Patterson-UTI 3Q16: $84M Loss, Industry has Begun Recovery
Each month MDN tracks how many rigs oilfield services company Patterson-UTI Energy reports operating–as a proxy for when/if the drop in rig counts for the Marcellus/Utica will turn around. Patterson operates a number of rigs in the northeast, as well as other areas of the continental United States (and Canada). Patterson reported losing $84 million during the second quarter of 2016, responding that the company is positioned for a recovery (see Patterson-UTI 2Q16: $86M Loss, “Well Positioned” for a Recovery). How about 3Q16? Patterson issued their third quarter update yesterday, and it shows the company lost $84 million. Yuck. Of course, that’s an improvement from losing $226 million a year earlier in 3Q15. Patterson CEO Andy Hendricks said rig counts have steadily climbed higher since May, something we’ve noted month by month here on MDN. Patterson Chairman of the Board, Mark Siegel, said the industry “has begun the initial stages of the recovery process.” That’s good news. Here’s the 3Q16 update from Patterson-UTI Energy…
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The 16,000-member Pennsylvania Medical Society is controlled by a small and dedicated group of radical leftists. They’re also shockingly stupid, for doctors and medical people (you might want to seek medical care in another state). The PA Medical Society’s 300-member House of Delegates voted unanimously to pass a resolution calling for a total ban on fracking in the Keystone State. Stop it–all of it–right now. That’s what they said. Even though there is no evidence that fracking harms human health. That is, independent studies done all say the same thing: fracking is safe. However, biased bought-and-paid-for studies say fracking will kill ‘ya. We find it astonishing that there was not one single delegate who didn’t vote for the resolution–which proves our point that radical, lock-step lefties control the society…
One of the largest banks in the world (#11) is the German-based Deutsche Bank. They have major branches in dozens of countries, including the U.S. The Equity Research – North America operation of Deutsche Bank attended the Platts 9th Annual Appalachian Oil & Gas Conference in Pittsburgh earlier this week. The DB analyst who attended wrote up notes and shared them. We found the writeup interesting and thought you would too…
It will be fun watching far left Democrat politicians in New England point fingers at each other this winter when electricity and natural gas prices go through the roof. It won’t be fun watching the residents of New England pay 4-10 times what people in other parts of the country pay for their electricity and natural gas–but they’re the ones who elected the dolts that “lead” them. So we don’t have too much sympathy. An agreement by the New England states to seek new natural gas pipeline infrastructure and LNG resources has fallen apart because of squabbling among the states. In large part because of political pressure being applied by lunatic global warming scaremongers. Connecticut is the latest state to throw in the towel, canceling an RFP (request for proposal) that would bring cheap, abundant, clean-burning natural gas from places like the Marcellus, just a few hundred miles away, to the state. What a shame. The only thing to do now is sit back and watch the fun begin. We’ll be here to chronicle the sad decline of (and mass exodus from) New England…
Get this. More than 100 so-called protesters (i.e. criminals) had illegally set up camp on PRIVATE PROPERTY–against the landowner’s wishes–in an effort to stop work on the Dakota Access Pipeline project. A large group of police officers, SWAT teams, etc. had to move in to remove the lawbreakers. So what does the group of protesters who claim to worship Mother Earth and are there to protect Mom Earth from being raped by a pipeline do? They set fire to a pile of used tires–emitting the worst kind of fumes and emissions into the air, polluting everything around. They also torched equipment used to lay the pipeline. One of the “protesters” produced a .38-caliber pistol and fired three times at police officers. Yeah, that’s the peace-loving, earth-protecting THUGS in North Dakota–most of whom arrived from out-of-state and are paid to be there. Hired thugs engaging in thuggery. Why mention this story on MDN? Because as we previously wrote, one of the leaders of these thugs has promised to bring the fight to the Marcellus/Utica next…
The “best of the rest” – stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading. In today’s lineup: Marcellus operators save money with online water management; ExxonMobil ordered to turn over 30 year-old documents by corrupt NY Supreme Court; battle over PA drilling rules continues; PA mobilizes to mine cracker benefits; FERC authorizes Elba LNG work commencement; Nevada sitting on biggest undiscovered oilfield?; shale honeymoon over for East Coast refineries; US drilling tech heading overseas; and more!
Yesterday Murray Energy, which operates coal mines in Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky, Utah, and West Virginia, announced it had sold the leases for 5,900 of the acres it owns in Belmont and Monroe counties (in eastern Ohio) to an unidentified shale driller for $63.6 million. That works out to be ~$10,800 per acre. According to Murray officials, the sale will allow the company to focus on its core activity–coal mining. The money will also help the company stay out of bankruptcy court. The sale, which is slated to close “in the coming weeks” doesn’t ID the buyer. But we have a guess as to who bought…
Two weeks ago the Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC) filed a court challenge to the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) onerous new Marcellus drilling regulations (see 
Antero Resources, one of the biggest drillers in the Marcellus, released their second quarter 2016 update in August which showed natgas production was up 19% over 2Q15 (see 
MDN has extensively covered the story of what will become the largest natural gas-fired electric generating plant in Pennsylvania, being built by Invenergy in Jessup Township in Lackawanna County (see 
In June 2014 Dominion filed an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to construct and operate new compression facilities at existing compressor stations in Marshall County, WV and Monroe County, OH, and certain other facilities, collectively called the Clarington Project (see 
Yesterday MDN reported that EQT is buying another 60,000 Marcellus/Utica acres (along with buying out Trans Energy) in transactions totally $683 million (see 
Magnum Hunter Resources Corporation (MHR), a driller 100% focused on the Marcellus/Utica emerged from bankruptcy in May, less than five months after filing (see 
As we near the end of this year, analysts and consultants inevitably turn their attention to next year, 2017. Will oil and gas drillers spend more money next year on their drilling programs? The consensus appears to be a resounding “Yes!” The question is, how much more? Anyone’s guess. But analysts like to guess. One those analyst firms is Evercore ISI, an investment banking advisory firm founded in 1995. Evercore’s smarties are predicting drillers will spend 25% more next year than they did this year on drilling–with a total collective spend across the industry of ~$110 billion. Here’s their thinking…
The bullies at the rogue, out-of-control federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are leaning hard on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) over FERC’s approval for two Marcellus/Utica projects–Leach Xpress and Rayne Xpress Expansion projects. The EPA thinks FERC should consider man-made global warming flummery as part of their evaluation process. FERC is resisting. So the EPA bullies are demanding a meeting, to help FERC get it’s head straight (see