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16 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Apr 15 – 21

Two weeks ago, during the week of April 8 -14, 17 new permits were issued to drill in the Marcellus/Utica (see 17 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Apr 8 – 14). Last week, for the week of April 15 – 21, 16 new permits were issued. However, the composition of where the permits were issued changed significantly from the typical pattern. Only two of the permits were issued in Pennsylvania last week, both for EQT (one in Fayette County, the other in Greene County). Ohio received six new permits divided evenly, with three going to INR and the other three to EOG Resources. INR’s permits were all issued in Guernsey County and EOG’s in Harrison County. West Virginia, which typically receives the fewest new permits, took the lion’s share with eight new permits. Jaybee Oil & Gas received three permits in Tyler County. Southwestern Energy also received three permits but in Wetzel County. Tribune Resources received one new permit (Tyler County), and EQT received one permit (Marion County).
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17 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Apr 8 – 14

Two weeks ago, for April 1 – 7, there were eight new permits issued (see 8 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Apr 1 – 7). However, all eight were issued in Pennsylvania. Both Ohio and West Virginia failed to issue any new permits two weeks ago. Fortunately, that changed last week. For the week of April 8 – 14, there were 17 new permits issued. Seven of those permits were issued in Pennsylvania, with the vast majority going to EQT (six permits, all in Greene County). Ohio issued four new permits last week, all of them to oil driller Encino Energy for Carroll County. West Virginia issued six new permits, with four going to EQT in Marion County and two going to Southwestern Energy in Brooke County.
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Bidenistas Delay Chessy/Southwestern Merger, Request More Info

This is precisely what companies going through a merger DON’T want to happen. Last Thursday, both Chesapeake Energy and Southwestern Energy, which previously announced a deal to combine back in January (see Deal is Done! Chesapeake & Southwestern Announce $7.4B Merger), received the dreaded “Second Request” for information from regulators at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Dept. of Justice (DOJ), meaning the merger is now delayed from the first half of this year to the second half (i.e., by Dec. 31, 2024). It’s not the end of the world, but it’s not a good thing, either.
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16 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Mar 11 – 17

There were 16 new permits issued to drill in the Marcellus/Utica during the week of Mar. 11 – 17, down 3 from 19 permits issued the prior week. Pennsylvania issued 9 new permits. Ohio issued 4 new permits. And West Virginia issued 3 new permits. Penn Production Group (PPG) and EOG Resources tied for most new permits with 4 each. PPG received 4 permits to drill in Clearfield County, PA. EOG received 4 permits to drill in Harrison County, OH. Coterra Energy received 3 permits to drill in Susquehanna County, PA. Antero got 2 permits for Ritchie County, WV. Southwestern Energy and Chesapeake Energy each received a single permit to drill in Bradford County, PA. EQT received a single permit for Wetzel County, WV.
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SRBC Approves 8 Water Withdrawal Requests for Fracking in NEPA

The highly functional and responsible Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC), unlike its completely dysfunctional and irresponsible cousin, the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC), continues to support the shale energy industry by approving water withdrawals for responsible and safe shale drilling. Last Thursday, the SRBC approved 23 new water withdrawal requests within the basin, eight of them for water used in drilling and fracking shale wells in Pennsylvania. The Marcellus/Utica shale drillers receiving a green light from SRBC included Beech Resources, Chesapeake Energy, Greylock Energy, Seneca Resources, and Southwestern Energy.
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19 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Mar 4 – 10

There were 19 new permits issued to drill in the Marcellus/Utica during the week of Mar. 4 – 10, up 2 from 17 permits issued the prior week. Pennsylvania issued 11 new permits. Ohio issued 5 new permits. And West Virginia issued 3 new permits. Range Resources and Ascent Resources tied for most new permits with 5 each. Range received 5 permits to drill in two PA counties: Lycoming and Washington. Ascent received 5 permits to drill in Belmont County, OH. Chesapeake Energy got 3 permits to drill in Bradford County, PA, and Seneca Resource also received 3 permits for Tioga County, PA. Southwestern Energy scored 2 permits for Ohio County, WV, and CNX Resources received a single permit for Marshall County, WV.
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Chesapeake HSR Paperwork to Buy Southwestern Pulled & Refiled

In early January, Chesapeake Energy and Southwestern Energy, two companies with major assets in the country’s two leading gas plays — the Marcellus/Utica and the Haynesville — announced an agreement to merge into one company (see Deal is Done! Chesapeake & Southwestern Announce $7.4B Merger). Such a merger would create the country’s largest natural gas producer, bypassing EQT for the top slot. The deal is supposed to be completed in the second quarter of this year, but that all depends on a review by the Federal Trade Commission and Dept. of Justice (populated with Bidenistas). There’s already rumored to be a wrinkle in the review process. Not a setback, just a wrinkle, a slight delay, so far.
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Analyst Predicts Chesapeake/Southwestern Merger to Face Biden Delay

In early January, Chesapeake Energy and Southwestern Energy, two companies with major assets in the country’s two leading gas plays — the Marcellus/Utica and the Haynesville — announced an agreement to merge into one company (see Deal is Done! Chesapeake & Southwestern Announce $7.4B Merger). Such a merger would create the country’s largest natural gas producer, bypassing EQT for the top slot. The deal is supposed to be completed in the second quarter of this year. However, it’s a pretty safe bet the Biden administration is going to delay that timeline.
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Southwestern Energy Owns 2.7 Million Acres of O&G Leases in Canada

Gobsmacked. That’s how we felt when we discovered how much land Southwestern Energy (with major assets in the Marcellus/Utica and in the Haynesville) has under lease in the Canadian province of New Brunswick. We had seen an occasional mention by Southwestern that it owns acreage in Canada (see Southwestern Energy Refocuses from Fayetteville to Marcellus/Utica), but never any mention of just how much it owns. In March 2010, Southwestern purchased leases and exploration licenses covering 1.1 million hectares of land in New Brunswick. That works out to be roughly 2.7 million acres. Enormous!
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13 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Feb 12 – 18

There were 13 new permits issued to drill in the Marcellus/Utica during the week of Feb. 12 – 18, versus 19 permits issued the prior week. Pennsylvania issued 11 new permits last week. Ohio issued no new permits. West Virginia issued 2 new permits last week. Chesapeake Energy landed the most new permits, with 5 issued in Bradford County, PA. Range Resources had 3 new permits issued in Washington County, PA. Coterra Energy had 2 new permits in Susquehanna County, PA. Southwestern Energy also had 2 new permits issued in Ohio County, WV. And EQT, the largest natural gas producer in the country, had a single new permit issued in Greene County, PA.
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Southwestern Spent $2.1B in 2023 to Drill 110 Wells Incl. 67 M-U

Southwestern Energy, with major assets in the Marcellus/Utica and Louisiana Haynesville, issued its fourth quarter and full-year 2023 update yesterday. You may recall that Southwestern recently agreed to a deal to be acquired by and merged into Chesapeake Energy (see Deal is Done! Chesapeake & Southwestern Announce $7.4B Merger). Because of the impending merger, Southwestern did not hold a quarterly conference call with analysts, so what we have to go on are the officially filed documents detailing the company’s recent performance (no kind of “guidance” for 2024).
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Look for O&G Jobs to be Trimmed Later in 2024 Due to Mergers

Although oil and natural gas output is still increasing ever-so-slightly, according to experts like Rystad Energy, the rate of production growth has slowed. And because production is slowing, “investments in the shale patch are not expected to grow in 2024, keeping activity and output relatively flat” this year. How does slowing activity in 2024 affect employment in O&G in 2024? Rigzone asked a couple of experts. One comment in particular caught our attention because it has implications not only in the Texas oil patch, but also in the M-U gas patch.
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20 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Jan 15 – 21

There were 20 new permits issued to drill in the Marcellus/Utica during the week of Jan. 15 – 21, versus 24 permits issued during the prior week. Pennsylvania issued 11 new permits last week. Ohio issued 9 new permits. West Virginia had a big, fat zero new permits last week. Ascent Resources scored the most new permits issued, with 5 permits across two counties, Jefferson and Harrison, in Ohio. Encino Energy (EAP in the list) had the second most new permits issued with 4 permits in Harrison County, OH.
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23 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Jan 8 – 14

There were 23 new permits issued to drill in the Marcellus/Utica during the week of Jan. 8-14, versus 18 permits issued for the prior week. Pennsylvania issued 13 new permits last week. Ohio issued just 2 new permits. West Virginia issued 8 new permits — for the second week in a row. EQT scored the top slot for new permits, receiving 7 permits to drill in Lycoming and Greene counties in PA.
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18 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Jan 1-7

There were 18 new permits issued to drill in the Marcellus/Utica during the first full week of 2024 (Jan. 1-7), versus 24 permits issued for the final two weeks of last year (Dec. 18-31). Pennsylvania issued 9 new permits last week. Ohio issued just 1 — which was to drill a Marcellus (not a Utica) well! West Virginia issued 8 permits. Antero Resources took the top spot last week with 7 new permits, all of them issued for drilling in Wetzel County, WV.
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Haynesville & LNG the Main Driver of Chesapeake/Southwestern Deal

Even though separately (and together) Chesapeake Energy and Southwestern Energy own MORE assets in the Marcellus/Utica than in the Haynesville shale play, the main driver to do a merger between the two companies is the Haynesville and that play’s close proximity to LNG export facilities along the Gulf Coast. That is the conclusion of most analysts based on comments made yesterday by Chesapeake and Southwestern in announcing a $7.4 billion deal to combine the companies (see Deal is Done! Chesapeake & Southwestern Announce $7.4B Merger). So, the big question is, What does that mean for the Marcellus/Utica?
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