Diversified Deal to Pick Up Another 6,500 O&G Wells in WV, KY, TN
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. They currently have over 400 Marcellus/Utica shale wells in their portfolio too. DGO announced it has a conditional deal to buy another 6,500 conventional wells spread across West Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee, along with a 4,700-mile gathering pipeline system located in WV. The deal, “subject to ongoing due diligence,” is for $110 million.
Read More “Diversified Deal to Pick Up Another 6,500 O&G Wells in WV, KY, TN”
The deed is done as of 5 pm today. Chesapeake Energy, with a stock price bumping around close to $0 (15 cents per share when we checked this morning), is doing a reverse stock split where the company will combine 200 shares of outstanding stock into a single share. The move is aimed at boosting the per-share price and preventing the company’s stock from being delisted from the New York Stock Exchange. Chesapeake recently hired “restructuring advisers” to help it navigate a looming debt default (see 
A newly passed and signed-into-law bill in Virginia, House Bill (HB) 167, purportedly aims to “protect” electric consumers from shouldering the costs of new pipelines that would feed gas-fired power plants. What the bill actually does is remove freedom of choice for utility companies, driving 
We spotted a new scientific study published in an upcoming edition of the journal Water Research. The study is called: “Sulfate precipitation in produced water from Marcellus Shale for the control of naturally occurring radioactive material.” Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh have found a way to strip out radioactivity from produced water coming from Marcellus wells so the water can be boiled to produce clean water and usable minerals/salts.
Williams is one of the premier midstream (pipeline) companies in the United States. They own and operate more than 30,000 miles of pipelines, including the mighty Transco, the nation’s largest volume pipeline handling some 30% of all natural gas in the U.S., used every day for clean-power generation, heating and industrial use. Recognizing the economic carnage underway in many communities across the country due to the COVID-19 coronavirus, Williams has stepped up to offer $1 million in grants to nonprofit organizations–501(c)3s, K-12 public schools, and first responders. Details below on how to apply.
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: PA Senate will return to session to consider bills to reopen PA businesses; Webinar: Think About Energy Briefing on Thursday April 16, 2020; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: ExxonMobil testing emerging methane detection systems across Texas, New Mexico; History tells proration would cause chaos in the Texas oil patch; NATIONAL: Another record year for low-cost U.S. natural gas – and why that’s good news; BTU analytics predicts natural gas production could plummet this summer; INTERNATIONAL: Trump says global oil cut will be about 20 million barrels; OPEC production deal, or price war 2.0?; What will oil autocrats do now to keep power?; Time to put China on lockdown for its dishonesty amid coronavirus crisis.
Last week MDN highlighted an article from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette about the low low prices Marcellus/Utica condensate has fetched since the beginning of the year (see 
Last year MDN told you about New Jersey-based Omni Energy Group and their application to build two new injection wells in Belmont County, OH near St. Clairsville (see 
In mid-March, MDN brought you the news that Chesapeake Energy had hired “restructuring advisers” to help the company navigate a $9 billion debt millstone hanging around its neck (see 
In February Williams official gave up on building a long-delayed project to flow natural gas from northeastern Pennsylvania into central New York, called the Constitution Pipeline (see 
Reuters is reporting a disturbing allegation that Big Banks, including JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and Citigroup, are each in the process of setting up shell companies that can own shale oil and gas assets. Why? Because of a coming wave of bankruptcies. The banks, with big loans to a number of oil companies, plan to take ownership of the companies or their assets (foreclosure) as repayment of the loans owed. In other words, Big Banks are planning to get into the oil and gas business as a form of self-defense, so they don’t take a bath on the value of the assets they’ve helped underwrite.
To say that history (in the world oil market) was made this past week is an understatement. The United States of America, under the direction of Donald J. Trump, threw in its lot with both Saudi Arabia and Russia in order to salvage a deal to cut oil production worldwide by 9.7 million barrels per day. The fact that Trump leaned on/cajoled/pressured the Saudis and Russians is not the historical part. What is history is that the U.S. itself pledged to cut a portion of its production in cooperation with those bad actors–a pledged to cut 300,000 bbl/d, because Mexico wouldn’t. We’ll explain.
As we have in previous years, MDN will not publish today (Friday) in observance of Good Friday and the Easter holiday. We hope you enjoy this blessed time of year!