NET Power Completes $1.5B Merger with Rice Acquisition Corp.
Last December, Rice Acquisition Corp II, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) started by the Rice brothers (Danny, Toby, and Derek), announced a deal to acquire NET Power–an electric power developer with revolutionary new technology to capture every last molecule of carbon dioxide from natural gas-fired power plants (see Dan Rice Buys Co. that Builds Zero-Carbon Gas-Fired Electric Plants). The Rice deal to buy NET Power happened yesterday, and Danny Rice is the new CEO of NET Power.
Read More “NET Power Completes $1.5B Merger with Rice Acquisition Corp.”
Last December, Rice Acquisition Corp II, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) started by the Rice brothers (Danny, Toby, and Derek), announced a deal to acquire NET Power–an electric power developer with revolutionary new technology to capture every last molecule of carbon dioxide from natural gas-fired power plants (see 
Last September, EQT Corporation announced it is buying privately-owned Tug Hill Operating’s West Virginia shale assets for $5.2 billion (see 
CERAWeek, happening this week in Houston, Texas, is one of (perhaps THE) premier oil and gas conferences held each year. Everybody who’s anybody attends, except for yours truly. Sometimes it’s the things you (over)hear around the proverbial water cooler at such events that are more interesting than what is said from the stage or in media interviews. For example, Banpu’s BKV, with major assets in the northeast Pennsylvania Marcellus, filed plans with the Securities and Exchange Commission late last year to launch an initial public offering (see 
Range Resources Corporation, the very first driller to sink a Marcellus shale well back in 2004 in western Pennsylvania, issued its fourth quarter and full-year 2022 update yesterday. During 2022, Range generated record cash flow from operations of $1.9 billion and produced an average of 2.1 billion cubic feet equivalent per day (Bcf/d) of natural gas. The company spent $492 million on drilling in 2022. Of keen interest to us was a response by Range’s CEO about the rumors that Pioneer Natural Resources is interested in buying or merging with Range.
Consulting giant Deloitte’s new report “Oil and Gas M&A Outlook 2023: Pivoting for Change” examines the shift in the industry and the strategic pivots expected to shape the future. The report says so-called “clean energy” is now a “substantial driver” of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the oil and gas industry and signals big changes in the M&A playbook.
The rumor mill kicked into overdrive on Friday when Bloomberg published an article saying Pioneer Natural Resources Co., one the largest independent oil producers in the U.S., is considering (negotiating for) an acquisition of Marcellus driller Range Resources Corp., according to “people familiar with the matter.” Range was the very first company to drill a Marcellus shale well back in 2004 in western Pennsylvania. By the end of Friday, Pioneer issued an abrupt statement saying it “is not contemplating a significant business combination or other acquisition transaction.” It wasn’t an outright denial that such talks are taking place. Range could not be reached for comment.
Yesterday Chesapeake Energy announced it has cut a deal to sell the majority of its Eagle Ford oil assets to WildFire Energy I LLC for $1.425 billion. The sale includes approximately 377,000 net acres and approximately 1,350 wells in the Brazos Valley region of its Eagle Ford asset, along with related property, plant, and equipment. In 2018 Chesapeake, under the direction of then-CEO Doug Lawler, purchased 420,000 net acres in the Eagle Ford shale and Austin Chalk formations in Texas from WildHorse Resource Development Corp for $4 billion (see