Southwestern Energy 3Q15: Production Up 27%, Net Loss of $1.8B
Yesterday Southwestern Energy Company, one of the the major players in the Marcellus Shale, posted its third quarter 2015 earnings and operational update. In many ways Southwestern is one of the most exciting companies drilling in the northeast. A year ago Southwestern purchased 413,000 acres and 435 operating and non-operating wells from Chesapeake Energy in the southwestern portion of the Marcellus for $5.4 billion (see Chesapeake Sells Close to 25% of Marcellus/Utica Operation). Early this year they picked up 46,700 acres and 63 operational wells from WPX Energy in the northeastern part of the play for $300 million (see WPX Finalizes Sale of NEPA Marcellus Leases/Wells to Southwestern). Then the company did something virtually no other company has done in 2015–they INCREASED their drilling program in the Marcellus (see Southwestern’s Contrarian Plan: Double Down on Drilling in the Marcellus). Has it paid off? Time will tell. We can tell you that the company is producing more natural gas than ever–130 billion cubic feet equivalent per day in the Marcellus/Utica. Put another way, that’s 1.4 Bcf/d, each and every day. We have plenty of details on their drilling program below. However, on the financial side, whereas the company made $211 million in net income in 3Q14, they lost $1.766 billion in 3Q15. That kind of bleeding will have to stop…
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Cabot Oil & Gas, one of the best-performing Marcellus Shale drillers in the entire play, issued their third quarter 2015 update today. They did pretty well all things considered. The company reports a slight increase in production of 7% year over year. However, the even the mighty Cabot can’t overcome wicked low prices for natural gas in northeastern Pennsylvania–the lowest in the country. Cabot made just over $100 million in profit in 3Q14. This year? They lost $15 million–which ain’t all that shabby compared to just about every other driller in the northeast. By comparison Southwestern, with more acreage and a larger drilling program, lost $1.8 billion in 3Q15. Yikes! Here’s the update issued today by Cabot…
EQT published their third quarter 2015 financials and operating update yesterday. Like Southwestern and other Marcellus/Utica drillers releasing their updates, EQT shows good news, like an increase in production (27% higher in 3Q15 than in 3Q14). However, there’s also the bad news: EQT got 55% less money for their gas in 3Q15 than they did a year ago. Consequently it shows up in the bottom line. In 3Q14 EQT had a $77 million profit, in 3Q15 they had a $50 million loss. Here’s the full update with select financials…
Patterson-UTI Energy is an oilfield services company, running in the same circles as Schlumberger, Halliburton and Baker Hughes. We previously reported the hammering oilfield services companies have been getting in the market. Not only are energy companies drilling less (laying rigs down), energy companies are pressuring oilfield services companies–the companies that do the actual drilling and fracking–to lower their prices. Less work and lower money for the work you’re doing has taken it’s toll. However, these companies are handling the downturn in different ways. Patterson-UTI, like several of its competitors, lost money in 3Q15–but Patterson’s loss cut much deeper (and makes us wonder if it’s ripe for a takeover). Let us explain…
Part of the ongoing hit series in the Democrat-owned Harrisburg Patriot-News that attempts to smear the Marcellus industry (see 
Not long after she took office, Pennsylvania’s Democrat Attorney General, Kathleen Kane, brought criminal charges against XTO Energy for an accidental spill in Lycoming County, PA that happened two years before she was in office (see 
Here’s a thought: Why doesn’t the Philadelphia Gas Works (PGW) convert more of the gas it buys to take gas from the nearby Pennsylvania Marcellus Shale and dump buying gas from the Gulf Coast–because PA’s gas is closer and much cheaper, it will result in lower costs for PGW and lower bills for consumers. Now, where do we go to collect our $1.5 million consulting fee for that fine idea? The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission contracted with Michigan consulting firm Schumaker & Company, Inc. to perform a top to bottom audit of the PGW. While we don’t know how much the audit cost, we did find a 2008 proposal from Schumaker to New York State touting the same kind of audit, with a total price tag (back then) of $1.3 million. So we figured with a little inflation the audit just turned in by Schumaker must have run at least $1.5M. The chief, number one suggestion by Schumaker? PGW can save $6-$7 million a year by buying more of its gas (60% more) from the Marcellus Shale region, upping it from the current 33% they buy from the Marcellus now. Maybe we should get into the consulting business. Sure pays better than blogging!…
In August our Dear Leader, Barack Hussein Obama, introduced his latest edict called the Clean Power Plan. The plan uses the federal Environmental Protection Agency to completely eliminate coal-fired electric plants, and greatly diminish natural gas-fired electric plants (see 
The “best of the rest” – stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading. In today’s lineup: MSC’s Spigelmyer says to regulate for the “right reasons”; more PA impact fee money flows to local towns; Moundsville power plant promises better communication; headhunter finds the bright side of 200K layoffs in oil & gas; and more!
Halliburton is in the process of buying its smaller competitor Baker Hughes. Although the plan was to have the merger complete by December 1st, it’s almost certain the date will slip into early 2016 (see 
In August MDN brought you the news that Antero Resources has decided to build a new state-of-the-art frack wastewater treatment plant in Doddridge County, WV for $275 million (see 
It’s not often it happens, so we like to make a big deal out of it when it does–praise for a group of Democrats! Kudos to the Mahoning County Democrat Party for their stand AGAINST the no fracking ballot initiative on the November ballot–otherwise known as the Youngstown Community Bill of Rights initiative. As we’ve previously reported, this is the fifth time this idiotic ballot measure has come up for a vote in the City of Youngstown. The OH Supreme Court ruled it should be on the ballot in November (for a fifth time), even though the same Supreme Court ruled against such “home rule” laws earlier in the year (see 
Good news! The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) have approved Dominion’s $165 million New Market Project, a project that expands Dominion’s transmission pipeline from western New York across the state to the Capital Region of the state, near Albany. As with any fossil fuel-related project, radical environmentalists objected (see 
In the 2014 campaign for governor of Pennsylvania, California billionaire Tom Steyer gave over $10 million to Tom Wolf’s campaign to help him get elected (see 