Chesapeake Energy is embarking on a unique strategy to remain ready to ramp up production at a moment’s notice. It may be a strategy that others have used, but this is the first time we’ve read or heard about it. You’ve read here on MDN that a number of large Marcellus/Utica drillers are scaling back…
Read More...The country’s largest natural gas producer, EQT Corporation, headquartered in Pittsburgh and solely focused on drilling in the Marcellus/Utica, announced this morning it had sliced 1 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of its production because of the ongoing low price of natgas. Other companies have announced similar reductions, including a 25% reduction by Chesapeake…
Read More...In early January, Chesapeake Energy and Southwestern Energy, two companies with major assets in the country’s two leading gas plays — the Marcellus/Utica and the Haynesville — announced an agreement to merge into one company (see Deal is Done! Chesapeake & Southwestern Announce $7.4B Merger). Such a merger would create the country’s largest natural gas…
Read More...There were 18 new permits issued to drill in the Marcellus/Utica during the week of Feb. 19 – 25, up from 13 permits issued the prior week. Pennsylvania issued 8 new permits last week. Ohio issued 9 new permits (after issuing none the week before). West Virginia issued just 1 new permit last week. Encino…
Read More...Spanish energy giant Repsol, with around 214,000 net acres of leases in the Marcellus Shale, primarily located in northeastern Pennsylvania in Bradford, Susquehanna, and Tioga counties, issued the company’s fourth quarter and full-year 2023 update last week. Among the tidbits coming to light is a statement by Repsol management that the company plans to spend…
Read More...Last November, CNX Resources CEO Nick Deiuliis signed a voluntary deal with Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro to expand drilling setbacks and several other regulatory steps not mandated for shale drillers under PA law, calling it “radical transparency” (see CNX Signs Deal with PA Gov. to Increase Setbacks, Other Changes). In December, Gov. Shapiro’s office announced…
Read More...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. Yesterday, Gulfport issued its fourth quarter and full-year 2023 update. Company CEO John Reinhart, who took the reigns of the company in January 2023, reported the…
Read More...Gobsmacked. That’s how we felt when we discovered how much land Southwestern Energy (with major assets in the Marcellus/Utica and in the Haynesville) has under lease in the Canadian province of New Brunswick. We had seen an occasional mention by Southwestern that it owns acreage in Canada (see Southwestern Energy Refocuses from Fayetteville to Marcellus/Utica),…
Read More...A coalition of major oil companies is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to rule on a key aspect of numerous ongoing nationwide lawsuits filed by cities, counties, and states. The lawsuits by multiple “blue” states and cities accuse Big Oil companies of deceiving the public about their role in causing mythical manmade global warming. The…
Read More...EOG Resources, one of the largest oil and gas drillers in the U.S. (with international operations in Trinidad and China), owns a huge 430,000+ acres of leases in the Ohio Utica. EOG calls its position the “Ohio Utica combo play” and now considers it one of the company’s “premium plays.” EOG concentrates on oil drilling…
Read More...Epsilon Energy, a relatively small company, used to concentrate most of its effort on developing Marcellus Shale wells. However, over the past year and a half, the company has expanded into other plays and now owns assets in the Anadarko (Oklahoma and Texas) and the Permian (Texas and New Mexico). Epsilon typically does not do…
Read More...Our worst fears about the merger between Cabot Oil & Gas and Cimarex Energy to form Coterra Energy have come to pass. We said from the beginning that the new company would use the Marcellus as a “cash cow” to fund more oil drilling. That’s now happening. Yes, the price of natural gas (especially in…
Read More...Although Shell maintains flaring and accidental emissions from its new multi-billion-dollar ethane cracker in Beaver County, PA, have not violated state and federal air standards, the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) says they have — on numerous occasions. Shell didn’t argue the point, and last May, the company agreed to pay nearly $10 million…
Read More...There were 13 new permits issued to drill in the Marcellus/Utica during the week of Feb. 12 – 18, versus 19 permits issued the prior week. Pennsylvania issued 11 new permits last week. Ohio issued no new permits. West Virginia issued 2 new permits last week. Chesapeake Energy landed the most new permits, with 5…
Read More...Range Resources Corporation, the very first company to drill a shale well targeting the Marcellus Shale layer in Pennsylvania (in 2004), issued its fourth quarter and full-year 2023 update yesterday. The company previously released operational details for 4Q23 (see Range Releases 4Q Production & Pricing Numbers, Proved Reserves). During 4Q, Range produced 2.2 Bcfe/d (billion…
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