PA EHB Allows “Narrow” Appeal of 2 Apex Energy Well Permits

A leftist anti-fossil group calling itself Protect PT, in Penn Township (Westmoreland County), PA, backed with big money from Big Green groups, has for years challenged Penn Township ordinances that allow Apex Energy and Huntley & Huntley (now Olympus Energy) to drill and operate shale wells. Protect PT finally struck out legally at the Pennsylvania…

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New Federal & State Methane Emissions Regs Discourage PA Drilling

There is no doubt that recently issued regulations by the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) aimed at reducing methane emissions are having a deleterious effect on the Marcellus industry in the Keystone State. The Bidenistas are proposing a huge tax on oil and gas drillers that will…

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Range Releases 4Q Production & Pricing Numbers, Proved Reserves

Two days ago, Range Resources, the very first company to sink a Marcellus shale well (back in 2004), issued fourth-quarter 2023 expectations for production and pricing along with details about the company’s proved reserves. Range doesn’t issue its official 4Q update until later this month (Feb. 21). The preliminary numbers show the company, when converting…

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Look for O&G Jobs to be Trimmed Later in 2024 Due to Mergers

Although oil and natural gas output is still increasing ever-so-slightly, according to experts like Rystad Energy, the rate of production growth has slowed. And because production is slowing, “investments in the shale patch are not expected to grow in 2024, keeping activity and output relatively flat” this year. How does slowing activity in 2024 affect…

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Shell PA Cracker’s First Birthday – One Unit Still Not Online

The Shell ethane cracker plant in Monaca, PA (Beaver County) just hit a milestone: It’s been up and running (in a manner of speaking) for one year. Except during that one year, quite a bit of the time was spent NOT running due to various technical and equipment issues. According to a review done by…

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20 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Jan 15 – 21

There were 20 new permits issued to drill in the Marcellus/Utica during the week of Jan. 15 – 21, versus 24 permits issued during the prior week. Pennsylvania issued 11 new permits last week. Ohio issued 9 new permits. West Virginia had a big, fat zero new permits last week. Ascent Resources scored the most…

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CNX Drilled Only 4 Wells in 4Q, Rev. Down 39%, Prod. Up 4.5%

Yesterday, CNX Resources issued its fourth quarter and full year 2023 update. The company’s earnings totaled $537.83 million, or $2.89 per share in 4Q23. That compares with $1.17 billion, or $5.68 per share, in last year’s fourth quarter (down 54%). CNX’s revenue for 4Q23 fell 39% to $999.56 million from $1.64 billion last year. On…

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BKV Still Planning to Launch an IPO – When the Time is Right

About one month ago, the Wall Street Journal published an article about BKV Corporation (Banpu Kalnin Ventures), the American arm of Banpu, Thailand’s largest coal mining company (see Bumpy Financial Road for BKV – Company Bets on Carbon Capture). The article pulled the curtain back to give us a better view of what happened with…

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Activist Investor Attacks Diversified, Tries (Fails) to Tank Stock

Ever heard of short selling? It’s a trading strategy of speculating on a stock’s decline in price. According to Investopedia, “In short selling, a position is opened by borrowing shares of a stock, bond, or other asset that the investor believes will decrease in value. The investor then sells these borrowed shares to buyers willing…

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Black Gold: Ascent & Encino Drill Oil Gushers in Ohio Utica

Yesterday we brought you the latest update on EOG Resources’ oil drilling program in the Utica Shale (see Black Gold: EOG Resources Drills Gushers in Ohio Utica). Today we have details about two more companies and their Utica oil drilling programs: Ascent Resources and Encino Energy. Last summer, we told you that Encino, which picked…

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Black Gold: EOG Resources Drills Gushers in Ohio Utica

Perhaps our headline is slightly misleading. EOG is not the modern equivalent of Jed Clampett walking along and seeing crude bubbling up out of the ground (as in the fictional The Beverly Hillbillies show of the 1960s with the “Ballad of Jed Clampett” that says, “Oil that is, black gold, Texas tea.”). What EOG and…

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Range Drilling 3 New Wells/Pads in Fawn Twp, Allegheny County, PA

According to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Range Resources, the first driller to sink a Marcellus well back in 2004, has applied for and received a conditional use application to build three well pads in Fawn Township in Allegheny County, PA. The township secretary says a road into the property is now being built. Construction of the…

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XTO Begins to Plug 4 Shale Wells in Butler County Starting Today

XTO Energy began to drill four shale wells in Prospect Borough, Butler County, PA, in 2019. At least one of the wells was drilled down to a depth of nearly 2,000 feet. At some point since that time, XTO decided not to finish the wells and filed a request to plug the wells. A Pennsylvania…

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23 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Jan 8 – 14

There were 23 new permits issued to drill in the Marcellus/Utica during the week of Jan. 8-14, versus 18 permits issued for the prior week. Pennsylvania issued 13 new permits last week. Ohio issued just 2 new permits. West Virginia issued 8 new permits — for the second week in a row. EQT scored the…

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DC Circuit Dismisses Case Against TGP Brought by Antero & EQT

Shippers, including drillers, utility companies, and others that buy and sell natural gas, are now free to buy and sell producer-certified gas (PCG) or responsibly sourced gas (RSG) at all pooling points across the Tennessee Gas Pipeline (TGP) system following a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (DC Circuit)….

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