Coterra Shifting Focus and $$ from Marcellus Gas to Permian Oil
This is precisely what we feared might happen and why we were against the merger of Cimarex Energy and Cabot Oil & Gas, now called Coterra Energy (see Cimarex Takes Over Cabot, Merged Co. Called “Coterra Energy”). In Friday’s quarterly update, we learned that Coterra is dropping two rigs and cutting back to one frac crew in the Marcellus (a plan that was announced earlier this year). We also learned that Coterra will milk the Marcellus cash cow and use that money to finance more work in the oily Permian (Texas) play.
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On Friday, Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry announced her office has filed criminal charges against two men for falsifying paperwork and risking catastrophe while working on a natural gas pipeline project in western PA. The AG’s Environmental Crime Section and the US Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General investigated a case of suspected fraud in falsifying records for portions of a MarkWest Liberty Pipeline to transport NGLs.
The Shell ethane cracker plant in Beaver County, PA (near Pittsburgh) has experienced a number of problems over the past six months during startup, including flaring and foul odors (see 
The Pennsylvania-based Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF), along with Citizens for Rights of the Ohio River Watershed (CROW), are trying to gather enough signatures from Cincinnati residents to put a measure on a city ballot that would create a so-called Bill of Rights (i.e. bestow human rights) for the Ohio River and its watershed. We wonder what the Ohio River “thinks” about that! This isn’t the first time the radicalized CELDF has tried this stunt in Ohio (see 
Here’s something truly noteworthy–something you need to sit up and pay attention to. Last Thursday, all four Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) commissioners–two Democrats and two Republicans–sat before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee in a hearing and said the same thing. All four FERC commissioners warned the Senators that too many coal- and gas-fired power plants are retiring without enough new sources coming online to replace them. They said the situation is “catastrophic” and “the red lights are flashing.”
NATIONAL: Big Oil has $150 billion in cash – investors want a share; US weekly oil & gas rig count falls by the most since February; INTERNATIONAL: Russia seeks to become top LNG supplier by tripling exports; European natural gas prices fall to 21-month low.
National Fuel Gas Company (NFG), headquartered in Buffalo, NY, is the parent company for Marcellus/Utica driller Seneca Resources and the parent of midstream company Empire Pipeline. Earlier this week, NFG issued its latest quarterly update. NFG operates on a weird fiscal year system. This latest update is for the company’s second quarter, which would be everybody else’s first quarter update. The big news from the update is that Seneca Resources has agreed to acquire upstream assets in northwestern Pennsylvania from Southwestern Energy for $127 million.
Williams, one of the largest pipeline companies in the world, issued its first quarter update yesterday. The company reported 1Q23 net income increased by $547 million to $926 million, up from $379 million in 1Q22 due to unrealized gains (and losses) on commodity derivatives, the benefit of higher service revenues driven by contributions from recent acquisitions, increased volumes at Ohio Valley Midstream, as well as higher commodity marketing margins. CEO and President Alan Armstrong said, “We remain squarely focused on our natural gas-focused strategy.” The Marcellus/Utica plays a big part in the company’s gas-focused strategy.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), which tracks all things energy, reports natural gas production in the U.S. has increased for 23 consecutive months, due to an increase in demand from gas-fired power plants and LNG export operations. In fact, U.S. dry natgas production in February averaged 101.5 Bcf/d (billion cubic feet per day), the highest level for any month since 1973! Gross withdrawals (usage, including exports) were 123.1 Bcf/d in February, the highest daily rate of gross withdrawals for any month since 1980! Why do we not see mainstream media trumpeting these numbers?
We are currently in the latest quarterly update season. In fact, we are about done with quarterly updates for the first quarter. Most (if not all) of the publicly traded Marcellus/Utica drillers have turned in their quarterly updates, as well as gas drillers from other plays (like the Haynesville). If you review the statements made by U.S. gas drillers in this latest round of updates, you’ll find the sentiment expressed that although we’re currently in the price basement for natural gas, most drillers don’t think it’s going last long. They think low prices for natgas are short-lived and that a rebound awaits us in 2024.
CNX Resources held its annual meeting yesterday, which lasted all of 13 minutes. As we previously reported, one of CNX’s shareholders, a hotel owner from California (Jon Handerly), sought to force CNX to issue annual reports about the company’s efforts to comply with the so-called Paris goals of lower carbon dioxide emissions (see 
The Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) continues its delay, deny, and defend strategy with a PennEnergy Resources to draw water from Big Sewickley Creek for use in fracking operations. More than two years ago PennEnergy requested permission to draw water from the creek. So far, with the help of anti-fossil fuel groups pressuring the DEP, PennEnergy hasn’t withdrawn a single 8-ounce cup of water from the creek.
New shale permits issued for Apr. 24-30 in the Marcellus/Utica fell from the prior week. There were 18 new permits issued last week, down from 25 in the prior week. Last week’s tally included 8 new permits for Pennsylvania, 4 new permits for Ohio, and 6 new permits in West Virginia. Last week the top receiver of new permits was Antero Resources, with 6 permits issued in Tyler County, WV. EQT (Rice Drilling) was second-highest, with 4 permits issued in Greene County, PA.