M&A

ESG | Industrywide Issues | M&A | McKean County | Pennsylvania

Canadian Methane Offsets Co. Buys Northwest Pa. Well Plugging Co.
May 17, 2023May 17, 2023

Zefiro Methane Corp., a private “methane offsets originator” (we will explain) headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, has acquired a majority ownership stake in Plants & Goodwin (P&G), an OFS and oil well-plugging company located in Bradford (McKean County), Pennsylvania, for an undisclosed sum. It appears P&G will continue as its own standalone company, but its services of plugging abandoned and orphan wells will be joined with the services Zefiro offers in methane emission offsets–also known as carbon offset credits.
Read More “Canadian Methane Offsets Co. Buys Northwest Pa. Well Plugging Co.”
Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | M&A | Pennsylvania | Potter County | Seneca Resources | Southwestern Energy | Tioga County (PA)

Seneca Resources Buys Southwestern Assets in Tioga County, PA
May 5, 2023May 5, 2023

National Fuel Gas Company (NFG), headquartered in Buffalo, NY, is the parent company for Marcellus/Utica driller Seneca Resources and the parent of midstream company Empire Pipeline. Earlier this week, NFG issued its latest quarterly update. NFG operates on a weird fiscal year system. This latest update is for the company’s second quarter, which would be everybody else’s first quarter update. The big news from the update is that Seneca Resources has agreed to acquire upstream assets in northwestern Pennsylvania from Southwestern Energy for $127 million.
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Energy Companies | EQT Corp | Industrywide Issues | M&A | Tug Hill Operating

EQT Seeks to Extend Note Redemption Extra 6 Mos. for Tug Hill Deal
May 4, 2023May 4, 2023

Last September, EQT Corporation announced it is buying privately-owned Tug Hill Operating’s West Virginia shale assets for $5.2 billion (see Confirmed: EQT Buys Tug Hill’s THQ Appalachia for $5.2 Billion). The deal adds 90,000 acres and 800 MMcf/d (million cubic feet per day) of production to EQT’s existing, massive, portfolio. But the Bidenistas at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) got involved, slowing down the deal. Because of the FTC dragging its feet, EQT and Tug Hill recently renegotiated the timeline, adding a full year–to the end of 2023 (see EQT $5.2B Deal to Buy Tug Hill Extended Additional Year to Close). Now EQT needs to extend the timeline for notes it issued as part of the purchase.
Read More “EQT Seeks to Extend Note Redemption Extra 6 Mos. for Tug Hill Deal”
ConocoPhillips | Energy Companies | Exxon Mobil | Industrywide Issues | M&A

Bloomberg: Shale in Midlife Crisis, Big Oil Rides in to Save Day
April 27, 2023April 27, 2023

Credit: MY21 Photography. FLFBS.

We spotted an article by a Bloomberg opinion columnist that says American shale energy is in a “midlife crisis.” The article pictures Big Oil (companies like Exxon and ConocoPhillips) as riding in on Harley Davidson motorcycles to save shale. It’s something of a twisted and mixed metaphor (old guys with money in a midlife crisis ride Harleys), but humorous nonetheless. The larger point of the article, which IS worth pondering, is whether or not the era of independent shale drillers is drawing to a close. The author offers evidence and analysis that such is the case–or should be.
Read More “Bloomberg: Shale in Midlife Crisis, Big Oil Rides in to Save Day”
BKV/Banpu | Commodity Price | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | M&A | Meetings

BKV IPO On Hold, M&A Deals Falling Apart Due to Low Gas Prices
March 9, 2023March 9, 2023

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 Northeast PA Marcellus Driller BKV/Banpu Files with SEC for IPO). According to whispers Reuters heard at CERAWeek, the current low commodity price of natgas has put BKV’s IPO plans on hold.
Read More “BKV IPO On Hold, M&A Deals Falling Apart Due to Low Gas Prices”
Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | M&A | Range Resources Corp

Range Resources Addresses Pioneer M&A Rumor on 4Q Conference Call
March 1, 2023March 1, 2023

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.
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Industrywide Issues | M&A | Research

Deloitte Says Clean Energy a ‘Substantial Driver’ of M&A in O&G
March 1, 2023March 1, 2023

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.
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Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | M&A | Range Resources Corp

Rumor: Oil Driller Pioneer Negotiating to Buy Range Resources
February 27, 2023February 27, 2023

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.
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Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | M&A

Chesapeake Sells 90% of Eagle Ford Assets to WildFire for $1.4B
January 19, 2023February 22, 2023

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 Chesapeake Now Gone from Ohio Utica; Spends $4B in Eagle Ford). The company grew its Eagle Ford assets with more purchases and currently (prior to the sale) owns 610,000 acres.
Read More “Chesapeake Sells 90% of Eagle Ford Assets to WildFire for $1.4B”
Energy Companies | EQT Corp | Industrywide Issues | M&A | Regulation | Statewide WV | Tug Hill Operating | West Virginia

EQT $5.2B Deal to Buy Tug Hill Extended Additional Year to Close
January 5, 2023January 5, 2023

Last September, EQT Corporation announced it is buying privately-owned Tug Hill Operating’s West Virginia shale assets for $5.2 billion (see Confirmed: EQT Buys Tug Hill’s THQ Appalachia for $5.2 Billion). The deal adds 90,000 acres and 800 MMcf/d (million cubic feet per day) of production to EQT’s existing, massive, portfolio. But then the Bidenistas at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) got involved, slowing down the deal (see Bidenistas at FTC Probing EQT Deal to Buy Tug Hill’s WV Assets). Because of the FTC dragging its feet, EQT and Tug Hill recently renegotiated the timeline, adding a full year.
Read More “EQT $5.2B Deal to Buy Tug Hill Extended Additional Year to Close”
Industrywide Issues | LDCs | M&A | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Hope Gas Cuts Deal to Buy Peoples Gas of West Virginia
January 4, 2023January 4, 2023

Hope Gas, a Local Distribution Company (LDC), otherwise known as a utility company, provides gas service to approximately 112,000 residential, industrial, and commercial customers in thirty-five West Virginia counties. Hope is about to add another 13,000 customers to that number. Yesterday, Hope announced it is buying the West Virginia division of Peoples Gas, currently owned by Essential Utilities, for an undisclosed amount.
Read More “Hope Gas Cuts Deal to Buy Peoples Gas of West Virginia”
Electrical Generation | ESG | Industrywide Issues | M&A

Dan Rice Buys Co. that Builds Zero-Carbon Gas-Fired Electric Plants
December 15, 2022December 15, 2022

The Rice boys–Dan, Toby, and Derek–have done it again. Yesterday, the Rice boys’ second publicly traded shell company (or SPAC), called Rice Acquisition Corp II, announced it is acquiring NET Power–an electric power developer with revolutionary new technology to capture every last molecule of carbon dioxide from natural gas-fired power plants. The deal values NET Power at $1.46 billion. Existing shareholders, including Occidental Petroleum, Constellation Energy, and Baker Hughes, will roll their existing equity into a new public version of the company. Both the Rice boys and Oxy will contribute another $100 million in equity each. When the deal is done, the current CEO of NET will retire, and Dan Rice will take over as CEO.
Read More “Dan Rice Buys Co. that Builds Zero-Carbon Gas-Fired Electric Plants”
Energy Companies | EQT Corp | Industrywide Issues | M&A | Tug Hill Operating

Bidenistas at FTC Probing EQT Deal to Buy Tug Hill’s WV Assets
December 5, 2022December 5, 2022

In September, EQT Corporation announced it is buying Tug Hill Operating’s West Virginia shale assets for $5.2 billion (see Confirmed: EQT Buys Tug Hill’s THQ Appalachia for $5.2 Billion). The deal adds 90,000 acres and 800 MMcf/d (million cubic feet per day) of production to EQT’s existing, massive, portfolio. Tug Hill and private equity firm Quantum Energy Partners jointly own THQ Appalachia I, LLC (THQA), which is Tug Hill’s subsidiary focused on drilling in the Marcellus, Utica, and Upper Devonian plays in WV. The radicals who now head the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) are requesting more information than the mountains already provided–signaling the Bidenistas may try to block the sale using red tape.
Read More “Bidenistas at FTC Probing EQT Deal to Buy Tug Hill’s WV Assets”
Bradford County | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | M&A | Pennsylvania | Repsol

Repsol Picks Up Abarta’s Non-Op Working Interest in PA Marcellus
November 14, 2022November 14, 2022

Abarta Energy (aka Abarta Oil & Gas Co.) was a privately-owned company based in Pittsburgh with assets including wells and pipeline systems located in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Kentucky. In November 2021, Abarta filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, reporting liabilities of $25.4 million and assets of $4.2 million (see M-U Driller Abarta Energy Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy). Abarta said it wanted to liquidate/sell all of its remaining oil and gas assets. Some of those assets included a non-operated working interest with Repsol in the northeastern Pennsylvania Marcellus. It appears Repsol bought out Abarta’s interest in the joint venture the two companies had. The transaction happened before June 30, 2022.
Read More “Repsol Picks Up Abarta’s Non-Op Working Interest in PA Marcellus”
Bradford County | Industrywide Issues | Lycoming County | M&A | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Tioga County (PA)

HEP Gathering Pipeline in NE Pa. Gets a New Canadian Owner
November 9, 2022November 9, 2022

Howard Energy Partners (HEP) is a midstream/pipeline company that owns and operates natural gas and crude oil pipelines, natural gas processing plants, refined products storage terminals, deep-water dock and rail facilities, fractionation facilities, hydrogen production facilities, renewable diesel logistics facilities, and other related midstream assets in Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Mexico. The company owns more than 600 miles of natural gas gathering pipelines with some 100+ of those miles located in the PA Marcellus. Yesterday, Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo) announced it has purchased a controlling interest (87%) in HEP. AIMCo is the new owner.
Read More “HEP Gathering Pipeline in NE Pa. Gets a New Canadian Owner”
Energy Companies | EQT Corp | Industrywide Issues | M&A | Tug Hill Operating

Quantum CEO Won’t be Joining EQT Board Following Tug Hill Purchase
November 3, 2022November 3, 2022

Wil VanLoh

In September, EQT Corporation announced it is buying Tug Hill Operating’s West Virginia shale assets for $5.2 billion (see Confirmed: EQT Buys Tug Hill’s THQ Appalachia for $5.2 Billion). The deal adds 90,000 acres and 800 MMcf/d (million cubic feet per day) of production to EQT’s existing, massive, portfolio. Tug Hill and private equity firm Quantum Energy Partners jointly own THQ Appalachia I, LLC (THQA), which is Tug Hill’s subsidiary focused on drilling in the Marcellus, Utica, and Upper Devonian plays in WV. Quantum’s founder and CEO, Wil VanLoh, was supposed to join the EQT board of directors post-closing. That will not now happen.
Read More “Quantum CEO Won’t be Joining EQT Board Following Tug Hill Purchase”