Facts & Rumors # 577
December 7, 2024
U.S. LNG NatGas Demand Nears Record Levels. U.S. LNG natural gas demand nears record level. Reuters. Gas demand from the U.S. largest liquefied natural gas producers soared on Friday to near-record levels on cooler weather and fewer outages, according to preliminary data from financial firm LSEG. LNG export plants were expected to draw 14.6 billion cubic feet on Friday, the highest for the year and just shy of the U.S. record of 14.7 bcf, recorded in December 2023, and up from the 14.5 bcf recorded on Thursday, LSEG data showed.
NatGas Storage at 8-Year High. US winter gas stockpile biggest in 8 years, EIA says. E&E News. The U.S. is heading into winter with the highest level of natural gas in storage since 2016 — a shift that could help prevent spikes in heating and energy costs for consumers. The U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates there were 3,922 billion cubic feet of natural gas in storage for the Lower 48 states as of a November update, with inventories about 6 percent higher than the five-year average.
PJM Needs NatGas to Meet Power Needs of AI Data Center. PJM boosts gas in contentious grid plan. E&E News. The power needs of data centers run by America’s technology giants will open the door to new natural gas-fired generation under a strategy advanced by PJM Interconnection, which manages the high-voltage grid serving 65 million people in the mid-Atlantic and Ohio River Valley. PJM has approved changes to how it decides which new power plants can connect to the system. PJM officials say the new policy is driven by an urgent need to build more electricity generation to power data centers fueling tech industry growth. PJM has warned that doing nothing to increase generation could leave the grid dangerously short by the end of the decade.
CNX Buys Pipeline Company. CNX Resources Corporation (NYSE: CNX) (“CNX” or “the company”) announced today it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the natural gas upstream and associated midstream business of Apex Energy II, LLC (“Apex”), a portfolio company of funds managed by Carnelian Energy Capital Management, L.P. (“Carnelian”), in the Appalachian Basin for total cash consideration of approximately $505 million, subject to certain adjustments including an effective date of October 1, 2024. Completion of the transaction, which is subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, is expected to occur in the first quarter of 2025.
U.S. Oil Output Fell in September U.S. oil output fell in Sept by the most since Jan, EIA says. Reuters. U.S. crude oil output fell by 157,000 barrels per day (bpd) month-over-month to 13.20 million bpd in September, the largest decline since January, data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed on Friday. The decline comes as a number of oil and gas production facilities in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico faced prolonged closures in September as Hurricane Francine and Hurricane Helene churned through the region before making landfall.
TX Oil and NatGas Production at Record Highs in October. Texas’ oil and natural gas production continues at record highs in October. Texas Insider. Texas’ energy exports and production of oil again achieved new record highs, according to the most recent monthly energy economic analysis by Texas Oil & Gas Association (TXOGA) Chief Economist Dean Foreman, Ph.D. Marketed natural gas production achieved record highs of 33.6 billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d) in August per the Energy Information Administration (EIA) and even higher at 33.8 bcf/d in October by TXOGA’s estimates. Other Texas records in August 2024 included crude oil production of 5.8 million barrels per day (mb/d), NGLs of 3.85 mb/d, natural gas gross withdrawals of 36.1 bcf/d, and 4.5 mb/d of petroleum refined products.
Lower Prices Could Lead to Cuts in Permian CAPEX. Sliding oil prices could prompt Permian E&Ps to cut capex. Hart Energy. Weakening oil prices may induce Permian Basin operators to cut spending next year and hold production steady at 6.4 MMbbl/d, Enverus Intelligence Research said in a new research report. That level of production suggests a 10% drop in the rig count, EIR said, as operators get more oil per rig thanks to longer laterals and better well performance.
TX September O&G Production Statistics. Texas oil and gas production statistics for September 2024. Odessa American. Statewide and county crude oil and natural gas production as reported to the Railroad Commission of Texas for September 2024 came from 158,437 oil wells and 84,110 gas wells, a press release detailed. The RRC reports that preliminary total Texas reported production for September 2024 was approximately 113 million barrels of crude oil and 891 billion cubic feet of total gas.
Chevron Slows Permian Growth in Hurdle to Trump Oil Plan. Bloomberg. Chevron Corp. plans to slow production growth in the biggest US oil field next year in the most definitive sign yet that President-elect Donald Trump faces an uphill battle to ramp up American energy output. Chevron will reduce capital expenditures in the Permian Basin to between $4.5 billion and $5 billion in 2025, a drop of as much as 10%, the company said in a statement Thursday.
U.S. Crude Oil Stockpiles Fall More Than Expected. Wall Street Journal. U.S. crude oil inventories fell more than expected last week as refineries ramped up their capacity use, according to data released Wednesday by the U.S. EIA. Commercial crude oil stocks excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve fell by 5.1 million barrels to 423.4 million barrels in the week ended Nov. 29 and were about 5% below the five-year average for the time of year, the EIA said. Analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had predicted crude stockpiles would fall by 1.2 million barrels.
Independence Contract Drilling Files for Bankruptcy. Texas oil driller hits Ch. 11 with $207M debt-swap plan. Law360. Oil and gas drilling services provider Independence Contract Drilling has filed for Chapter 11 protection in a Texas bankruptcy court with more than $230 million in debt and a prepackaged debt-swap restructuring plan. In its Chapter 11 filings Monday, Houston-based ICD said a significant drop in the number of onshore oil and gas wells in the U.S. over the last six years has led to less demand for its drilling rigs and crews, lower earnings and an inability to service its debt.
Crescent Energy Buys Ridgemar. Crescent Energy expands in Eagle Ford basin with Ridgemar Energy deal. Reuters. Crescent Energy said on Tuesday it would acquire Carnelian Energy Capital-backed Ridgemar Energy’s assets in the Eagle Ford basin in Texas for a cash-and-stock deal of $905 million, further strengthening its position in the basin. The deal, which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2025, also includes an additional payment of $170 million by Crescent contingent on future oil prices.
Williams CEO Wants FERC in Charge of Energy Permits. Pipeline CEO urges Republicans to put FERC in charge of energy permits. E&E News. The head of one of the country’s largest pipeline companies said Tuesday that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission should be in charge of infrastructure permitting and environmental reviews — and states should be removed from the process. Williams CEO Alan Armstrong said President-elect Donald Trump’s victory and Republicans’ control of both chambers of Congress mean that infrastructure permitting reform is virtually certain.
FERC Approves Texas-Louisiana Expansion Project by Kinder Morgan Subsidiary. Pipeline & Gas Journal. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has approved the Texas-Louisiana expansion project, filed by Natural Gas Pipeline Co. of America, a Kinder Morgan subsidiary, according to a FERC filing on Nov. 21. The project is designed to provide 467,000 Dth/d of firm transportation service—achieved through a combination of reserved unsubscribed capacity and 300,000 Dth/d of new eastbound capacity on the Louisiana Line—to meet the growing demand for natural gas in the Gulf Coast region of Texas and Louisiana.
Shale Oil Is More Likely to Boom Than Peak. Forbes. Incoming President Donald Trump and his team have suggested that by expanding drilling, oil production might rise by 3 million barrels/day (mb/d), bringing down prices and thus U.S. inflation. This is meeting pushback from experts who argue that, first, most drilling is on private lands and so the federal government has little influence over drilling rates, but also some are now claiming that a peak in U.S. shale oil production is near. As one writer put it, “US shale production should peak sometime in 2025/2026 and plateau from there. Given the lack of capex spending, production growth outside of price spikes will be difficult to sustain.”
Woodside to Build LNG Terminal in LA. Woodside and Bechtel shake hands on revised deal for US LNG terminal. Offshore Energy. Australia’s energy giant Woodside has signed a revised lump-sum turnkey engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract with Bechtel Energy, a U.S.-headquartered engineering, procurement, construction, and project management company, for a proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Louisiana. The revised contract entails work on the three-train 16.5 million tonnes per annum foundation development of Woodside Louisiana LNG.
Asia Needs More U.S. LNG. More U.S. LNG is needed to support Asia’s emissions reduction goals, new study finds. Pipeline and Gas Journal. Coal use and emissions from power generation in Asia will surge in coming decades unless there is significant new supply of U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG), a new study by data and analytics company Wood Mackenzie has shown. The study, commissioned by the Asia Natural Gas & Energy Association (ANGEA), models energy demand, power generation and the implications for gas demand for nations across Asia through to 2050. The study found continued growth in LNG production from the U.S. was essential to balancing global markets and providing emerging Asia with an affordable and available alternative to the high-emitting coal that is currently the region’s dominant energy source.
No Radical Production Increase Coming. Oil and gas producers unlikely to radically increase production. 10/12 Industry Report. U.S. oil and gas producers are unlikely to radically increase production under president-elect Donald Trump as companies remain focused on capital discipline, a senior executive at ExxonMobil said on Tuesday. “We’re not going to see anybody in ‘drill, baby, drill’ mode,” Liam Mallon, head of Exxon’s upstream division, told the Energy Intelligence Forum conference in London. “A radical change (in production) is unlikely because the vast majority, if not everybody, is focused on the economics of what they’re doing.”
PA Permits November 20, to December 5, 2024
County Township E&P Companies
1. Allegheny Findlay CNX
2. Allegheny Findlay CNX
3. Allegheny Findlay CNX
4. Allegheny Findlay CNX
5. Allegheny Findlay CNX
6. Greene Jackson EQT
7. Greene Perry EQT
8. Indiana Young INR OPR
9. Lycoming Cogan House SWN
10. Lycoming Cogan House SWN
11. Washington Amwell Range
12. Washington Amwell Range
13. Westmoreland Penn Apex Energy
OH November 17, to November 30, 2024
County Township E&P Companies
1. Carroll August EAP OHIO
2. Carroll August EAP OHIO
3. Carroll August EAP OHIO
4. Carroll August EAP OHIO
5. Harrison Freeport Ascent
6. Harrison Freeport Ascent
7. Harrison Freeport Ascent
8. Harrison Freeport Ascent
9. Noble Noble EOG
10. Noble Noble EOG
WV Permits November 18, to November 29, 2024
1. Marshall Tug Hill
2. Marshall Tug Hill
3. Marshall Tug Hill
4. Marshall Tug Hill
5. Marshall Tug Hill
6. Marshall Tug hill
7. Marshall SWN
8. Ohio SWN
9. Ohio SWN
10. Ohio SWN
11. Ohio SWN
12. Tyler Antero
13. Tyler Antero
14. Tyler Tribune Resources
15. Tyler Tribune Resources
