MDN Upstream Index (MUI) – Jan 3, 2023
The most recent day of active trading was Friday, Dec. 30, 2022 (Monday, Jan. 2, 2023, was a stock exchange holiday)
This daily post contains a series of charts representing a stock index composed of 10 publicly-traded drilling companies with major operations in the Marcellus/Utica region. The MDN Upstream Index (MUI) reflects the combined value for one share of stock each for Antero Resources (AR); Chesapeake Energy (CHK); CNX Resources (CNX); Coterra Energy (CTRA); Epsilon Energy (EPSN); EQT Corp (EQT); Gulfport Energy (GPOR); National Fuel Gas Co. (NFG); Range Resources (RRC); and Southwestern Energy (SWN). The chart above shows performance over the past 30 days. Charts for other time periods and a listing for the most recent daily performance of each stock are listed below.
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OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Report notes major Permian Basin methane emissions drop; NATIONAL: 3 Energy Macro Themes For 2023; Dallas Fed energy survey shows growing pessimism; Biden effort to cap gas flaring hangs on 15 little words; Shale bosses worried about US labor shortages going into 2023; Oil and gas stocks shine in miserable year for U.S. equities; Shale oil wraps up an underwhelming year, girds for lower growth; 2022 the year the U.S. became the world’s largest LNG exporter; INTERNATIONAL: Canada drops 100+ rigs; Germany returns to coal as energy security trumps climate goals; European LNG import capacity to expand by one-third by end of 2024; German finance minister calls for reverse of fracking ban.
It’s rare these days to come across information about the terms of a lease deal. Back in the day, when leasing was still going strong and there were a number of landowner coalitions, we would learn of lease terms and share them here on MDN. When we hear of lease terms nowadays, it’s almost always a deal between a municipality or governmental entity and a driller, forcing the information to be made public. We have one such deal to share today. Earlier this week, the East Guernsey Local School District Board of Education (in Lore City, Guernsey County, Ohio) voted to approve an oil/gas lease with Encino Energy.
It’s been a while since we’ve updated rig count numbers–mainly because the most reliable source we can find about basin numbers comes from S&P Global Commodity Insights (based on Enverus rig data), and S&P has not provided an update for a few months. This week they did update the number, and they are interesting. According to S&P’s analysis, based on Enverus data, the Haynesville Shale in northern Louisiana and eastern Texas (the main competitor to the Marcellus/Utica) is showing 81 active drilling rigs. That is an astonishing number, up some 37% over the same time last year. The current active rig count in the M-U, according to S&P, is 47 (with 33 rigs operating in the Marcellus and 14 in the Utica). The Haynesville is running 1.7 rigs for every 1 rig in the M-U. This is the worst imbalance we’ve seen to date.
The best gifts we give to each other during this holiday season are intangible: Time spent with family and friends, a kind word, attending a church service. But hey, toys and gadgets and gear are a close second! 🙂 Have you ever stopped to ponder what Christmas morning without fossil energy would look like? We’ll tell you what it would look like–men and women wearing animal skins sitting around a wood or dung fire in a cave. There would be no gifts. Just about every (physical, tangible) gift you either give or get this holiday season will have plastic as part of it, and plastic comes from oil and gas. No fossil fuels, no gifts. The Pennsylvania Independent Oil & Gas Association (PIOGA) has put together a holiday gift guide to remind you of the importance of oil and gas this holiday season.
Last week (Dec. 12-18), the number of permits issued to drill new shale wells in the Marcellus/Utica bumped up nicely to 32, up from the prior week’s 20. Both Pennsylvania and Ohio issued 16 new shale permits each. West Virginia got skunked and issued none.
We wish you a Merry Christmas…and a Happy New Year! MDN will take off (i.e. no new stories posted) between Dec. 26th and Jan. 2nd in observance of the holiday season. Don’t worry, we’ll still keep an eye on the news, and if anything earth-shattering happens, we’ll post about it. However, our intent is to take a break from writing for an entire week. We will see you again on Tuesday, January 3rd.
Another twist in the effort to overturn a bill passed earlier this year by the West Virginia legislature, Senate Bill (SB) 694, which finally brings forced pooling for shale wells to the Mountain States after eight years of trying (see 
We’ve extensively covered the issue of Big Banks and Big Investment Firms turning against and refusing to fund fossil energy companies. Financial institutions are routinely hounded by radicalized leftists to deny funding to oil and gas companies, and sadly, many banks and investment firms have caved to the pressure. The attorneys general and state treasurers in “red” states are fighting back by pulling state business (and pension funds) from said companies, like BlackRock (see 
Kevin Sunday, director of government affairs with the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry, recently published an op-ed in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette pointing out how the mighty Shell ethane cracker plant in Beaver County, PA, is the result of business and government (bipartisan government) working together. He makes the case that we need more of this type of thing, especially with many new faces coming to Harrisburg in January. We frankly wonder if hoping for bipartisan cooperation on fossil energy projects in the current political climate is just spitting in the wind.