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DUG Appalachia: Range Resources Gives a Hard Pass on Pursuing M&A

We have a second post about yesterday’s Hart Energy DUG Appalachia event held in Pittsburgh. One of the sessions was an interview with Dennis Degner, CEO of Range Resources, the very first company to drill a Marcellus well back in 2004. Range is a “pure play” company focusing 100% on the Marcellus/Utica. Over the past couple of years, we’ve seen a flurry of mergers and acquisitions, not only here in the M-U but across other plays as well (particularly in the Permian). During the Q&A discussion with Degner, the topic of M&A came up. Degner explained why he and his company have, and will continue, to sit on the sidelines of the M&A craze. Read More “DUG Appalachia: Range Resources Gives a Hard Pass on Pursuing M&A”

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Deep Well Services Sold to United Arab Emirates for $223 Million

The privately-held Deep Well Services (DWS), headquartered in Butler County, PA, is one of our favorite oilfield services companies. DWS was born right here in the Marcellus/Utica in 2008. DWS specializes in “snubbing” work—completing those super-long laterals you read about. Although the company rarely brags publicly about the work it does on behalf of drillers, we happen to know that it has drilled the longest onshore wells in the world Lower 48 states. Great company, great people. However, the news broke yesterday that the company is being sold—to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a country that is a longstanding member of OPEC+.

PLEASE NOTE: Our original post has been edited to correct a few factual errors.

Read More “Deep Well Services Sold to United Arab Emirates for $223 Million”

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EQT Sells Remaining Nonop Assets in NE Pa. for $1.25 Billion

As part of its third quarter update, EQT Corporation, now the second-largest natural gas producer in the U.S., dropped the bombshell that it has completely divested from the remaining non-operated wells it owns in northeastern Pennsylvania, selling the assets to Norwegian company Equinor (formerly known as Statoil) for $1.25 billion. You may recall in April, EQT did a deal with Equinor to swap land in Pennsylvania and Ohio, plus receiving $500 million from Equinor to sweeten the pot (see Equinor Swaps Acreage with EQT in PA & OH, Exits Operated US Shale). Yesterday’s deal is for the remainder of the wells where EQT doesn’t own the full rights but only a portion of them and doesn’t run the operations. The wells are majority-owned and operated by Expand Energy, the successor to Chesapeake Energy, following the merger of Chesapeake with Southwestern Energy. Read More “EQT Sells Remaining Nonop Assets in NE Pa. for $1.25 Billion”

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WhiteHawk Energy Renews Public Proposal to Acquire PHX Minerals

Some 15 months ago, WhiteHawk Energy, headquartered in Philadelphia with ownership of mineral and royalty interests for over 1 million gross unit acres and over 3,400 producing horizontal shale wells between the Marcellus and the Haynesville, 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 WhiteHawk Energy Proposes Forced Merger with PHX Minerals, Inc.). WhiteHawk’s original overtures went unanswered, so it issued a very public proclamation of its intent to get PHX down the aisle, willingly or not. PHX answered in August 2023 with a very public “get lost” message (see PHX Minerals Says WhiteHawk Marriage Proposal “Grossly Inadequate”). Since that time, it’s been quiet, at least publicly. Behind the scenes, it’s been busy. Read More “WhiteHawk Energy Renews Public Proposal to Acquire PHX Minerals”

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Chesapeake & Southwestern Complete Merger; Now #1 U.S. Gas Driller

Move over EQT Corporation, there’s a new number one natural gas producer in the U.S. Yesterday, Chesapeake Energy announced that its buyout of and merger with Southwestern Energy in a $7.4 billion deal was completed. The newly merged company was renamed Expand Energy Corporation and will begin trading on the NASDAQ stock market today under the ticker “EXE”. As of today, Expand produces more natural gas than EQT. The big difference is that Expand’s production comes from both the Marcellus/Utica and the Haynesville, whereas EQT’s production is 100% from the M-U. Read More “Chesapeake & Southwestern Complete Merger; Now #1 U.S. Gas Driller”

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Axis Merges with Brigade to Form #1 U.S. Well Services Co.

Two oilfield services companies—Axis Energy Services LLC and Brigade Energy Services LLC—jointly announced the closing of an agreement to merge and form the nation’s largest well servicing company. The new company will retain the Axis Energy name and will remain headquartered in Dallas, TX. According to Axis, the transaction creates the nation’s leading company for completion services, workover solutions, and plug and abandonment operations. The newly combined company boasts more than 1,700 employees and 200 active and marketable workover rigs—the largest single fleet in the industry. The company has a “strong presence” in the Marcellus/Utica. Read More “Axis Merges with Brigade to Form #1 U.S. Well Services Co.”

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Sale of 3rd & Final LDC from Dominion to Enbridge Now Complete

In September 2023, Dominion Energy and Enbridge co-announced that Dominion had agreed to sell the company’s remaining natural gas local distribution companies (LDCs) that Dominion owns to Enbridge for $14.0 billion, which includes $9.4 billion in cash plus the assumption of debt (see Dominion Energy Loses Mind – Sells Remaining LDC NatGas Businesses). The deal includes three LDCs (local utility companies)—The East Ohio Gas Company, Public Service Company of North Carolina, and Questar Gas Company (along with Wexpro Company). The first of the three deals, the East Ohio Gas Company, officially changed hands in March of this year (see Sale of East Ohio Gas Co. from Dominion to Enbridge Now Complete). The second deal, Questar Gas (serving customers in the western U.S.), closed in June of this year (see Enbridge Completes Acquisition of Questar Gas Company). The third and final LDC deal, Public Service Company of North Carolina (PSNC), closed yesterday.
Read More “Sale of 3rd & Final LDC from Dominion to Enbridge Now Complete”

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Chesapeake & Southwestern Merger to Close Next Week; New Name

It’s the end of an era. Chesapeake Energy was founded in 1989 by Aubrey McClendon and Tom L. Ward with an initial investment of $50,000. The flamboyant McClendon, who became the CEO, named the company after the Chesapeake Bay due to his love of the region. He rapidly grew his company, headquarter in Oklahoma City, by doing big, audacious deals to lock up large tracts of acreage for gas drilling. Chesapeake, now helmed by one of McClendon’s old friends and lieutenants, Nick Dell’Osso (formerly CFO), announced a deal to buy out and merge with Southwestern Energy earlier this year (see Deal is Done! Chesapeake & Southwestern Announce $7.4B Merger). Yesterday, Dell’Osso announced the final merger, which the Bidenistas had delayed, will close soon, likely next week. The combined company will no longer be called Chesapeake Energy or Southwestern Energy but will be rebranded as (trumpet fanfare)…Expand Energy Corporation. Read More “Chesapeake & Southwestern Merger to Close Next Week; New Name”

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Chesapeake CEO Says Southwestern Buyout Will Close Early 4Q

In January, Chesapeake Energy, now helmed by Nick Dell’Osso, announced a deal to buy out and merge with competitor Southwestern Energy for $7.4 billion (see Deal is Done! Chesapeake & Southwestern Announce $7.4B Merger). In April, the Bidenistas at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Dept. of Justice (DOJ) sent the dreaded “Second Request” for information (see Bidenistas Delay Chessy/Southwestern Merger, Request More Info). The Second Request automatically delayed the merger from the first half of 2024 to the second half. We are finally near the tail end of the government’s delay tactics. At yesterday’s Gastech event in Houston, Dell’Osso said the merger deal will close “early in the fourth quarter.” Read More “Chesapeake CEO Says Southwestern Buyout Will Close Early 4Q”

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Paret Mining Buys 10K Acres of Leases, 150 O&G Wells in Kentucky

We spotted a press release about a “wealthy Haitian-American businessman” buying “a vast 10,000-acre oil reserve in Bowling Green Kentucky.” What caught our eye was the location and the extra detail that the assets purchased included “150 oil and natural gas wells.” A few bells began to go off for us. Kentucky is not known as a hotbed of shale drilling activity. The Marcellus/Utica does not extend under the Bluegrass State. However, as we wrote back in 2017, Kentucky has the Berea Sandstone, which contains oil deposits (see Fracking Comes to Kentucky – Encore Drills First Horizontal Oil Wells).
Read More “Paret Mining Buys 10K Acres of Leases, 150 O&G Wells in Kentucky”

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OH’s Precision Pipeline Buys PA Pipe Fixer Allegheny Contracting

We spotted a press release about pipeline repair company operating in the Marcellus/Utica, located in Ohio, Precision Pipeline Services, buying out a pipeline repair company based in Pennsylvania, Allegheny Contracting. We checked, and we’ve never written about either company. We always get a thrill when uncovering new companies involved in the M-U we didn’t know about. Both companies are privately-held, and the financial particulars of the deal were not disclosed.
Read More “OH’s Precision Pipeline Buys PA Pipe Fixer Allegheny Contracting”

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New England Pipe Company PNGTS Now a BlackRock Puppet

The 295-mile Portland Natural Gas Transmission System (PNGTS) spans New England from the Canadian border to pipeline connections in New Hampshire, Maine, and Massachusetts. The system began operations in 1999 and is located between three major pipeline networks originating in Canada and the U.S. TC Energy owns 61.7% of PNGTS. The remaining 38.3 percent is owned by Northern New England Investment Company. At least until yesterday, when PNGTS was spun off into its own standalone company, now owned by the evil BlackRock. Read More “New England Pipe Company PNGTS Now a BlackRock Puppet”

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Quantum Capital Buying Cogentrix Gas-Fired Plants for $3 Billion

A major change in ownership is coming for gas-fired power plants through the Marcellus/Utica region as well as New England. Quantum Capital Group announced yesterday that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Cogentrix Energy, an independent power producer, from another investment firm (Carlyle) for $3 billion. The Cogentrix portfolio is comprised of 5.3 gigawatts of natural gas-fired power plants located throughout PJM (the M-U region), ERCOT (Texas), and ISO-NE (New England). M-U molecules feed most power plants in PJM and ISO-NE, ergo our molecules will feed the plants changing hands.
Read More “Quantum Capital Buying Cogentrix Gas-Fired Plants for $3 Billion”

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Reunited: EQT Closes on Deal to Buy Equitrans Midstream for $5.4B

In November 2018, under intense pressure from activist investors, EQT split itself into two companies: EQT Corporation and Equitrans Midstream (see It’s Here! EQT Midstream Division Now Split into Standalone Co.). Equitrans became a new, completely separate company with its own board of directors and its own set of investors. Five-and-a-half years later (in March of this year), EQT dropped the bombshell announcement that it had cut a deal to buy back Equitrans in an all-stock deal worth $5.4 billion (see Stop Press! EQT Buying Equitrans Midstream in All-Stock Deal). The deal is now done. The two companies were reunited and became a single company yesterday.
Read More “Reunited: EQT Closes on Deal to Buy Equitrans Midstream for $5.4B”

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Australia’s Woodside Buying Tellurian & Driftwood LNG for $1.2B

Last November, Tellurian, a company founded by Charif Souki, filed a report with the Securities and Exchange Commission warning investors that its financial situation raised “substantial doubt” that the company could continue as a going concern (see Tellurian and Its Driftwood LNG Project in Financial Trouble). Turmoil followed, with the company firing Souki (see Tellurian Fires Charif Souki – Out as Chairman & Executive Officer). Tellurian’s primary focus is to build Driftwood LNG, a 27.6 million tonnes of LNG per year facility that will cost $14.5 billion to build.
Read More “Australia’s Woodside Buying Tellurian & Driftwood LNG for $1.2B”

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BKV Sells Non-Operated PA Marcellus Assets for $132 Million

Over the past seven-plus years, BKV Corporation (Banpu Kalnin Ventures), the American arm of Banpu (96% owned by Banpu, Thailand’s largest coal mining company), has become one of the top 20 gas-weighted natural gas producers in the U.S. BKV originally entered the American shale sector by investing $500 million in 2016-2017 to buy existing Marcellus wells and acreage in northeast Pennsylvania. Then the company went wandering into other shale plays (see Banpu Expands Again – Buys Exxon’s Texas Barnett Assets). In addition to shale drilling, BKV purchased gas-fired power plants in Texas and is now working on a carbon capture project (see Bumpy Financial Road for BKV – Company Bets on Carbon Capture). In April, we told you BKV was shopping its non-operated assets in its Marcellus footprint in six northeastern Pennsylvania counties (see BKV Shopping 214 Nonoperated Shale Wells in 6 NE Pa. Counties). They found a buyer — actually two buyers.
Read More “BKV Sells Non-Operated PA Marcellus Assets for $132 Million”