M-U Driller’s Stock Prices a Mixed Bag Over Past 12 Months
One of the criticisms often leveled against the shale industry is that shale drillers have destroyed shareholder value (the price of company stock) over the past decade or so (see Marcellus/Utica Drillers’ Stock Prices Near/At Historic Lows). The criticism is not without merit. In a talk at an industry event in 2019, former EQT CEO Steve Schlotterbeck displayed a chart showing the change in stock price for eight large M-U drillers. Five of the eight had seen their share prices decrease by an astonishing 85% ore more from 2008 to 2019 (see Former EQT CEO: Shale Revolution a “Disaster” for Investors). Today we offer an update on the share price/value destruction issue. How have large M-U drillers done, with respect to share price, over the past 12 months?
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Analysts with S&P Global Market Intelligence say that shale gas drillers in the Marcellus/Utica region have finally learned their lesson and are sticking to their promise to keep capital spending restrained this year–even with an increase in the price of gas. Both spending and rig counts are predicted to stay low this year as drillers work on boosting free cash flow and improving company share price.
All three M-U states received permits to drill new shale wells last week. Pennsylvania received a whopping 17 new permits spread across various counties and drillers. Ohio received just 2 new permits last week, both for Ascent Resources on the same pad. And West Virginia received a big 12 new permits split between two drillers: Antero Resources and Tug Hill Operating.
The experts at RBN Energy have, for the past five years, closely tracked the spending and production of a representative collection of 39 major public E&P (exploration & production) companies. RBN splits the companies tracked into three groups: Oil-Weighted E&Ps, Diversified E&Ps, and Gas-Weighted E&Ps. In a recent post, RBN reveals what those 39 companies have announced they will spend, and produce, in 2021. For eight of the nine gas-weighted E&Ps that produce gas in the Marcellus/Utica, the numbers show drillers will spend 15% less this year, but overall will produce 2% more natural gas than they did last year.
Who are the biggest natural gas sellers in the U.S.? You might be surprised to learn that the biggest *sellers* are not necessarily the biggest *producers* of natural gas. Oh, you might recognize some of the names of the top sellers (BP, Shell, ConocoPhillips). But others might be more of a mystery (Macquarie, Tenaska, Sequent, and J. Aron & Co.). Would it surprise you to learn that BP (i.e. British Petroleum) is the #1 seller of natural gas in the U.S. and has been for many years?
Here’s a company we’ve not written about since 2016: IOG Capital. Back in 2015 we first told you that IOG Capital had cut a deal with Seneca Resources to fund Seneca’s Marcellus drilling program in Elk, McKean and Cameron counties in northcentral Pennsylvania (see 
The data crunchers at the Pittsburgh Business Times have been sifting through the data for 2020 and have composed a list of the “