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Russian Hackers Target EQT, LNG Producers Just Prior to Ukraine War
Hackers, believed to be “state-sponsored,” aggressively targeted computers belonging to current and former employees at two dozen major natural gas suppliers and exporters. The aim seemed to be an attempt to cripple U.S. LNG exporting ability. One of the targets of the attacks was EQT Corporation, the largest natural gas producer in the U.S. The activity occurred on the eve of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. You do the math to figure out who the “state sponsor” of the attacks was.
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Only four (known) times since 2017 have U.S. shale producers met face-to-face with representatives from the OPEC cartel to discuss “energy concerns.” Yesterday was one of those four times, happening in Houston, Texas where everyone who’s anyone is meeting at the CERAWeek conference. (Yes, we’re nobodies…we aren’t there.) Among the shale execs meeting with OPEC was none other than the largest natural gas producer in the U.S. (and in the Marcellus/Utica), EQT CEO Toby Rice. What was discussed?
For over a year the oil and gas industry has been swept up in net-zero carbon emissions mania. We can provide countless examples of M-U drillers and pipeline companies jumping on the net-zero carbon bandwagon (
OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Shell to buy LNG from Venture Global’s Plaquemines plant; NATIONAL: Biden admin rolls out new regulations and funding for cleaner trucks & buses; How a weak Biden, capitulating to the green left, enabled Putin’s invasion; The Biden admin should convene a summit with U.S. oil producers; INTERNATIONAL: European natgas prices top $100 as ‘panic buying’ fuels record; Is $150 oil inevitable?; Russia threatens to cut natural gas flows to Europe via Nord Stream 1.
Even though construction is completed for the Mariner East pipeline system, anti-fossil fuelers are still lying about the project and its status. Energy Transfer said during its recent quarterly update that Mariner East is in the process of being commissioned, i.e. tested (see 
In June 2020, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro (Democrat) announced an indictment of Cabot Oil & Gas for allegations of methane migration going back more than a decade, long before he was elected as AG (see 
Last week saw a flurry of sniping back and forth between Pennsylvania House Republicans and Democrat Gov. Tom Wolf over the issue of whether Wolf should be doing more to promote PA natural gas production as a solution to help Europe out of its current pickle with Vlad Putin. Russia keeps jerking Europe’s chain by slowing and even stopping natural gas flows to the Continent in retaliation for Europe engaging in sanctions against Russia over its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. Apparently, the House Republicans got under Wolf’s skin, as he retorted with some rather testy language of his own.
Sort of a mixed bag with respect to recent prices for natural gas. While the spot cash price as a national average has slipped a bit, down 83 cents over the past week to $4.84, the NYMEX futures contract price for the “front month” of April soared past $5. In fact, if you look at the NYMEX contracts for each month over the next one year, they are ALL closing above $5/MMBtu.
Each week MDN brings you a report of new permits to drill shale wells issued during the previous week for Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia. Last Wednesday MDN noticed a problem with the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection’s reporting website that prevented us from harvesting data and delivering our weekly report. We alerted the DEP to the issue. Their problem is much larger than just oil and gas reporting. It extends to several other systems as well, including the ability for drillers to upload required reports. When will it be fixed?
One week ago MDN told you about the fast track for West Virginia Senate Bill (SB) 694, a bill that will, after nearly a decade, provide for forced pooling for shale wells in the state (see 
An interesting conversation was held on Tuesday during the Pennsylvania Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on the budget for PA in 2022. Secretary of the Dept. of Conservation & Natural Resources (DCNR) Cindy Dunn was there to talk about her agency’s financial needs in the coming year. Also there was PA Sen. Gene Yaw and PA Sen. Joe Pittman, both Republicans. Yaw and Pittman asked Dunn why her agency doesn’t lease another 22,000 acres of state land for natural gas drilling as a form of “self help” to help fund DCNR’s budget. Great question…
According to S&P Global, shale gas producers behaved themselves during the fourth quarter of 2021 and didn’t, even as the price of gas went sky high, do anything more than maintain current production. Gas drillers kept spending in check, didn’t do any more drilling than was necessary to maintain production, and plowed free cash flow back into dividends and stock buybacks. The result? Investors loved it and share prices soared.