EQT Sets World Drilling Record; Tug Hill Deal to Close Next 30 Days
EQT Corporation, the largest natural gas producer in the United States, issued its second quarter 2023 update yesterday. There was loads of news. The company reported a new world record of drilling 18,200 feet in 48 hours for a single well in Green County, PA. Also of note, CEO Toby Rice and newly appointed CFO Jeremy Knop said a long-delayed purchase of Tug Hill Operating (major new acreage for EQT in West Virginia) would be concluded within the next 30 days. Very exciting news! But it wasn’t all peaches and cream. Reading through the reports, you will discover that EQT produced 471 Bcfe in 2Q23 (an average of 5.18 Bcfe/d) versus producing 502 Bcfe in 2Q22 (an average of 5.52 Bcfe/d)–down 6% year over year. The company lost $67 million in 2Q23 versus making a profit of $891 million in 2Q22, a swing of $958 million (nearly one billion dollars). Why?
Read More “EQT Sets World Drilling Record; Tug Hill Deal to Close Next 30 Days”
TRC Capital Investment Corporation has sent an unsolicited “mini-tender” offer to Coterra Energy stockholders looking to purchase up to 4 million shares of Coterra’s common stock (approximately 0.5% of Coterra’s outstanding shares), at an offer price that is 4.5% lower than the current share price. TRC Capital is looking to pick up Coterra shares on the cheap and turn around and flip them at a higher price. Coterra is warning stockholders they should not agree to the deal.
The problem with the pay-for-protection scam is that it never stops. A mobster comes calling on a business, and for a “small” and regular fee, the mobster will guarantee nothing “happens” to the business. “Just think of it as insurance.” It’s a shakedown–a scam. And over the years, the price keeps going up. What if the mobster is a government agency, like the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP)? The DEP keeps shaking down Energy Transfer and its Sunoco Pipeline subsidiary over the construction and operation of the Mariner East 2 (ME2) pipeline. Over the years, the DEP has fined ET/Sunoco over $30 MILLION for so-called penalties related to building ME2. [
Olympus Energy (formerly Huntley & Huntley) drills in the Greater Pittsburgh region, in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties. In 2021, Olympus applied to build a new well pad in a rural part of Allegheny County, in West Deer Township. So-called “concerned citizens” got amped up to oppose the project. They succeeded when town supervisors rejected the Dionysus well pad (see 
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: PJM issues “renewables not enough” hot weather alert; Natural gas industry praised, defended at Marcellus energy forum; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: NJ utility regulators false claim of not coming for your stoves; NATIONAL: Biden’s latest gas appliance target: gas boilers; INTERNATIONAL: Saudi expected to extend oil supply cut into September.
Range Resources’ new CEO, Dennis Degner, told analysts yesterday during a quarterly update that he doesn’t think the commodity price of natural gas and the overall demand for natgas will increase for the rest of this year and most of next year. So Degner will keep the company’s drilling program active enough to keep production at the current level of 2.1 Bcf/d. Range must drill 60-65 new wells yearly to maintain production.
Douglas is a small town in southern Worcester County, Massachusetts. The population was 8,983 at the 2020 census. It includes the sizable Douglas State Forest, managed by the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), and not much else. Douglas desperately needs new businesses to move in to help with the tax base, but with no natural gas service, businesses were not interested. So Douglas officials contacted Eversource, one of the state’s largest utility companies, about the possibility of running natural gas lines into and through Douglas. And they’ve done it–behind the backs of radicalized anti-fossil fuelers, who are livid.
Columbia Gas Transmission pipeline is in the news–all over the place. Yesterday we told you about TC Energy’s plan to sell a 40% stake in the Columbia Pipeline (owned by TC) to Global Infrastructure Partners for $3.9 billion (see 
Liberal Democrats never give up on their poor ideas–even when they are rejected year after year. In 2021, the Dems who controlled the U.S. House of Representatives with an iron fist under der Führer Pelosi introduced five bills, including the FRAC Act, aimed at destroying the oil and gas industry in this country (see 
The Bidenistas noticed that shale companies are beginning to use various private NGOs to certify the production of natural gas as responsible. The effort is picking up steam, and the Bidenistas don’t like the fact they are not in control. They can’t call the shots and determine what is and is not “green enough” for them. So in March, the Bidenistas began “holding talks” to try and establish a national/international standard (see