Energy Stories of Interest: Tue, Apr 30, 2019
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Correcting the record about the severance tax; New York State bans offshore oil and gas drilling; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Anadarko’s weak performance in U.S. Permian made it a takeover target; Natural gas prices down to zero at Waha Hub; NATIONAL: Increased natural gas production, interregional flows mitigate withdrawals from storage during winter 2018-19; SEC freezes assets over suspected insider trading in Anadarko; INTERNATIONAL: Panama Canal expansion allows more transits of propane and other hydrocarbon gas liquids; WorleyParsons changes name after £2.4bn acquisition of Jacobs ECR.
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Fair or not, anything and everything that happens at EQT right now, which is under extreme pressure by the Rice brothers and several other large shareholders (see 
The money-making Marcellus machine known as Cabot Oil & Gas continues to crank out the hits. On Friday Cabot held a conference call to discuss the company’s first quarter 2019 performance. And wow! What a performance! The company made $308 million in net income/profit (up 141% from $128 million in 1Q18), and produced 2.3 billion cubic feet per day equivalent (Bcfe/d) of mostly Marcellus (little bit of Haynesville) gas, up 21% from 1Q18.
Southwestern Energy, one of the largest drillers in the Marcellus with 480,000 acres under lease, turned in their first quarter 2019 update last week. It was the company’s first update since becoming a pure play operator, totally focused on the Marcellus/Utica region. What did it show? Net income nearly tripled to $594 million (vs. 1Q18’s $205 million). Production averaged 2.0 billion cubic feet equivalent per day (Bcfe/d), close to what the prolific Cabot produced in 1Q19.
The anti-drilling zealots that populate the levers of power in New Jersey, along with their colluding Big Green compatriots, continue a holy mission to block PennEast Pipeline, a pipeline the majority of which will get built in Pennsylvania. Anti-pipeline nutters are attacking the project on several fronts, including in the courts, and by claiming the pipeline would affect nine “potential” historic sites along its path through NJ. Will federal courts and regulators fall for the ruse?
An interesting development in the bidding war to buy Anadarko Petroleum. Two weeks ago Chevron announced a deal to buy Anadarko Petroleum for $33 billion plus assuming outstanding debt, a deal worth $50 billion (see 
Two days ago EQT issued its first quarter 2019 update. Yesterday they held a conference call to discuss the company’s performance. EQT performed better in 1Q19 both financially and operationally than it did in 1Q18. What most caught our interest were CEO Rob McNally’s remarks, both his prepared remarks at the beginning of the conference call, and his unscripted remarks during the Q&A. We gained some important insights on where and how much EQT plans to drill for the balance of 2019.
In addition to EQT’s 1Q19 update yesterday, Toby and Derek Rice filed a lawsuit against EQT, alleging the company is trying to confuse shareholders by requiring some of board candidates the Rice boys are proposing get commingled with EQT’s own slate of candidates. The Rice boys say the lawsuit is aimed at “preventing EQT from manipulating shareholder election.” The Rices want to elect their own board, tossing out the existing board and following that, tossing out EQT’s current senior management.
Yesterday the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) voted 5-0 to deny Sunoco Logistics Partners permission to restart construction of Mariner East 2 pipeline in West Whiteland Township in Chester County. Why? Because construction at that location (Shoen Road), along with three other locations, is currently under review in Commonwealth Court. In other words, for the time being (until the court rules), the PUC’s hands are tied.
Last we had heard, the official word coming from Equitrans, builder of the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP), is that the project will be done and online by the end of this year. However, a partner in the project, NextEra Energy, is now saying otherwise.
A group of four Democrat Pennsylvania State Senators and one RINO, all from the Philadelphia region, have requested the Senate committee that will hold a hearing on reconfirming state Dept. of Environmental Protection Secretary Patrick McDonnell to a second term, be put on hold. The gang of five are fighting the completion of the Mariner East 2 pipeline project and believe McDonnell improperly approved and has covered up problems with the project. Don’t you love it when Dems turn on their own?