Latest facts and rumors from the Marcellus, Utica, and Permian, Eagle Ford Plays
Private Producers Operate 55% of the Rigs in the Appalachian Basin and Drill 25% of the Wells. Thanks, MDN. There are advantages and disadvantages to being publicly or privately owned. In the oil and gas sector, most large companies are publicly owned–meaning they have a board of directors, and the “owners” hold shares of stock in the company, shares traded on public exchanges. In the Marcellus/Utica, most of the top drillers are publicly owned: Range Resources, Coterra Energy, CNX Resources, EQT Corporation, Antero Resources, Southwestern Energy, Repsol, National Fuel Gas Company (i.e. Seneca Resources), and Gulfport Energy. Several others are privately owned, including Ascent Resources (Ohio’s largest natural gas producer and the 8th largest natural gas producer in the U.S.), Greylock Energy (based in West Virginia), and Olympus Energy (which drills in the Pittsburgh suburbs).
Permitting Reform Not Happening in 2022. Manchin’s last-gasp permitting effort fails. E&E News. Congressional Democratic leaders fell short in a last-ditch effort to honor a promise to pass Sen. Joe Manchin’s permitting overhaul proposal. The final text of the fiscal 2023 National Defense Authorization Act released Tuesday night did not include language that would have shortened timelines for National Environmental Policy Act reviews and limited citizen judicial challenges for proposed energy projects. It’s a blow for Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat and chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. His proposed reform efforts would have included approval for the Mountain Valley pipeline, a natural gas project in his state.
OH Looking to Expand Drilling on State Lands. Ohio Senate to vote on expanding gas drilling on state lands. Cleveland. With little public notice, the Ohio Senate could vote Wednesday on legislation to expand natural gas drilling in state parks. The bill also would change the legal definition of “green energy” – a term typically referring to power derived from sun, wind, or water – to include natural gas. Natural gas is mostly methane, a powerful heat-trapping greenhouse gas that’s formed over millions of years underground and freed via drilling into the earth. Additionally, the amended legislation would prohibit municipalities from banning the use of certain pesticides within their borders. All these changes were made late Tuesday afternoon to House Bill 507 – legislation that until that time only addressed laws around poultry sales and food safety. At the time of the vote, text of the amendments was not available online.
Return to $100 Oil in 2023. Report: Expect a return of $100 oil in 2023. Forbes. A new report from Enverus Intelligence Research (EIR) warns of a return to $100 prices for crude oil during 2023. Citing OPEC supply management and the implementation of sanctions of Russian oil, EIR projects it’s price deck for Brent crude will be pinned above the $100/bbl level despite near-term concerns about a possible recession. Another round of $100 oil prices will of course mean another period of higher gasoline prices at the pump for consumers. As of Wednesday, AAA reported that the average national price for a gallon of regular unleaded was at $3.355 per gallon, more than $1/gallon above the price when President Joe Biden took office, but well below the high of $5.016/gallon seen June 14.
PA NatGas Price Up 95%, New Wells up 42%. Pennsylvania natural gas price up 95%, new wells up 42%. Center Square. Natural gas prices are climbing, but overall production in Pennsylvania has lagged year-over-year. The latest report from the Independent Fiscal Office says prices in the third quarter of 2022 jumped almost 95% compared to the same period last year. Nor will prices drop soon, either. The Pennsylvania average price was $6.89 per million BTU, compared to $3.54 in 2021. “The dramatic increase in prices was due to the combination of weaker-than-usual production growth and strong demand (domestic and international),” the report said. “Current forecasts project that prices will remain elevated in the short term due to global supply and demand pressures.”
TX NatGas Ready for Winter. Todd Staples: Texas natural gas sector is ready for winter. Waco Tribune-Herald. The Texas natural gas industry is a powerhouse, producing more natural gas than any other state in the nation — and the world is literally knocking at our door in energy need. In addition to cementing America’s energy security, Texas’ natural gas producers, pipelines, refiners and exporters are playing an essential role in delivering stability in the form of affordable, reliable energy to our trade partners, even in times of continued global unrest. Part of our state’s ability to deliver at home and abroad has to do with the sheer volume of natural gas produced here, our vast and growing infrastructure and our expanding liquefied natural gas export capabilities Our ability to operate is directly tied to our ability to meet the nation’s and the world’s energy needs, no matter the temperature, and we are doing our part to be winter ready.
Post-Pandemic Rebound Slowing. Column: U.S. oil production’s post-pandemic rebound set to slow. Reuters. U.S. production of crude oil and condensates increased to 12.3 million barrels per day (bpd) in September, the highest since the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020. Production rose by 289,000 bpd from the previous month, with contributions from the Lower 48 states (+208,000 bpd), federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico (+64,000 bpd) and Alaska (+17,000 bpd). Crude production has increased in five of the most recent seven months, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (“Petroleum supply monthly”, EIA, Nov. 30).
U.S. Shale Growth Down in 2023. U.S. shale growth to disappoint in 2023. Oil Price. Despite the fact that U.S. crude oil production has recently hit the highest level since the pandemic low of below 10 million barrels per day (bpd) in May 2022, the growth rate has markedly slowed this year as the shale patch struggles, labor shortages, supply chain delays, and the high cost of supplies while producers focus on returns instead of drilling. U.S. oil production hit nearly 12.3 million bpd in September, the latest month with comprehensive data published by the EIA in its Petroleum Supply Monthly report last week. Between January and September, daily U.S. crude oil production averaged 11.733 million bpd, and 11.7 million bpd is the administration’s current projection for average U.S. crude oil production for this year. Some shale executives say activity has flatlined. Others note that the U.S. shale patch is no longer the swing oil producer and OPEC has returned as the most important driver of oil supply fundamentals. “Shale was thought of as a swing producer, the Saudis and OPEC have waited this out. Now, really OPEC is back in the driver’s seat where they are the swing producer,” Hess Corp CEO John Hess said at a conference in Miami last month.
Switzerland Could Ban EV’s This Winter. Switzerland could ban electric vehicle use during energy crisis: reports. Fox Business. Switzerland could ban electric vehicles from being used non-essentially this winter as government officials begin to brace for an energy crisis during the winter months, according to reports. The Telegraph reported on Saturday that Swiss officials have drafted emergency proposals that restrict power usage if things get bad this winter. For example, shops may need to reduce their hours, streaming services may need to be limited and buildings may only be heated to 20 degrees Celsius, or 68 degrees Fahrenheit. The reason Switzerland is preparing for possible blackouts is that the country relies on imported energy during the summer months. While more than half, or 60 percent of the country’s energy comes from hydro powered means, but in the winter months productions slows and the country relies on imports.
Diesel Shortages Ease. Disruptions dodged as diesel shortage eases. Yahoo. There is still a national diesel fuel shortage, but a small price drop and the reactivation of a few American refineries have avoided disruptions in the crucial traffic of trucks, trains and ships. Waco economist Ray Perryman and Texas Oil & Gas Association President Todd Staples say the scenario is getting more complex by the day. “While diesel supplies remain very tight, they are holding fairly steady,” Perryman reported. “Prices have fallen slightly over the past few weeks, though they remain elevated compared to a year ago. “Government fiat and pressures to prematurely phase out internal combustion engines are sending the wrong market signals to the industry and they are a contributing factor to the tighter market conditions being experienced along with the disruption to the normal supply chain by Russia’s aggressive military action,” Staples said.
EIA Oil Output Up Slightly. US oil output forecast raised slightly for 2023: EIA. Argus Media. The US government slightly raised its estimate for domestic crude output next year after five months of downward revisions. Production will average 12.34mn b/d in 2023, up from last month’s forecast of 12.31mn b/d, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said today in its December Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO). Output in 2023 will just surpass the record 12.32mn b/d set in 2019, the year before the Covid-19 pandemic struck. Future output forecasts have been drastically scaled back over the course of the year, as concerns have mounted over inventories, financial constraints after a series of busts in the past decade, and inflation.
NatGas Demand Growing 27% by 2030. TC Energy sees U.S. natural gas demand growing 27% by 2030. NGI. TC Energy Corp. is projecting U.S. natural gas demand to swell by over 27% by 2030 to about 115 Bcf/d versus 91 Bcf/d in 2021, with growth forecasted from LNG exports, power generation, industrial demand and pipeline exports to Mexico. Although the expected growth is disproportionately led by liquefied natural gas exports, “nearly all sectors are expected to see some increase in throughput throughout the end of the decade,” TC’s Stanley Chapman III, vice president in charge of U.S. and Mexico natural gas pipelines, said during TC’s investor day in Toronto. High natural gas prices in Europe and Asia, combined with abundant U.S. gas reserves, have positioned U.S. LNG export demand to grow by an estimated 70%, from 12-13 Bcf/d currently to 21 Bcf/d or more by 2030, Chapman said.
O&G Industry Will Be Challenging the Feds. Energy industry expects numerous challenges at federal level. Midland Reporter-Telegram. From possible regulations on air emissions to endangered species to water to possible new taxes on methane or excess profits, the nation’s energy industry is facing numerous challenges from the nation’s capital. There are many issues out there, Dan Naatz, Independent Petroleum Association of America executive vice president and chief operating officer said. “But first, I think is how President Biden addresses energy security in Europe,” he told the Reporter-Telegram in a telephone interview.
No Frack Water in the Delaware. DRBC approves rule prohibiting discharge of wastewater from high volume hydraulic fracturing in Delaware River Basin. WFMZ. The Delaware River Basin Commission approved a rule Wednesday banning the discharge of wastewater from high volume hydraulic fracturing to water or land in the Delaware River Basin. The vote was 4-0, with the federal government abstaining, according to a news release from the DRBC. The DRBC says the resolution approved Wednesday also clarifies the circumstances in which water, including wastewater, may be exported from or imported into the basin. The resolution prohibiting the discharge of wastewater from HVHF to land or water throughout the basin is aimed at controlling future pollution, protecting public health, and preserving the waters of the basin, the DRBC said.
PA Permits November 28, to December 6, 2022
County Township E&P Companies
1. Indiana Armstrong IND OPR LLC
2. McKean Norwich Seneca
OH Permits November 27, to December 3, 2022
County Township E&P Companies
1. Belmont Pultney Ascent
2. Belmont Pultney Ascent
3. Jefferson Wells Ascent
WV Permits November 28, to December 2, 2022
1. Monongalia CNX
2. Taylor Arsenal
3. Taylor Arsenal
4. Taylor Arsenal
5. Tyler Tribune Resources
6. Tyler Tribune Resources
7. Tyler Tribune Resources
8. Tyler Tribune Resources
9. Tyler Tribune Resources
10. Tyler Tribune Resources
11. Tyler Tribune Resources
12. Tyler Tribune Resources
Joe Barone 610.764.1232
