SRBC Approves 8 New Water Withdrawal Requests for Shale Drilling

The highly functional and responsible Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC), unlike its completely dysfunctional and irresponsible cousin, the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC), continues to support the shale energy industry by approving water withdrawals for responsible and safe shale drilling. Last week, the SRBC approved 22 new water withdrawal requests within the basin, eight of…

Read More...

M-U Drilling Profits Hit Two-Year Low, Better Days Ahead?

Investors in shale oil and gas companies suffered for years with little or no returns for the money they invested. Five of eight large Marcellus/Utica drillers saw their share prices decrease by an astonishing 85% or more from 2008 to 2019 (see Former EQT CEO: Shale Revolution a “Disaster” for Investors). Just before the COVID…

Read More...

22 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Sep 11 – 17

New shale permits issued for Sep 11 – 17 in the Marcellus/Utica rebounded. There were 22 new permits issued last week, up from 14 issued two weeks ago. But the increase came from an unlikely source. Last week’s permit tally included 9 new permits in Pennsylvania, 1 new permit in Ohio, and 12 new permits…

Read More...

Ascent Distros $12.5M to Unitholders; Performing Reverse Stock Split

We spotted an announcement from Ascent Resources that piqued our curiosity. Ascent, founded as American Energy Partners by gas legend Aubrey McClendon, is a privately held company focusing 100% on the Ohio Utica Shale. Ascent, headquartered in Oklahoma City, OK, is Ohio’s largest natural gas producer (356,700 leased acres) and the 8th largest natural gas…

Read More...

Gulfport Energy Expands Stock Repurchases by 63% to $650 Million

Gulfport Energy, the third-largest driller in the Ohio Utica Shale (by the number of wells drilled), emerged from bankruptcy in May 2021 with a new board and top management. In January of this year, the company appointed a new CEO, John Reinhart, the former President and CEO of M-U driller Montage Resources Corporation before that…

Read More...

Repsol Joins Shell, BP in Suing Venture Global for Missed LNG

In early August, MDN told you about trouble brewing along the Gulf Coast between Venture Global LNG and its biggest customers: BP, Shell, Edison International (an Italian utility company), Repsol, and GALP Energia (see Shell, Edison, BP File for Arbitration Against Venture Global LNG). Venture Global is building the Calcasieu Pass LNG export facility in…

Read More...

BofA Predicts NatGas Price Could Crash Below $2 in Early 2024

We continue to monitor the price of natural gas, which has remained mired in the mid-$2 range for months on end. Every time it seems like it might make a run for $3, the price slides–as it did yesterday (down $0.12 to close at $2.73). We spotted two somewhat contradictory stories about the price of…

Read More...

Shale Energy is on the Verge of Next Oil and Gas Breakthrough

Every time we read about peak oil or gas (demand or supply), or that there are no more good places left to drill for shale and drillers are now left to scrape and claw at less desirable locations, or that the decline curves are killing shale, etc. — we laugh. How many times over the…

Read More...

EQT Signs Deal with Commonwealth LNG in La. to Liquefy 1 MTPA LNG

Commonwealth LNG is developing a 9.3 MTPA (million tons per annum) liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal project located on the Calcasieu River in the Gulf of Mexico near Cameron, Louisiana. Commonwealth anticipates a final investment decision for the project in the first quarter of 2024, with the first cargo deliveries expected in 2027. According…

Read More...

Former Philly Mayor & Fla. Congressman (Dems) Join NatGas Group

Natural Allies for a Clean Energy Future is a 501(c)(4) advocacy group launched in August 2020 to promote natural gas as the best solution to support so-called renewable energy and the best solution to lower greenhouse gas emissions. The leftist rag, The Guardian, reported that Natural Allies for a Clean Energy Future has budgeted over…

Read More...

Antis Continue to Hammer PA DEP re PennEnergy Creek Water Request

The Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) continues its delay strategy with a request by PennEnergy Resources to draw water from Big Sewickley Creek for use in fracking operations. More than two years ago, PennEnergy requested permission to draw water from the creek. So far, with the help of anti-fossil fuel groups like FrackTracker and…

Read More...

14 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Sep 4 – 10

New shale permits issued for Sep 4 – 10 in the Marcellus/Utica continued to be in the crapper. There were 14 new permits issued last week, up 1 from 13 issued two weeks ago, and down from the 16 issued three weeks ago. Not so long ago we routinely saw 30+ issued each week. Last…

Read More...

Dell’Osso Says Extra 10 Bcf/d of NatGas Demand Coming in 2024/25

While speaking at the Barclays CEO Energy-Power last week, Chesapeake Energy CEO Nick Dell’Osso told attendees there will be 10 Bcf/d (billion cubic feet per day) of more demand for U.S. natural gas beginning in 2024 to help feed new LNG export facilities coming online next year and the year after. Where will the gas…

Read More...

Range Resources, Other Shale Drillers Chasing 4-Mile Wells

Last week, MDN told you about Gulfport Energy drilling three Utica Shale wells in Ohio (with a fourth underway) that are massive 4-mile wells (see Gulfport’s 4-Mile Utica Wells Producing 2.5+ Bcfe per 1,000 Ft). Gulfport is not the only company working on these super-long wells. According to the Wall Street Journal, Range Resources has…

Read More...

13 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Aug 28 – Sep 3

New shale permits issued for Aug 28 – Sep 3 in the Marcellus/Utica continued to decline. There were 13 new permits issued last week, down from 16 issued two weeks ago, and way down from the 27 issued three weeks ago. Last week’s permit tally included 8 new permits in Pennsylvania, 5 new permits in…

Read More...