Eclipse 1Q18: No Comment on Process to Buy or Be Bought
Eclipse Resources, a Marcellus/Utica pure play driller headquartered in State College, PA, issued its first quarter 2018 update last week. Eclipse has drilled the longest onshore natural gas wells in the world–in the Ohio Utica. Impressive company. In March the company announced it is looking for someone to buy, or (more likely) for someone else to buy them (see Eclipse Resources Board Considering Either Merger or Acquisition). Eclipse CEO Ben Hulburt began the quarterly analyst phone call last week by anticipating questions about the buy/be bought process. He shut down any questioning before it began by saying: “I hope you can understand, because of the nature of this process, we will not be able to address any questions relating to it or discuss it further during today’s call.” So what did Ben discuss? The company drilled 8 wells in 1Q18. They completed (fracked) the company’s first PA Utica well. And he took time to toot the company’s own horn (deservedly so). Eclipse drilled 8 of Ohio’s 10 most productive Utica oil wells in 4Q17. The company has a talent for drilling very long, and very productive wells…
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The vast majority of Rover Pipeline is done, and most of it is now up and running (see 
Theresa “Red” Terry (whom we call Grandma Red) and her daughter Minor Terry finally came down from the trees where they were perched since April 2 in an illegal attempt to block Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) from cutting the trees. They came down on Saturday after a federal judge said if they stayed past midnight Saturday, they would each be fined $1,000 per day. The money would go to MVP. Red said, “Mountain Valley has taken enough from us…There wasn’t a lot more I could do up there besides show my ass and give them money.” As we previously reported, a number of Virginia lawmakers expressed their support of the Terrys and their flagrant disregard of the law (see 
Last Thursday the radical Big Green group PennEnvironment released a “study” that claims PA should move to adopt electric buses, instead of all other alternatives (like compressed natural gas) because electric buses are (supposedly) more environmentally friendly. We understand the argument about replacing diesel-powered engines to lower the amount of nasty stuff that enters the air. But PennEnvironment’s argument to use electric buses is as much about reducing mythical global warming as it is reducing diesel emissions. And here’s the thing PennEnvironment doesn’t tell you (and what their Big Green supporters are too dull to figure out themselves): electricity comes from somewhere. It’s not magic. It’s produced. In PA, as of January 2018, 54% of all electricity is produced either by coal or natural gas-fired plants. Another 40% is produced by nuclear plants. How much electricity is produced in PA by all those gigantic windmills you see when sailing down the Pennsylvania Turnpike, along with solar? A measly 2.9%. So how “clean” are electric buses, really? Put another way, the majority of what powers electric buses is good old fossil fuels. Does PennEnvironment know they’re advocating for more fossil fuel use? Meanwhile, the Wolf administration (surprisingly) continues to invest in CNG buses, which is the smart thing to do…
TransCanada, one of Canada’s leading midstream/pipeline companies, cooked up a deal in 2016 to pipe natural gas from Canada’s West Coast to the East Coast in order to fend off cheap supplies of Marcellus/Utica gas that will flow into Canada from the NEXUS and Rover pipelines (see 
Events related (or of interest) to the Marcellus and Utica Shale, primarily pro-drilling events. To have your event included (or if you are aware of a worthy event you believe should be on this page), please send the details and/or a link to have it included to the calendar@marcellusdrilling.com email address.
The “best of the rest”–stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading: Lawrence County students build, demo gas and oil rig; PA’s Dem lt. gov. candidates hate pipelines; union welders come out to support Williams NESE pipe project; Cabot buys equipment for NEPA fire companies; irreconcilable differences over PA severance tax; Permian natgas prices collapsing as production takeaway hits capacity limit; radical enviros put people last, destroy habitats and wildlife to end fossil fuels; XTO moving its HQ to Exxon’s Houston office; will oil prices go higher if Trump axes Iran nuke deal; and more!
On March 3, the Mariner East 1 (ME1) natural gas liquids (NGL) pipeline was suddenly switched off by order of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) after a sinkhole opened up under the pipeline in Chester County, exposing some of the bare steel to the open air (see 
Yesterday CNX Resources, formerly CONSOL Energy, released its first quarter 2018 update–its first full 3-month update since separating from the coal company. CONSOL began life as a coal company 150 years ago and only in recent decades entered the oil and gas business. The company split itself into coal and oil/gas back in November (see 
As we reported earlier this week, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, who has been lauded as the most liberal governor in America, once again pushed for a Marcellus-killing severance tax (see 
There is nothing mysterious or complex about the actions taken by a Virginia State Senator, Chap Petersen (Democrat from the swamp, the D.C. area). Petersen is a lawyer and has just sued the U.S. Forest Service because the Forest Service is blocking a road in the Jefferson National Forest, which is their RIGHT to do (they manage it), because down that gravel road are several ILLEGAL TRESPASSERS who refuse to come down from trees that need to be cut down to make way for the federally-approved Mountain Valley Pipeline. There’s nothing complex in understanding that Petersen (did we mention he’s a Democrat?) supports lawlessness and anarchy. Imagine that, a lawmaker who supports people that break the laws he makes. How idiotic is that? Here’s the story of how Virginia Dems in high places continue to flout the laws of our country in their quest to retain political power (and contributions) by currying favor with radical Big Green supporters…
MDN brought you important news in April that the Pennsylvania Superior Court had handed down a decision (known as the “Briggs” case) that has the power to greatly restrict, perhaps even stop, Marcellus drilling in PA (see 
Every three months publicly traded companies, including those with major operations in the Marcellus/Utica, issue a required quarterly update for stockholders. It’s often referred to as “earnings season.” We like to cull through the updates to share items of interest with MDN readers. For drilling companies we dedicate an entire post to each company. We typically don’t cover midstream (i.e. pipeline) companies as much. However, there are a number of important projects cooking with companies like Williams, MarkWest Energy (MPLX), Summit Midstream and Tallgrass (REX Pipeline). We culled through the press releases and analyst phone call transcripts to pick out comments and portions that we think are helpful in understanding where some of these important projects are, and how they impact the bottom line of said companies. Below is our 1Q18 midstream potpourri…
This story should make every patriotic American good and angry–at how Russia continues to try to defeat the American shale miracle (for Russia’s own selfish economic reasons). And it should make anti-fossil fuelers ashamed at how easily they’re played (and how stupid they really are), to fall for the propaganda campaigns run by Russia against American shale energy. An article recently appearing on the McClatchy news service exposes how Russian operatives, using false identities on Twitter and other social media platforms, convinced a handful of stupid anti-fossil fuelers in Miami to turn up at a fake rally, and then a Russian television network swooped in to film it, circulating that footage, convincing even more antis to organize and rise up against the Sabal Trail pipeline. It was a resistance movement generated whole cloth from nothing by Russia. All in an effort to get the pipeline shut down. Which may now happen! Bottom line: a bunch of stupid American antis allowed themselves to be played by Russians against their own country. Russian money also pours into groups like the Sierra Club via offshore accounts. The Sierra Club turns around and uses that money to oppose American infrastructure projects in the oil and gas industry. Call Robert Mueller! Somebody needs to investigate!…
Yesterday Chesapeake Energy, now the #2 natural gas producer in the U.S. (after EQT), released its first quarter 2018 financial and operational update. The company reported 1Q18 profits of $268 million, up 257% from the $75 million in profits during 1Q17. The key for increased profits was an increase in production while lowering costs. As we scanned over the numbers, one thing stood out for us: 26% of Chesapeake’s production comes from the Marcellus Shale, and 19% comes from the Utica. Add them together (45%) and no other region comes close. M-U success is Chesapeake’s success. It shows just how key the M-U region is for the mighty Chesapeake. During 1Q18 the company drilled and placed into production 10 wells in the Ohio Utica and 6 wells in the PA Marcellus. 2Q18 plans are to drill and bring online 7 Utica wells and 17 Marcellus wells. However, Chesapeake’s head has been turned. Their primary 2018 focus appears to be the Texas Eagle Ford Shale–an oil play. The company is currently running 5 drilling rigs in the Eagle Ford. They drilled and brought online 23 Eagle Ford wells in 1Q18, with plans to drill and bring online another 50 wells in 2Q18. Chessy has fallen and fallen hard for the siren song of oil. Here’s the latest from the #2 natural-gas producing company in the U.S. that now loves oil…