In Sept. 2021 Seneca Resources, the drilling arm of National Fuel Gas Company, announced it would certify as responsibly sourced gas (RSG) about 300 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) of its production–roughly one-third of all Seneca production (see Seneca Resources Jumps on “Responsibly Sourced Gas” Bandwagon). The deed is now done.
Read More “Seneca Resources Gets Project Canary Cert for 1/3rd of Wells”
Last week the number of new shale permits issued for the three M-U states more than doubled from the previous week. Four weeks ago there were 61 new shale drilling permits issued in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia. Three weeks ago that number fell to 33. Two weeks ago the permit number fell again, to just 20. Last week? The number bounced back up to 44 new permits. PA issued 24 new permits, OH issued 18 permits, and WV issued 2 new permits.
Read More “44 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Feb 7-13”
Most Marcellus/Utica shale drillers are making money hand over fist. At least they’re making money if you don’t count certain losses from hedges. The financial numbers are heading in the right direction, for the most part. And investors are happy, rewarding M-U drillers by buying shares of stock at ever-higher prices. However, those same investors *don’t* want to see M-U drillers expand their drilling programs beyond what it takes to maintain current levels of production. Investors want the free cash flow being generated by M-U drillers to be given to investors in the form of either dividends or stock buybacks–not by expanding and drilling more.
Read More “M-U Investors Continue to Press for Limits on New Drilling”
My how the mighty permit count has fallen. Three weeks ago there were 61 new shale drilling permits issued in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia. Two weeks ago that number fell to 33. And last week? The permit number fell again, to just 20. PA issued 13 new permits while OH issued 7. WV got skunked last week: A big, fat 0 new permits.
Read More “20 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Jan 31-Feb 6”
With the ever-changing landscape of mergers and acquisitions in the shale industry, including here in the Marcellus/Utica, it’s helpful to check in every now and again with a “top 10” list. This time our top 10 list is for the largest shale drillers/operators in Pennsylvania. The Pittsburgh Business Times recently updated its “Book of Lists” for active PA shale drillers, all 47 of them. We have a quick list of the top 10 below.
Read More “Top 10 Shale Drillers in Pa. as of Jan 2022 – by # Wells Drilled”
Holy smokes! What just happened? For months (and months and months) the cumulative number of weekly permits issued to drill new shale wells in the Marcellus/Utica has fluctuated from the low teens to perhaps 30 total on the upper end. Last week, from Jan. 17-23, an amazing 61 permits were issued to drill new shale wells. Double the usual. Wow! Pennsylvania issued 24 new permits, Ohio issued 9, and blow-the-doors-off-we’ve-never-seen-so-many-permits-issued-in-one-week for West Virginia, the Mountain State issued 28 new shale permits.
Read More “61 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Jan 17-23”
In May 2021 S&P Global Market Intelligence ran an article on which Marcellus/Utica drillers are likely targets to be acquired, and which drillers are doing the targeting (see Which M-U Drillers are Likely Next Targets for Acquisition?). They were right, at least partially. Market Intelligence has just updated its list of M-U for “the hunters” and “the hunted.” Let’s have a look…
Read More “More M&A Coming to M-U in 2022? List of the Hunters & the Hunted”
Seneca Resources, the drilling subsidiary of National Fuel Gas Company, announced yesterday it has achieved certification for 100% of its Marcellus/Utica natural gas production–over 1 billion cubic feet of gross production per day (Bcf/d)–under Equitable Origin’s EO100™ Standard for Responsible Energy Development. Getting gas certified as “responsible” gives drillers another marketing tool in their arsenal.
Read More “Seneca Awarded EO100™ Responsible Gas Cert for All M-U Production”
Major drillers and pipeline companies operating in the Pennsylvania Marcellus have, once again, stepped up to offer donations of money, toys, and coats during the 2021 Christmas season. Companies giving generously include Coterra Energy, CNX Resources, Diversified Energy, Energy Transfer, Equitrans Midstream, EQT, JKLM Energy, People’s Gas, Range Resources, Seneca Resources, Southwestern Energy, and UGI have given, collectively well over $100,000.
Read More “Marcellus Cos. Donate Over $100,000 to Nonprofits During Christmas”
From time to time the experts at RBN Energy analyze the financial and operational performance of the oil and gas industry. RBN groups a sampling of publicly traded companies into three buckets: Diversified companies with their fingers in a lot of different pies, including upstream, midstream and downstream; oil-focused drillers who concentrate mainly on drilling for oil; and gas-focused drillers concentrating mainly on drilling for natural gas. It is that last group we are interested in. All but one of the nine companies in the gas-focused groups of drillers tracked by RBN are big drillers in the Marcellus/Utica. In a post from yesterday, RBN says the gas-focused group’s third quarter 2021 profits nearly doubled year over year, while cash flow increased by 80% from 2Q21 to 3Q21.
Read More “Marcellus/Utica Drillers Profits Up 78% in 3Q21, Cash Flow Up 80%”
There was a healthy number of new permits issued in all three actively drilling Marcellus/Utica states last week. In Pennsylvania, 14 new shale well permits were issued across the state. In Ohio, five new shale permits were issued, four of them to a single driller (Ascent Resources) in a single county (Jefferson). West Virginia came roaring back after getting skunked with no permits two weeks ago. WV issued 10 new shale permits last week with five going to a single well pad in Monongalia County.
Read More “29 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Nov 29-Dec 5”
Contrary to the false narrative spun by leftist media that “everyone,” especially large institutional investors, are divesting from and refusing to buy new investments in stocks of companies that drill for oil and natural gas, some of the largest institutional investors came off the sidelines and some (for the first time ever!) got into the game by investing in individual shale gas stocks in the Marcellus/Utica during the third quarter of 2021. Which big investors did the investing and how much did they invest/purchase in the way of stock? We have all the deets below…
Read More “Institutional Investors Come Off Sidelines, Invest in M-U Stocks”
Last week Pennsylvania issued 15 new permits for shale well drilling, up nicely from the prior week of just 2 new permits. Ohio issued 9 new permits last week, and West Virginia issued 8 new permits. All totaled, the M-U saw 32 new permits issued last week, the most we’ve seen in a single week for some time. More drilling on the way!
Read More “32 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Nov 15-21”
It was a pretty paltry week for new shale drilling permits in the Marcellus/Utica. Two weeks ago Pennsylvania issued 21 permits to drill new shale wells. They must have shot their wad because last week PA issued just two new permits–the lowest number in PA we’ve seen in…we can’t remember how long. Ohio issued no new permits for Utica drilling last week…zero…goose egg. Only West Virginia held out some promise, issuing seven new permits for shale drilling last week.
Read More “9 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Oct 25-31”
Last week Pennsylvania was back on its game, issuing 22 permits to drill new shale wells. Most of the permits in PA were for three well pads by three different operators: Seneca Resources, Repsol, and EQT. Ohio issued just two new permits to Gulfport Energy for the same well pad in Belmont County. West Virginia issued four new permits, three of them to Southwest Energy and one to Antero Resources.
Read More “Weekly Shale Drilling Permits for PA, OH, WV: Oct 4-10”
On the topic of plugging old, abandoned (orphan) oil and gas wells in Pennsylvania, here’s an example of the oil and gas industry stepping up to do the right thing. Seneca Resources is paying to have a century-old conventional well plugged in McKean County, PA. It’s a well Seneca did not drill and has no responsibility to plug. Yet they are.
Read More “Seneca Sponsors Plugging of Century-Old Orphan Well in McKean, PA”