Nuverra Environmental Exits Chapter 11, $500M Debt Magically Gone
Nuverra Environmental Solutions (formerly Heckmann) is one of the largest companies in the United States that handles transportation and disposal of shale drilling wastewater and leftover rock and dirt from drilling. The company has major operations in the Marcellus/Utica region. In January 2016, the company, going through tough economic times, was de-listed from the New York Stock Exchange (see Nuverra Environmental Delisted from NYSE, Now a Penny Stock). In April of this year, Nuverra issued their full year 2016 update which showed a $169 million loss for the year (see Nuverra Environmental 2016 Update – Red Ink Slows, Some). And in May, the company filed for bankruptcy (see Nuverra Environmental Files for Chapter 11 Bankrutpcy). It’s now three months later, and Nuverra has emerged from bankruptcy with $70 million of new financing and magically dumping $500 million of debt. Like others before them, Nuverra turned its creditors into owners, swapping out debt for ownership equity, thereby screwing existing shareholders–their shares become so watered down they are worthless. As part of the restructuring, the old board of directors (former shareholders) are now gone, and a new board has been appointed…
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In 2012, Sunoco inked a deal with The Carlyle Group to form a joint venture to keep Philadelphia’s historic refinery operating (see 
Necessity is the mother of invention. Over the past year or so we’ve chronicled the dramatic increase in the amount of sand used in fracking. Recently we told you that Chesapeake Energy drilled what we believe to be the highest-producing Marcellus well (so far), with an initial production of 61 million cubic feet per day of gas (see 
The “best of the rest” – stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading. In today’s lineup: Is Range Resources takeover bait?; Talen Energy relocates HQ; Rice Energy accused of not paying overtime; Shell cracker lauded by national leaders; demand for energy lawyers picks up in Pittsburgh; natgas industry comes to the rescue in WV flood; shale will beat OPEC because drillers can now profit at $40; Sierra Club sues Energy Dept over grid study; automation the key to future of o&g; manufacturers oppose Trump’s push for LNG exports; and more!
It’s not often these days we come across a story that mentions a new lease signed, and the amount of money paid as a signing bonus. Such is the case in Ohio County, WV. The Wheeling Park High School has just signed a lease with Southwestern Energy for $3,500 per acre for 66 acres–giving the school district $231,000 of newly found revenue, thanks to the Marcellus/Utica industry. No drilling equipment will be placed on or near school property. When the drilling eventually happens UNDER the school, and the wells begin to flow, Wheeling Park High School will then get more revenue–18% royalties on all gas produced…
According to the Wall Street Journal, private equity firm Blackstone Group has invested $7 billion in U.S. natural gas. The way the Journal puts it, Blackstone is “betting” $7 billion, implying it’s a risky roll of the dice. A seriously big chunk of that investment was the recent announcement that Blackstone has bought part ownership of Rover Pipeline for $1.57 billion (see 
Huntley & Huntley has plans to drill shale wells in Upper Burrell Township (Westmoreland County), PA. As MDN reported in June, a landowner in Upper Burrell filed an appeal against Upper Burrell’s zoning ordinance that allows drilling in rural, agricultural districts (see 
It was only two days ago MDN told you that a Marcellus gas-fired electric plant planned for Lawrence County, PA appears to be active and moving forward once again (see 
In January MDN told you that Italian company Pietro Fiorentini had signed paperwork to buy land to build a $9 million factory in Weirton, WV (see 
Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) is not taking a ludicrous, outrageous lawsuit by anti-pipeline residents from West Virginia and Virginia lying down. They are fighting mad as recent court filings show. MVP is a $3.5 billion, 301-mile pipeline that will run from Wetzel County, WV to the Transco Pipeline in Pittsylvania County, VA. A lawsuit was filed in federal court at the end of July to block the MVP project (see 
In May 2012 a water truck driver delivering water to an Anadarko Marcellus Shale well pad in Clinton County, PA missed a turnoff for the road he was supposed to take, at 2:30 am in the morning. A couple of miles later he crashed and tragically died because the road he was on was not marked well and not conducive to the truck he was driving. There was a sign warning the driver not to go beyond a certain point. The driver had previously–that night–already delivered to the well pad and successfully turned onto the road he was supposed to take. Why did he miss it the second time? His widow maintains that even though he worked for a subcontractor, Anadarko was the company in charge and should have had a light illuminating the “No Anadarko Traffic Beyond This Point” sign. So she sued Anadarko, and the subcontractor, for wrongful death. Lower courts threw out the lawsuit but a federal appeals court reinstated a civil suit against Anadarko (see 
Pipeline companies face enormous governmental roadblocks when it comes to building new pipelines. “Red tape” doesn’t begin to describe the hassles they face in going from government agency to government agency in order to build an interstate pipeline. Yesterday, with the stroke of a pen, President Trump helped correct that situation. Trump signed a new executive order that will speed up approvals of permits for highways, bridges, pipelines and other major building efforts by shortening the time for environmental reviews. Trump’s executive order (full copy below) revokes an idiotic Obama executive order aimed at reducing exposure to flooding, sea level rise and other consequences of mythical climate change. Obama intentionally screwed things up and created long delays. Trump is fixing it. The American Petroleum Institute and business groups applauded the new EO and said it will directly translate into more jobs…
According to a recent column on WorldOil.com, you can thank the recent downturn in oil and gas prices with producing the lean, mean drilling machines we have today. Because of the downturn, only the “most mechanically sharp, efficient and best-equipped drilling rigs and crews were left operating in the downturn.” The result? It created “the A-Team.” The rigs and crews operating now drill twice as fast at half the cost of just a few years ago. According to Chesapeake CEO Doug “the ax” Lawler, “We don’t need to run 175 rigs anymore. Forty or 50 rigs can deliver the same volume today.” Our point: Today we have far fewer rigs operating, but they’re producing far more oil and gas than they ever have. Welcome to the world shale created…
We have to confess, we are not only shocked, but somewhat distressed at news we are reading that Cabot Oil & Gas is considering all options, including a sale of its Marcellus acreage in Susquehanna County, PA. To be fair, and to keep it in balance, it seems that the company would prefer to add to its Marcellus acreage, rather than sell it. However, chief financial officer Scott Schroeder said at a conference in Denver yesterday that all options are on the table, including a Marcellus acreage sale “if the terms are right.” MDN editor Jim Willis lives next door to Susquehanna County (and regularly visits Montrose, PA), and knows landowners in the county signed with Cabot. You have to understand how fundamentally Cabot has changed the county, by investing $1.5 billion into the pockets of landowners over the past 10 years, along with spending another $3.1 billion to do the drilling (see 
Pennsylvania Rep. Jason Ortitay, Republican from South Fayette (Washington & Allegheny Counties), PA who replaced Jesse White in January 2015 (see