Facts & Rumors # 570
October 12, 2024
A World in need of More NatGas It Isn’t Getting New Supply Fast Enough. Bloomberg. A wave of new liquefied natural gas supply from projects agreed years ago in anticipation of surging demand keeps getting pushed back, threatening to extend the global energy crisis. Delays from the US to Mozambique promise little imminent relief from high fuel prices, despite more than $200 billion in investments that were supposed to flip the LNG market into oversupply as early as 2025.
Pipeline Companies Doing More Work with AI Data Centers. Data centers tap pipelines for onsite natural gas generation. Power Engineering. Pipeline companies are increasingly working with data center operators seeking direct pipeline connections for onsite natural gas generation. Facing grid connection delays and competition for power, some data center operators plan to build onsite natural gas-fired generation. With some utilities reporting five- to seven-year wait times for a grid hookup, co-locating power generation and data centers could provide a much quicker and potentially cheaper solution.
NatGas Demand New High in 2024.U.S. drives global natural gas demand to new highs in 2024. Reuters. Power producers in the United States have lifted natural gas-fired generation to new highs over the first nine months of 2024, sustaining the country’s position as the leading driver of global natural gas consumption. Natural gas’s share in the U.S. generation system also climbed to new highs this year. Gas supplied a record 46% of total power since June, LSEG data shows, as power firms boosted output from all sources to meet rising power demand.
133 More NatGas Plants Coming. Thanks, MDN. U.S. utilities and investors plan to add 133 new natural gas-fired power plants to the nation’s grid, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data. Duke Energy alone has ten such plants either under construction or planned—all of which will use Marcellus/Utica molecules. In fact, when we look at a map by S&P showing where the 133 plants are located, it’s obvious that the vast majority of the new plants will be fed in full or in part by M-U molecules. It’s hard to overstate the importance of gas-fired power plants for M-U drillers (and, by extension, landowners).
Oil Inventories Up. API data reveals huge rise in U.S. crude oil inventories. Oilfield Technology. Crude oil inventories in the US rose by 10.9 million bbl. during the week ended 4 October, data from the API showed. The body, the largest US trade association for the oil and gas industry, reported that gasoline inventories fell by 557 000 bbl.
Oil Production Growth to Slow More in 2025. U.S. oil production growth to slow more than expected in 2025. Bloomberg. The US expects crude production to grow by just 320,000 barrels a day next year, much slower than previously estimated. While output is still poised to reach a record of 13.54 million barrels a day, the annual rate of growth is now projected at 2.4% versus 3.2%, the Energy Information Administration said in its Short-Term Energy Outlook Tuesday. Reuters also reports.
Big Oil Urges Trump Not to Gut Biden’s Climate Law. Wall Street Journal. Oil companies are conveying an unlikely message to the GOP and its presidential candidate: Spare President Biden’s signature climate law. At least the parts that benefit the oil industry. In discussions with former President Trump’s campaign and his allies in Congress, oil giants including Exxon Mobil, Phillips 66 and Occidental Petroleum have extolled the benefits of the Inflation Reduction Act.
MVP Gets Extension. Mountain Valley Pipeline deadline extension justified, FERC says. Bloomberg Law. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has good cause to allow Mountain Valley Pipeline LLC three extra years to complete a portion of its pipeline project, the commission told a federal appeals court. FERC found in 2020 when it approved Mountain Valley’s Southgate Project—a 75-mile portion of the pipeline running from Virginia to North Carolina—that it serves as an extension of the mainline system of the pipeline, so the commission said it wouldn’t issue any notices to proceed until the requisite federal permits had been received for the mainline.
Permian NatGas Flowing to Matterhorn Pipeline. Permian gas starts flowing on Matterhorn Pipeline in Texas. Bloomberg. Matterhorn Express Pipeline has begun transporting natural gas into Williams Cos.’s Transco pipeline, a long-awaited addition to midstream infrastructure serving the Permian Basin. Matterhorn is moving about 0.3 billion cubic feet per day into Transco, an established pipeline that connects near Katy, Texas, traders said Tuesday. US natural gas futures fell 1% at 10:40 a.m. New York.
Chevron in Talks To Sell NatGas Assets. Chevron in talks to sell Texas gas assets to Tokyo Gas for up to $1bn. Financial Times. Chevron is in talks to sell its east Texas natural gas assets to Tokyo Gas, said three people familiar with the discussions, as the Japanese utility looks to expand its access to abundant US reserves of the fuel. The companies have been in negotiations for months about a potential deal for Chevron’s portfolio in the Haynesville shale, a prolific gas-producing basin straddling Texas and Louisiana. Hart Energy also reports.
TX Oil & NatGas July Production Stats. Texas oil and gas production statistics for July 2024. Odessa American. Statewide and county crude oil and natural gas production as reported to the Railroad Commission of Texas for July 2024 came from 158,063 oil wells and 83,833 gas wells, a press release detailed. The RRC reports that preliminary total Texas reported production for July 2024 was approximately 121 million barrels of crude oil and 953 billion cubic feet of total gas. Updated total reported production for July 2023 was approximately 142 million barrels of crude oil and 1.04 trillion cubic feet of total gas.
Swing-State Voters Want More Drilling. Swing-state voters want energy answers from Trump, Harris — and more domestic drilling. NY Post. New polling of battleground states shows voters want to know more about where the presidential candidates stand on domestic energy production. But despite the candidates’ rhetorical reassurances, late-September American Petroleum Institute polling conducted by Morning Consult finds voters in the seven states (Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin) that will decide the presidential election want answers on specifics almost without exception.
Global LNG Demand All-Time High in 2024. Higher in 2025. Global gas demand to hit all-time high in 2024, report finds. E&E News. Global natural gas demand is expected to reach an all-time high this year, fueled by Asian and European markets, according to a new report from the International Energy Agency. The demand is expected to rise even higher next year, but gas supplies are not increasing at the same pace. That’s partly because of lagging liquefied natural gas production for export, which could fuel volatility, IEA said in its Global Gas Security Review released Thursday.
Very Small NatGas Pipeline Approved in OH. Ohio Supreme Court allows natural gas pipeline in Lucas County. Ohio Capital Journal. The Ohio Supreme Court has rejected an effort to keep a natural gas pipeline from going through land in Lucas County. The court heard an appeal from an Ohio Power Siting Board decision, in which the board granted a request to construct 3.7 miles of a proposed Ford Street Pipeline Project in Maumee, considered a “major utility facility,” using “a combination of private easements and public-road rights-of-way,” according to court documents.
Expand Energy from Chesapeake & SWN. Chesapeake, Southwestern ‘Expand’ as combination creates largest U.S. natural gas producer. NGI. Two of the most storied natural gas producers in the shale era, Chesapeake Energy Corp. and Southwestern Energy Co., formally gave up their corporate names and stock market tickers on Tuesday, opting to rebrand as Expand Energy Corp. The stock is to begin trading on Wednesday under the ticker “EXE.” Expand now becomes the largest U.S. natural gas producer, with 7 Bcf/d of production with the combination.
Shale Projects Remain Profitable. Oil production costs surge, but shale projects remain profitable. Oil Price. The cost of developing new upstream oil projects is continuing to rise as inflationary pressure and supply chain woes endure. New research from Rystad Energy shows that the average breakeven cost of a non-OPEC oil project grew to $47 per barrel of Brent crude, a 5% increase in the last year alone. Despite rising costs, break evens are still less than current oil prices.
TX Approves Plan to Oil & NatGas Output to Meet Electricity Demand. Texas approves plan to boost oil and gas output to meet electricity demand. Offshore Technology. The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) has approved the Permian Basin Reliability plan, supporting the expansion of the largest oilfield in the US to meet the rising demand for electricity. The plan follows a report completed by energy companies across the US, alongside the financial information company S&P Global, that warned the Texas Commission of the rising demand for electricity in the Permian Basin.
Total Buys More in TX. TotalEnergies buys more gas assets in Texas to boost value chain. Reuters. France’s TotalEnergies expands its natural gas footprint in the United States through a deal reached with Lewis Energy Group to acquire a 45% stake in some dry gas producing assets in the Eagle Ford basin in Texas, the company said on Friday.
Infinity Natural Resources Doing IPO. ‘Tis the season for IPOs in the Marcellus/Utica. Two weeks ago BKV Corporation announced it was (finally) launching an initial public offering (IPO) looking to raise in the neighborhood of $300 million. It ended up getting $270 million. On Friday, Infinity Natural Resources (INR), with 90,000 acres in the Marcellus/Utica, filed an IPO with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), hoping to raise $100 million.
SEP DUC’s Report. Sharp drawdowns in the number of drilled, but uncompleted wells found in the Bakken and Eagle Ford plays in September led to a drop in DUCs year-over-year in four of the US’s most prolific unconventional plays.
According to the Energy Information Administration’s just-released Short-Term Energy Outlook (which includes DUCs data), 2,262 DUCs were recorded last month in the Bakken, Eagle Ford,
Permian and Appalachia formations, down 179 wells, or 7.3% from September 2023’s 2,441-well total. (Appalachia includes the Marcellus and Utica Shale plays.)
September’s total also was down 10 DUCs, or 0.4%, from August 2024’s 2,272 DUCs total.
The biggest year-over-year drop-in drilled, but uncompleted wells was in the Bakken, which fell by 129 wells, to 315 from 444 a year ago, a 29.1% decrease. The latest Bakken total was down 11 wells, or 3.4%, from August 2024’s 326.
A similar drop in the number of DUCs from a year ago was recorded in the Eagle Ford Shale, where the number of drilled, but uncompleted wells fell to 314 from 412, a 98-well, 23.8%, fall. The latest Eagle Ford total was down a lone well from August, EIA reported.
The Permian Basin last month saw a 42-well, 5%, increase in DUCs, to 881 from 839, STEO data revealed. The latest number was up 11 DUCs from August 2024’s 870 total.
Appalachia experienced a slight year-over-year increase in the number of DUCs, to 752 from 746, a six-well, 0.8% rise, STEO reported. The Appalachia total was down nine wells, or 1.2%, from August’s 761 total.
PA Permits September 16, to October 10, 2024
County Township E&P Companies
1. Allegheny North Fayette Range
2. Bradford Monroe Chesapeake
3. Bradford Monroe Chesapeake
4. Bradford Monroe Chesapeake
5. Butler Parker Laurel Mt.
6. Butler Parker Laurel Mt.
7. Butler Parker Laurel Mt.
8. Butler Parker Laurel Mt.
9. Butler Parker Laurel Mt.
10. Susquehanna Liberty SWN
11. Susquehanna Liberty SWN
12. Susquehanna Liberty SWN
13. Tioga Delmar Clean Energy
14. Washington Donegal Range
15. Washington Donegal Range
16. Washington Donegal Range
17. Washington Donegal Range
18. Washington Donegal Range
19. Washington Donegal Range
20. Wyoming Forkston SWN
21. Wyoming Forkston SWN
22. Wyoming Forkston SWN
23. Wyoming Forkston SWN
OH September 29, 2024 to October 4, 2024
County Township E&P Companies
1. Columbiana Knox EAP OHIO
2. Columbiana Knox EAP OHIO
3. Harrison Short Creek Ascent
4. Harrison German EAP OHIO
5. Harrison German EAP OHIO
WV Permits September 23, to October 4, 2024
1. Lewis HG Energy
2. Lewis HG Energy
3. Lewis HG Energy
4. Lewis HG Energy
5. Lewis HG Energy
6. Marshall EQT
7. Monongalia Northeast Nat. En.
8. Monongalia Northeast Nat. En
9. Wetzel SWN
10. Wetzel SWN
11. Wetzel SWN
12. Wetzel SWN
13. Wetzel SWN
14. Wetzel SWN
15. Wetzel SWN
16. Wetzel SWN
17. Wetzel SWN
