CONSOL, EXCO and Low Natgas Prices in the Marcellus
An interesting article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette by the only reporter they have left that still reports objectively on the Marcellus Shale: Anya Litvak, formerly from the Pittsburgh Business Times, tackles the topic of the Marcellus and other shale plays as being a “long game” for energy companies. In fact, some producers still don’t turn a profit in this “low price” environment. As part of her article, she shares two pieces of information that caught our eye: How much it costs CONSOL Energy per thousand cubic feet (Mcf) to get the gas, and when we can expect to see EXCO Resources return to active drilling in the Marcellus…
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Get this: From 2003-2010 PA Democrat Gov. Ed Rendell ran Pennsylvania over an economic cliff during his administration by raising taxes and raising spending even more. The mess was so bad it took current Gov. Tom Corbett several years to fix it and put the state back on the road to economic sanity. It’s not hyperbole to say that Corbett saved Pennsylvania from bankruptcy. The thanks Corbett got for saving the state? He got fired. Democrat Tom Wolf came along promising the moon–and (using $10 million of his own money and another $10 million of Californian “environmentalist” Tom Steyer’s money) he won. Yesterday Wolf named a former head of the Dept. of Environment Protection (and Wolf’s former opponent in the Dem primary for governor) Katie McGinty to be his chief of staff. Oh, did we mention that both Wolf and McGinty were cabinet members in the Rendell administration? Nothing like getting the band back together so you can take the state right back over the same economic cliff again. Leaving aside the larger economic issues for PA, we wonder how McGinty’s appointment will affect Marcellus drilling in the state…
What can we divine by reading the tea leaves from the recent election outcome in New York State vis-à-vis the relative strength of the anti-drilling agenda in the Empire State? A casual reference to media reports gives one the impression that those opposed to drilling–particularly in the Southern Tier area of New York–are on the rise. Yet in head-to-head contests (at least in the Southern Tier) pro-drilling candidates have now beaten anti-drilling candidates over the span of two election cycles. We can’t find a single race of consequence (anything bigger than town board level) where a pro-drilling candidate lost! Does that portend good things for New York State and the future of drilling?…