfe/d (billion cubic feet equivalent per day), with approximately 68% of production comprised of natural gas and the rest in NGLs and oil. The company averaged 2.14 Bcfe/d, with 69% of that as natural gas, for all of 2023 (see 
MDN is not a stock-picking service, but we spotted an interesting article appearing on the Seeking Alpha investor’s website about where to invest now so that when the price of natural gas eventually rebounds (and with it, lifts the stock price of gas producers), investors can make money. The investor/writer, who is a nuclear power engineer by training, proposes the theory that investing in the Marcellus/Utica is a better choice than investing in other gas plays because (a) our drillers have lower breakeven costs and (b) some of our drillers also produce NGLs, which fetch more money than methane.
Range Resources was the very first company to sink a Marcellus shale well back in 2004. The company went all-in on the Marcellus and has remained a pure-play driller ever since (to their credit). The company initially set up a regional headquarters in Southpointe (Washington County, PA) with a 60,000-square-foot office. It later upgraded to an office with 182,000 square feet — an entire building all to itself. Although the company has two years left on its lease, Range is, according to sources, looking to downgrade again. The company wants an office space of around 80,000 square feet.