SRBC Approved Another 24 Water Use Permits for PA Drilling/Fracking

The Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC) published a notice in the Saturday edition of the Pennsylvania Bulletin that says the SRBC’s Executive Director recently approved or renewed 24 general water use permits for shale gas drilling pads in Bradford, Cameron, Clearfield, Clinton, Lycoming, Susquehanna, Tioga and Wyoming counties in the Keystone State (full list below)….

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Chesapeake CEO Says Southwestern Buyout Will Close Early 4Q

In January, Chesapeake Energy, now helmed by Nick Dell’Osso, announced a deal to buy out and merge with competitor Southwestern Energy for $7.4 billion (see Deal is Done! Chesapeake & Southwestern Announce $7.4B Merger). In April, the Bidenistas at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Dept. of Justice (DOJ) sent the dreaded “Second Request” for…

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Chesapeake Energy Wants to Sell 10-15% of Its Production to Asia

Chesapeake Energy has gone through some major changes over the past four years. In June 2020, Chessy declared bankruptcy (see Chesapeake Files for Bankruptcy – Debtors to Take Ownership). After Chessy exited bankruptcy, the new owners booted CEO Doug Lawler in April of 2021 (see Doug Lawler Out as CEO of Chesapeake Energy). Lawler tried…

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14 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Sep 2 – 8

For the week of Sept. 2 – 8, 14 permits were issued to drill new shale wells in Marcellus/Utica, less than half the previous week’s 32. The Keystone State (PA) had 13 new permits. PA’s top recipient was Seneca Resources, with six permits issued in Tioga County. Range Resources was #2 with four permits for…

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Low NatGas Price Has “Crippled” Financial Results for M-U Cos.

There’s just no way to sugarcoat the fact that the low low price for natural gas is having an impact on shale drillers in the Marcellus/Utica. According to an analyst with RBN Energy, a price plunge to near the $2/MMBtu level in early 2023 “crippled” financial results for the companies RBN monitors that are gas-focused…

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Pennsylvania Drillers Defeat Landowner Lawsuit After 9 Years

In 2015, a group of nearly 60 landowners in northeastern Pennsylvania who had leased their land for fracking filed a lawsuit against Chesapeake Energy, Anadarko, Statoil (now Equinor), Mitsui E&P, and Access Midstream (later bought by Williams), alleging the companies had improperly deducted post-production costs (e.g., gas gathering and transportation expenses) from royalties owed to…

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34 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Aug 19 – 25

For the week of August 19 – 25, a total of 34 permits were issued to drill new shale wells in Marcellus/Utica. The Keystone State (PA) had 16 new permits. PA’s top recipient was Chesapeake Energy, with six permits in Bradford County. Coterra Energy was a close second, with five new permits issued in neighboring…

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Epsilon 2Q – PA Production & Revenue Down Due to Low Gas Price

Epsilon Energy issued its second quarter 2024 update earlier this week. Epsilon, a relatively small company, used to concentrate most of its effort on developing Marcellus Shale wells. However, over the past few years, the company has expanded into other plays and now owns assets in the Anadarko (Oklahoma and Texas) and the Permian (Texas…

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The Story of Utica Oil Part 5: Utica is “the Last Oil Frontier”

Writing for Hart Energy’s Oil and Gas Investor magazine, author Nissa Darbonne penned a fabulous overview of the Utica, bringing us the history of oil drilling in Ohio (in the 1800s) all the way up to the present day and Encino Energy’s dominance in oil drilling in the Utica. The article includes details about Encino…

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Chesapeake Whacked Production in 2Q, Down 25%; Lost $227 Million

Chesapeake Energy issued its second quarter 2024 update yesterday. Due to the low price of natural gas, Chesapeake promised (in 1Q) that it would curtail roughly 25% of its production. The company kept its word. Chessy’s 2Q production was 24.9% lower than the same period in 2023. Production was 2.745 Bcfe/d in 2Q24 versus 3.653…

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Profits (Earnings) for Most M-U Drillers Plunged in First Quarter

While oil-focused and large diversified drillers in the U.S. made healthy profits during the first quarter of this year (January through March), such was not the case for natural gas-focused drillers. RBN Energy tracks 43 exploration and production (E&P) companies that are publicly traded and reports of those 43 that the 16 oil-focused and 15…

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18 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV May 20 – 26

Two weeks ago, 16 new permits were issued to drill in the Marcellus/Utica region. Last week, May 20-26, the number increased by two to 18. Two drillers tied for the top prize for most new permits. Chesapeake Energy received five new permits, all of them for drilling in Sullivan County, PA. Ascent Resources also received…

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16 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Apr 29 – May 5

Two weeks ago, during the week of April 22 – 28, there were 26 new permits issued to drill in the Marcellus/Utica. Last week, for April 29 – May 5, there were just 16 new permits issued. Encino Energy was the top receiver of permits with 7 permits between two counties: Carroll and Harrison, both…

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26 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Apr 22 – 28

Two weeks ago, during the week of April 15 – 21, there were 16 new permits issued to drill in the Marcellus/Utica. Last week, for the week of April 22 – 28, there were 26 new permits issued. Finally! A little good news on the permit front. Snyder Brothers took the top prize with eight…

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16 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Mar 11 – 17

There were 16 new permits issued to drill in the Marcellus/Utica during the week of Mar. 11 – 17, down 3 from 19 permits issued the prior week. Pennsylvania issued 9 new permits. Ohio issued 4 new permits. And West Virginia issued 3 new permits. Penn Production Group (PPG) and EOG Resources tied for most…

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