EQT/Tug Hill Deal Came Only After PA AG, FTC Changed Deal Terms
We should have known there was a price to pay, a “pound of flesh” to be exacted, when we read the announcement that the Bidenistas of the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) had approved EQT’s deal to buy Tug Hill’s West Virginia assets. Two days ago, EQT issued a press release to announce the deal had been blessed by the FTC and would happen within the next seven days (see Bidenistas at FTC Clear EQT to Complete Buyout of Tug Hill & XcL). A day later, yesterday, the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office issued its version of the news, stating approval by the FTC (and the AG’s office) came only after both the FTC and the AG screwed with the deal and changed the terms of the deal. We should have known.
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Last September, EQT Corporation announced it was buying privately-owned Tug Hill Operating’s West Virginia shale assets for $5.2 billion (see 
Last week MDN told you that WhiteHawk Energy, headquartered in Philadelphia with ownership of mineral and royalty interests for 850,000 gross unit acres and over 2,500 producing horizontal shale wells between the Marcellus and the Haynesville, had proposed marriage to PHX Minerals, based in Fort Worth, Texas, owner of 75,000 leased mineral acres principally located in the SCOOP and Haynesville plays (see 
At the end of May, WhiteHawk Energy, headquartered in Philadelphia with ownership of mineral and royalty interests for 850,000 gross unit acres and over 2,500 producing horizontal shale wells between the Marcellus and the Haynesville, sent a letter to the board and management of PHX Minerals, based in Fort Worth, Texas, owner of 75,000 leased mineral acres principally located in the SCOOP and Haynesville plays. The letter proposes marriage–a combination of the two companies. WhiteHawk received no response and tried again about three weeks later. Still nothing. So WhiteHawk has gone public to catch the attention of PHX shareholders, hoping to convince them to pressure PHX’s board–the M&A equivalent of a shotgun wedding.
EQT Corporation, the largest natural gas producer in the United States, issued its second quarter 2023 update yesterday. There was loads of news. The company reported a new world record of drilling 18,200 feet in 48 hours for a single well in Green County, PA. Also of note, CEO Toby Rice and newly appointed CFO Jeremy Knop said a long-delayed purchase of Tug Hill Operating (major new acreage for EQT in West Virginia) would be concluded within the next 30 days. Very exciting news! But it wasn’t all peaches and cream. Reading through the reports, you will discover that EQT produced 471 Bcfe in 2Q23 (an average of 5.18 Bcfe/d) versus producing 502 Bcfe in 2Q22 (an average of 5.52 Bcfe/d)–down 6% year over year. The company lost $67 million in 2Q23 versus making a profit of $891 million in 2Q22, a swing of $958 million (nearly one billion dollars). Why?
TransCanada Corporation, which renamed itself TC Energy in 2019, bought out/merged in U.S.-based Columbia Pipeline Group (now Columbia Gas Transmission) in 2016 (see 
Exxon Mobil Corporation announced it is buying Denbury Inc., a developer of carbon capture, utilization, and storage solutions and enhanced oil recovery, for $4.9 billion in an all-stock transaction. Denbury currently focuses on the Gulf Coast and Rocky Mountain region. Presumably, Exxon plans to expand Denbury’s technology to other regions, including the Marcellus/Utica.
In July 2020, Dominion Energy announced it had decided to exit the natural gas pipeline business by selling it to Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Energy (see 
Superior Pipeline, headquartered in Oklahoma, operates in the following geographic areas: the Texas/Oklahoma panhandle, Central/Western Oklahoma, Southeastern Oklahoma, Southeast Texas, Kansas, and Appalachia, including Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Superior owns and operates natural gas gathering and processing facilities, natural gas treating plants, and over 3,700 miles of pipeline. Unit Corporation, which had owned 50% of Superior, recently finished selling its 50% share to OPTrust and Partners Group. With the sale, the new 100% owners have changed the name of the company from Superior Pipeline to Superior Midstream.
Drilling Tools International (DTI) has just received a major cash infusion of $40.8 million to expand and begin trading as a public company. DTI is a Houston, Texas-based oilfield services company that manufactures and rents downhole drilling tools used in horizontal and directional drilling of oil and natural gas wells. DTI, a private company until now, operates from 22 locations across North America, Europe, and the Middle East, including a location in Charleroi (Washington County), PA, where it services Marcellus/Utica drillers.