Shale Directories Conferences
FALL 2022 Hydrogen & Carbon Capture Conference IV
November 10, 2022
Hilton Garden Inn, Southpointe
Canonsburg, PA (near Pittsburgh)
Latest facts and rumors from the Marcellus, Utica, and Permian, Eagle Ford Plays
EQT & CNX Bullish on Appalachian NatGas. EQT, CNX see a bright future for Appalachian gas, but energy agency isn’t so sure. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. When two of Pittsburgh’s largest gas drillers talked about the role of natural gas in the global market on Thursday, their message didn’t stray much from statements made soon after Russia invaded Ukraine early this year and turned a simmering global energy imbalance into a full-blown crisis. Appalachian shale gas is the obvious answer to energy poverty and decarbonization goals, the leaders of EQT Corp. and CNX Corp. believe. Both have advocated for the expansion of LNG exports, or liquefied natural gas, to serve markets orphaned by Russia.
Permian Will Lower Output. Permian’s limited natural gas takeaway, fewer DUCs signal lower oil output. NGI. The number of wells completed each month in the Lower 48 has outpaced the number drilled since July 2020, which, combined with limited natural gas pipeline capacity from the Permian Basin, may reduce oil production growth, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said. The decline in drilled but uncompleted wells, aka DUCs, was noted in EIA’s Drilling Productivity Report earlier this month. “Although the number of active oil-directed rigs, which drill new oil wells, was increasing earlier this year, the rig count has remained relatively flat since July,” said EIA’s principal contributors Jeffrey Barron, Matthew French and Jozef Lieskovsky.
PA’S NatGas Industry Set to Get Billions. Pa.’s natural gas industry set to get billions in state tax credits. StateImpact. Pennsylvania lawmakers are sending a nearly $2 billion package of tax credits aimed at supporting the state’s natural gas industry to Governor Tom Wolf’s desk. Wolf is expected to sign the bill. The credits would offset tens of millions in taxes each year until 2050 to select companies that use gas, like those in the milk and chemical production industries. But they must build facilities in Pennsylvania and create a certain number of new jobs. The legislation comes at a time when experts say greenhouse gas emissions must be cut dramatically to avoid the worst effects of climate change – including by transitioning away from fossil fuels.
EIA November Production Outline. EIA productivity report outlines domestic production activity. Energy Capital Media. The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) released its Drilling Productivity Report. It indicates that November should break domestic oil and gas production records. With the current state of global affairs and energy concerns, coupled with OPEC’s recent announcement of cutting production; it would seem oil and gas output would be consistent throughout the world. Last week’s EIA report, however, not only forecasts an increase in production across the board. It records highs could be expected. Encompassing the Anadarko, Appalachia, Bakken, Eagle Ford, Haynesville, Niobrara, and Permian basins, statistical data displays an increase in barrels per day for oil and cubic feet for natural gas. Considering the Biden Administration’s pressuring of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, this could yield positive news.
Wall Street Expects the Cash to Keep Flowing. Wall Street expects Q3 results to show shale gas companies kept cash flowing. S&P Global. Analysts expect U.S. shale gas drillers to address two major questions in third-quarter earnings reports: how the drillers plan to use the profits from elevated natural gas prices and how inflation will affect their capital budgets. The top shale gas drillers are expected to report significant free cash flows because gas prices stayed elevated in the third quarter. Analysts said they want to know if that extra cash will be used for dividends, share buybacks, debt reduction or all of the above. Healthy cash flows among America’s oil and gas producers have attracted renewed interest in energy stocks from general investors, according to Jefferies LLC analyst Lloyd Byrne, who resumed coverage of the sector Oct. 18. Investors see shale gas as a safe haven with significant yields, Byrne said. Jefferies’ top gas picks are in the Appalachian shales: natural gas liquids-heavy producer Antero Resources Corp. Chesapeake Energy Corp. and EQT Corp., America’s largest gas producer by volume.
Kinder Touts NatGas Opportunities in Mexico. Kinder Morgan touts ‘enormous opportunity’ for natural gas exports to Mexico, world. NGI. Kinder Morgan Inc. is forecasting substantial growth in U.S. natural gas exports, including to Mexico via pipeline and the global market via LNG, over the coming years. The company expects U.S. LNG export demand, meanwhile, to more than double to 28 Bcf/d by 2030, Executive Chairman Richard Kinder said. “Given the situation in Europe today, which will result in more long-term contracts and the continuing usage in Asia, this hyper-growth scenario actually seems pretty reasonable to me,” Kinder told analysts during a call to discuss third quarter earnings. “That’s a huge increase, and most of it will occur in Texas and Louisiana, where so much of our asset base is located.” He cited that KMI currently moves about 50% of the gas consumed by U.S. liquefied natural gas export terminals, and “we expect to maintain or expand that share in the future.”
MVP “On Hold” Pipeline builder halts legal effort to acquire land for NC extension. WHQR. Developers of a proposed pipeline extension that would bring natural gas to North Carolina have withdrawn legal proceedings to acquire land for the project. But the Mountain Valley Pipeline said it’s not abandoning the $468 million project. In a federal court filing last week, the Mountain Valley Pipeline said it was dismissing eminent domain proceedings for 70 properties in Alamance and Rockingham counties in north central North Carolina. The company said it already has easements on more than 80% of the route in Virginia and North Carolina. The 75-mile MVP Southgate pipeline would be an extension of the proposed Mountain Valley Pipeline. The pipeline extension would carry fracked natural gas Virginia into North Carolina. The proposed 75-mile Southgate pipeline would be an extension of the main $6.6 billion, 300-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline that would deliver natural gas from West Virginia into Virginia.
PA Making Big Push for Massive NatGas Tax Incentives. As Nov. 8 election approaches, Wolf and Pa. lawmakers look to push through massive tax incentives for natural gas. Spotlight PA. Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf and top state lawmakers are hurriedly negotiating a massive economic development package that would encourage natural gas development in Pennsylvania. The proposed credits, totaling $180 million a year, are aimed at different industries including hydrogen production, milk processing, and biomedical research, according to draft bill language viewed by Spotlight PA. The incentives would sunset in 2045, putting the potential price tag of foregone state taxes at roughly $3.6 billion if the credits are claimed in full. Taken as a whole, the package would be even bigger than the record-setting $1.65 billion incentive Pennsylvania gave Shell for its plastic factory in Beaver County. With the Nov. 8 election fast approaching, such a deal — rumored since September — could appeal to both major parties and their allies in business and organized labor.
Plunging NatGas Prices in TX. Texas natural gas plunges toward zero as output swamps pipelines. World Oil. Natural gas prices in the Permian Basin of West Texas are plunging toward zero as booming production overwhelms pipeline networks, creating a regional glut of the fuel. If West Texas prices tumble into negative territory, energy producers will effectively be paying someone to take gas off their hands — something that hasn’t happened in two years. The price collapse illustrates the sharp contrast between bountiful US supplies of the fuel and Europe’s worsening energy crisis as winter approaches. Tight gas markets in Europe and Asia threaten to have knock-on effects for diesel, coal and power as governments and utilities scramble for energy, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. The Texas price plunge stems from maintenance scheduled for Kinder Morgan Inc.’s Gulf Coast Express and El Paso Natural Gas pipeline systems. Insufficient pipeline capacity has actually been a long-term problem that has dogged Permian Basin gas producers for years.
TX has lowest gas prices. Why?? Why gas prices are soaring everywhere except Texas. Houstonia Mag. According to data reported by AAA, Texas leads the nation with the lowest average gas price of $3.21. Along the West Coast, states such as Washington, Nevada, Oregon, California, Alaska, and even Hawaii, have witnessed their fares topping over $5 per gallon. As Texas remains the state to find the cheapest gas even through this spike, Texans still can expect to experience some slightly higher fares in the coming months but will still not compare to the burden in other states. Why? Our state’s close proximity to refineries along the Gulf Coast results in cheaper delivery than states that don’t have this advantage. States along the East Coast benefit from the Colonial Pipeline that travels from Houston to New York, whereas the West Coast doesn’t share the same fortune because of the Rocky Mountains.
NatGas Consumption Strong Through 2050. North American natural gas consumption still seen strong at mid-century. NGI. North America in 2050 is likely to remain “heavily reliant” on natural gas, creating a hurdle in the transition to net-zero carbon emissions, according to experts. Renewables in the United States and Canada overall are forecast to comprise “only 34% of primary energy consumption” by mid-century, DNV researchers said in their report, Energy Transition Outlook for 2022. “In terms of world primary energy supply, North America comes in second, consuming 17% of the world’s natural gas in 2050, behind the Middle East and North Africa,” the consultancy said.
Halliburton 3rd Qtr. Financials. Halliburton profit tops Wall Street estimates as oil activity booms. Reuters. Halliburton Co (HAL.N) posted a rise in profit for the third quarter on Tuesday that beat forecasts and sent its shares higher, the latest oilfield services firm to report better-than-expected results amid a global surge in drilling activity. Brent crude averaged $98.96 a barrel during the quarter, up about 33% from a year earlier as sanctions on major oil producer Russia for its invasion of Ukraine upended global supply routes. Meanwhile, demand has rebounded sharply from pandemic lows. “Looking forward, we see activity increasing around the world – from the smallest to the largest countries and producers,” Halliburton Chief Executive Jeff Miller said in a statement. In North America, he said demand for services is “stronger than I have ever seen at this point in the year.” Miller told investors Halliburton’s equipment remained sold out for the remainder of 2022 and said the market would be tight in 2023.
Fetterman Anti-Fracking. Six takeaways from the Pennsylvania Senate debate between Fetterman and Oz. CNN. Fetterman struggled to detail his position on fracking, given he once said he never supported the industry and “never” will. Oz came prepared on the issue, hitting Fetterman when asked about it. “He supports Biden’s desire to ban fracking on public lands, which are our lands, all of our lands together,” Oz said. “This is an extreme position on energy. If we unleashed our energy here in Pennsylvania, it would help everybody.” When Oz raised Fetterman’s comments about fracking, Fetterman pushed back. “I absolutely support fracking,” Fetterman said. “I believe that we need independence with energy and I believe I have walked that line my entire career.” But that isn’t true – Fetterman has a long history of antipathy toward the practice of injecting water into shale formations to free up deposits of oil and natural gas that were not economically accessible before.
TX NatGas Prices Turn Negative. Natural gas prices in Texas shale country just turned negative amid booming production. Yahoo Finance. West Texas natural gas prices turned negative for the first time since 2020 on Tuesday, as booming production and pipeline-capacity constraints left local supplies with nowhere to go. At the Waha hub in the Permian Basin, gas for next-day delivery sank to negative $2 per million British thermal units Tuesday, traders told Bloomberg. Just a week ago, prices there were $5 per million BTUs, and benchmark US prices are currently at $5.55. That means gas producers are paying people to take their supplies. Prices in the heart of Texas shale country were negative eight times in 2020 and more than two dozen times in 2019, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The latest bout in the red comes as the region is seeing a surge in production, lower demand, and distribution bottlenecks, resulting in a localized glut.
Two New Massive LNG Plants Start Construction. In gas-starved world, two massive US LNG plants start construction. Bloomberg. Two giant projects that will allow the US to send more of its shale gas overseas are inching forward. Sempra recently issued a so-called limited notice to proceed to its contractor Bechtel, which clears the way for the early stages of construction to begin at its Port Arthur liquefied natural gas project in Texas. NextDecade Corp. issued a similar notice to Bechtel for its Rio Grande LNG project, also in the Lone Star State, a document seen by Bloomberg shows. They are small but symbolic — and politically significant — steps as Russia’s war in Ukraine has wiped out global gas supplies and made buyers in Europe and Asia more dependent than ever on the US for the fuel. Even with construction beginning, the Port Arthur and Rio Grande terminals are still likely four years away from their first exports.
Record US Exports. US exports record oil volumes as fuel price tensions build. Financial Times. The US is exporting record volumes of oil and taking on a bigger role as a fuel supplier in response to the global energy crunch caused by Russia’s war in Ukraine, even as tensions flare over petrol prices at home. Combined US exports of crude oil and refined petroleum products surged to 11.4mn barrels a day last week, according to data released on Wednesday by the Energy Information Administration, the most ever reported. The shipments were almost 2mn b/d higher than the previous week and came despite oil companies facing pressure from Washington to send less fuel abroad and build domestic stocks as President Joe Biden’s administration tries to curb prices at the pump ahead of critical midterm elections.
Shell 3rd Qtr. Results. Shell reports its second-highest profit, at $9.5 billion, and raises dividend. New York Times. The good times continue at Shell. The London-based energy giant reported adjusted earnings for the third quarter of $9.45 billion, its second-highest profit on record and more than double the $4.1 billion it made in the same period a year earlier. Shell is mainly benefiting from high oil and natural gas prices partly stoked by the war in Ukraine, as Russia squeezes gas flows to Europe. The profit was a step down from the record-breaking $11.5 billion Shell reported for the second quarter, when it received an average of just over $100 a barrel for oil, compared with $93 in the third quarter. Natural gas prices, however, increased in the third quarter.
Exxon and Chevron 3rd Qtr. Results. Exxon and Chevron rack up giant profits. New York Times. Exxon Mobil and Chevron, the largest U.S. oil companies, reported on Friday a fourth consecutive quarter of robust profits on the back of high oil and natural gas prices and strong chemical and refining earnings. But the companies remain cautious as they face uncertain future prices because of a weakening global economy and international conflict. Exxon’s profit of $19.7 billion from operations topped the previous quarter’s $17.9 billion.
Range Upbeat on Marcellus & Utica. Range Resources CEO says Marcellus, Utica shales vital to stabilize natural gas markets. NGI. Range Resources Corp. is “in the best position in the company’s history” amid a tightly supplied global natural gas market, CEO Jeff Ventura said Tuesday. Fort Worth, TX-based Range is among the country’s largest natural gas producers, with nearly one million net acres in Pennsylvania targeting the Marcellus, Utica and Upper Devonian shale formations. “As we continue to witness a global energy crisis, it’s apparent that the world desperately needs access to abundant, safe, reliable and ethical fuel sources,” Ventura told analysts during a call to discuss.
PA Permit October 17, to October 23, 2022
County Township E&P Companies
1. Beaver Independence Range
2. Beaver Independence Range
3. Beaver Independence Range
4. Beaver Independence Range
5. Beaver Independence Range
6. Beaver Independence Range
7. Bradford Wilmot Chesapeake
8. Clearfield Girard PPG Oper.
9. Clearfield Girard PPG Oper
10. Lycoming Gamble Inflection Energy
OH Permits October 16, to October 22, 2022
County Township E&P Companies
1. Monroe Adams SWN
WV Permits October 10, to October 14, 2022
1. Wetzel EQT
2. Wetzel EQT
3. Wetzel EQT
4. Wetzel EQT
5. Wetzel EQT
6. Wetzel Tug Hill
Joe Barone 610.764.1232
