MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: An open letter to President Biden on shale energy; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Colorado’s legal cannabis farms emit more carbon than its coal mines; NATIONAL: U.S. Silica, Smart Sand report rising demand for proppant by E&P customers.
Read More “Other Stories of Interest: Mon, Mar 15, 2021”
Ascent Resources, originally founded as American Energy Partners by gas legend Aubrey McClendon, is a privately-held company that focuses 100% on the Ohio Utica Shale. Ascent is Ohio’s largest natural gas producer and the 8th largest natural gas producer in the U.S. The company issued its fourth-quarter and full-year 2020 update earlier this week. According to Ascent CEO Jeff Fisher, “Ascent has successfully delivered on its operational and financial objectives in 2020.” Ascent reports it shut-in (curtailed) roughly 100 million cubic feet equivalent per day (MMcfe/d) of production in 4Q. The company produced 1.9 billion cubic feet per day (Bcfe/d) during 4Q, down from 2 Bcfe/d in 3Q.
Read More “Ascent: Spud 60, Fracked 77, Turned to Sales 75 New Wells in 2020”
Here’s a company we’ve not written about since 2016: IOG Capital. Back in 2015 we first told you that IOG Capital had cut a deal with Seneca Resources to fund Seneca’s Marcellus drilling program in Elk, McKean and Cameron counties in northcentral Pennsylvania (see Seneca Res. Cuts Deal with IOG Capital to Fund Up to 80 PA Wells). Seneca announced in 2016 that their deal with IOG had been revised and extended from funding 75 wells to funding 82 wells (see Seneca Resources & IOG Extend JV to Drill More Wells in PA). IOG, via its subsidiary IOG Resources, reports that earlier this month it purchased nonoperating interests in 77 producing Utica wells from Sequel Energy for an undisclosed amount.
Read More “IOG Resources Buys 77 Nonoperated Utica Wells from Sequel Energy”
Earlier this week MDN brought you the news that the Biden administration, via its Acting Solicitor General, filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court supporting PennEast Pipeline’s appealed case to overturn a lower court decision barring the company from using eminent domain to condemn land owned or controlled by the State of New Jersey (see Biden Admin Files Supreme Court Brief Supporting PennEast Pipe). In light of this positive development, yesterday PennEast laid out a timeline for completing the project if the Supremes rule the right way (and they almost certainly will)…
Read More “PennEast Pipeline Says Project Still on Track to Launch in 2022”
It’s kind of funny to watch how leftists react when something doesn’t go their way. Tell someone on the left “no” or “wait” or “you’ll have to pay for that” and they melt like snowflakes. Sometimes they pitch the equivalent of a temper tantrum. That was our thought as we read about a leftist Democrat politician from New Jersey, Lisa McCormick, and her reaction to the Biden administration filing a brief that supports the PennEast Pipeline in U.S. Supreme Court.
Read More “NJ Antis Throw Temper Tantrum After Biden Supports PennEast”
On Wednesday, Mar. 10, the Pennsylvania Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee held an informational meeting on the deployment and utilization of carbon dioxide capture and management technologies. Sen. Gene Yaw (Republican from Lycoming County), who is the Majority Chair of the committee, is in favor of so-called carbon capture. So too is Sen. Carolyn Comitta (Democrat from Chester County), Minority Chair of the committee. A number of the presentations at the information meeting talked about carbon capture (and hydrogen’s) overlapping role with shale energy.
Read More “PA Senate Hears About Ramping Up Carbon Capture from Fossil Fuels”
The U.S. oil rig count pushed to an 11-month high in the week ended March 10, led by a continued recovery in the Permian basin, according to Enverus. The number of active net oil rigs rose by five over the past week to 371, the highest since the week ended April 15 of last year. However, gas-focused rigs decreased. Bummer. The Marcellus in the dry gas northeastern PA region lost two rigs and the Utica in Ohio lost 1 rig. Another gas-focused play, the Haynesville in Louisiana, lost 1 rig.
Read More “Enverus US Rig Count Up +1; Marcellus Drops 2, Utica Drops 1 Rig”
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Natural gas use expected to rise in NY; 3 firms seek $12M for Williams Cos. poison pill win; NATIONAL: Democratic opposition builds against Biden’s federal oil, natural gas orders; Biden administration shows openness to continued U.S. LNG exports; EIA: US weekly LNG exports rise, Henry Hub drops; The economics and potential benefits of compressed natural gas; Biden’s climate ‘fix’ is fantastically expensive and perfectly useless; America trails in global race for rare earth elements; INTERNATIONAL: Saudi oil exports post only small drop despite pledged cut.
Read More “Other Stories of Interest: Fri, Mar 12, 2021”
Diversified Gas & Oil (DGO) owns close to 8 million acres of leases with some 60,000 (mostly) conventional oil and gas wells. Their focus has been to acquire quality production and cash flow–regardless of the well or commodity type (gas or oil)–in the Appalachian Basin. DGO currently owns over 400 Marcellus/Utica shale wells in their portfolio too. Earlier this week the company issued its fourth-quarter and full-year 2020 update. Although the company reported a $23 million loss for 2020 (versus making $99 million in 2019), CEO Rusty Hutson says he is “exceptionally pleased with our results in 2020” and the way the company navigated a turbulent 2020.
Read More “Diversified G&O Update: 30% of Production Comes from Shale”
On Monday a federal judge with the U.S. District Court in Ohio put a temporary hold on issuing any more oil and gas drilling permits to drill on previously issued leases in the (mostly privately-owned) Wayne National Forest (WNF) in Ohio. The judge cited the Biden administration’s hold on all federal leasing/drilling permits until it completes its political analysis first. The only good news is that the judge refused to toss WNF leases entirely, as was requested by rabid anti-fossil fuel nutters. The antis are still thrilled with the ruling. The judge’s action in blocking new permits directly affects Eclipse Resources (now Southwestern Energy) which owns leases they can now not drill on.
Read More “Federal Judge Blocks Permits to Drill in OH’s Wayne Natl Forest”
Hilcorp is a major driller founded in 1989 by Jeff Hildebrand. It is one of the largest privately-held (stock not publicly traded) oil and natural gas exploration and production companies in the U.S. Headquartered in Houston, TX, Hilcorp has over 1,825 employees in multiple operating areas including the Gulf Coast of Texas and Louisiana, Wyoming, New Mexico, Alaska, and (yes) in the Marcellus/Utica. While they don’t have a huge presence here in the northeast, Hilcorp does actively drill shale wells in Lawrence County, PA and Columbiana County, OH. The Youngstown Business Journal reports Hilcorp is advancing its program in the northern portion of the Ohio Utica.
Read More “Hilcorp Energy Continues to Go Its Own Way in Northern Utica”
Wow, look how far the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) has fallen under Gov. Tom Wolf and his subservient lackey Pat McDonnell. The DEP yesterday announced the release of “equity principles to guide investments through Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.” Translation: Here’s how we’re going to waste (i.e. “invest”) all of the $2.36 billion we’ll raise through the RGGI carbon tax, and here’s how we’ll “help” those we’re screwing with the carbon tax. Of course, those who will pay this insane tax include each and every resident and business in PA that uses electricity. In other words, everyone. You’ll ALL get soaked with this new tax. Observe what Wolf has done to your gasoline taxes in PA and apply that to electricity–that’s what’s coming your way if RGGI is implemented.
Read More “PA DEP Outlines Plans for Spending Carbon Tax, Admits RGGI Hurts People”
Good news. The expert forecasters at the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) have had another look at their predictions for how much natural gas and electricity we will use here in the U.S. and decided to boost their projections for 2021 and 2022. Electric use will grow, EIA says, by 2.1% in 2021 over 2020. As for natural gas, EIA says average daily marketed gas production will increase by 610 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) in 2021 to 98.95 billion cubic feet (Bcf/d). EIA is now predicting natgas production in 2022 will increase by 1.7 Bcf/d to 100.63 Bcf/d. We’re pretty sure that would be a new, all-time record high.
Read More “EIA Revises NatGas & Power Consumption Up for 2021-2022”
Three Democrat U.S. Senators are (once again) targeting natural gas for extinction. The new (but in reality old) way they’re attempting it is by floating a bill that would (if passed) assess an insanely high new tax on “methane emissions” from the oil and gas industry. The stated purpose is to “encourage” oil and gas companies to clamp down on methane emissions (something already happening without the “help” of these idiots, see NatGas Coalition Beats Methane Emissions Goal by 67% in 2019). What’s not in the bill is a plan to tax methane emissions from the #1 worldwide contributor to fugitive methane: agriculture.
Read More “New Federal Bill by Dems Unfairly Targets O&G Methane Emissions”
What a sad state of affairs. The very governmental agency charged with ensuring large corporations maintain honesty in their dealings with investors, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has devolved into a hack witch-hunting organization bent on locating and punishing those who disagree with a certain political view–the view that somehow mankind is causing catastrophic global warming. If corporations publicly utter anything outside the prescribed Communist diktat about global warming, the SEC will now come down on them like a ton of bricks. How sad and tragic.
Read More “SEC has 1,000 Witch-Hunters Ready to Smoke Out Climate Deniers”
NATIONAL: U.S. natural gas consumption was lower in 2020 in all sectors except electric power; Senate confirms Michael Regan as EPA chief; Hydrogen slides ‘on deck’ and ready to play; Rule by regulation.
Read More “Other Stories of Interest: Thu, Mar 11, 2021”