Facts & Rumors # 534
November 18, 2023
Latest facts and rumors from the Marcellus, Utica, and Permian, Eagle Ford Plays
Why NatGas Price is So Low! Working natural gas stocks end refill season above five-year average. EIA. Working natural gas in storage in the U.S. Lower 48 states as of October 31 totaled 3,776 billion cubic feet (Bcf), according to interpolated data from our Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report (WNGSR) released on November 16. This total represents the second-highest end-of-refill-season inventory during the past five years. Total inventory as of October 31 was 5% (178 Bcf) more than the five-year (2018–22) end-of-October average and 6.8% (239 Bcf) more than last year at this time.
Oil Inventories Up. U.S. crude-oil inventories rise by 3.6 million barrels in week to Nov. 10. WSJ. U.S. oil inventories increased by 3.6 million barrels in the week ended Nov. 10, according to data released by the Energy Information Administration, above estimates of analysts in a survey by the Wall Street Journal. Commercial crude-oil stockpiles stood at 439.4 million barrels at the end of last week, and were about 2% below the five-year average for this time of year, the EIA said Wednesday. Analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had predicted crude stockpiles would rise by 800,000 barrels.
OH Accepting Fracking Bids for State Parks. Ohio OKs accepting bids for fracking under state park, wildlife areas. Columbus Dispatch. Ohio will allow companies to bid for oil and gas drilling under a state park and two wildlife areas, a decision made as opponents vocally protested throughout the meeting. Ohio’s Oil and Gas Land Management Commission voted Wednesday to greenlight accepting bids for fracking under Salt Fork State Park in Guernsey County, Valley Run Wildlife Area in Carroll County and Zepernick Wildlife Area in Columbiana County. Bids will be accepted starting in January. The committee denied a request for Wolf Run State Park in Noble County, in part because of concerns about land used by Ohio State University. The university’s Eastern Agricultural Research Station uses the land to conduct research into cattle reproduction, sheep management and other studies. FOX also reports.
White Hawk Purchases Marcellus Assets. WhiteHawk to acquire additional natural gas assets in Marcellus Shale, US. Offshore Technology. WhiteHawk Energy has agreed to acquire additional natural gas mineral and royalty assets in Marcellus Shale in the US from an undisclosed company, for a consideration of $54m. The purchase is expected to increase WhiteHawk’s mineral and royalty ownership in its existing 475,000 gross acre position by 100%. WhiteHawk said its assets in the Marcellus Shale are primarily located in Washington and Greene counties in Pennsylvania.
EV Cost $17/Gal. Thanks, MDN. Study Shows Real Cost to Fill Up EVs Equivalent to $17 / Gal. A new study from the Texas Public Policy Foundation finds that the actual hidden costs of fueling an electric vehicle, which some allege equates to $1.21 per gallon of gas, is more like $17 per gallon — all things considered. In a new paper recently published called “Overcharged Expectations: Unmasking the True Costs of Electric Vehicles”, the study’s authors argue that while the direct cost of “fueling up” to an EV owner may appear low, the real costs and considerations add up to be significantly more. The wheels are beginning to fall off EV cars.
Chevron Reviews West TX Options. Chevron reviewing options for East Texas assets after shale acquisitions. Reuters. Chevron Corp said it is evaluating options for around 70,000 net acres of land in East Texas’ Haynesville shale formation after pausing development earlier this year, with sources saying a full sale is one option under consideration. The move would be a small first step by the energy major which is seeking to offload assets worth up to $15 billion over the next five years following its recent multi-billion-dollar acquisitions of more than 700,000 acres in U.S. shale assets. Chevron last month said it would enter the Bakken basin of North Dakota with a $53 billion acquisition of Hess Corp. In August, it concluded the $6.3 billion acquisition of PDC Energy, which expanded its reserves in the Permian and DJ basins.
Permian Has Significant Reserves. Perryman says Basin has energy reserves aplenty. Odessa American. Delivering his annual national, statewide and regional economic outlook Tuesday at the Marriott Hotel & Conference Center, Waco economist Ray Perryman said the wars in Israel and Ukraine have injected an element of uncertainty into the American energy industry, but the oil and natural gas reserves are so great in the Permian Basin and around the United States that the long-term outlook is nonetheless very positive.
Permian Production to Expand Through Year End. Oil production from Permian basin to expand through year’s end. World Oil. Oil production from the Permian basin will expand in November and December, marking the region’s longest run of monthly gains in two years. The world’s most productive shale patch is expected to pump a record 5.98 MMbpd in December. In total, U.S. crude production from the seven biggest shale regions will total 9.65 MMpd next month, essentially flat compared to November’s rate, according to a report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Shale NatGas Production to Drop in December. Thanks, MDN. The latest monthly U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) Drilling Productivity Report (DPR) for November, issued Monday, shows EIA believes shale gas production across the seven major plays tracked in the monthly DPR for December will *decrease* production from the prior month of November — by a significant quantity. This is the fifth month in a row that EIA has predicted shale gas production will decrease for the combined seven plays. EIA says combined NatGas production will slide by 299 MMcf/d (million cubic feet per day) — nearly one-third of a billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d). The Marcellus/Utica, called “Appalachia” in the report, is predicted to decrease by a massive 189 MMcf/d in December compared with November, the biggest decrease in gas production for any of the seven plays.
North American LNG to Increase by 113%. North American LNG capacity to increase 113% by 2027, EIA says. E&E News. North America’s capacity to ship liquefied natural gas overseas is expected to more than double through 2027, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. In a post Monday, EIA said North America’s export capacity for the super-chilled gas is anticipated to grow to 24.3 billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d) by the end of 2027, a 113 percent increase from current capacity. EIA attributed the growth to facilities coming online in Canada and Mexico, as well as U.S. LNG projects under construction.
NatGas Shortages This Winter. Thanks, MDN. EIA Echoes NERC, FERC in Warning of Short Gas Supplies This Winter. MDN brought you the news that the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) is sounding the alarm that more than half of the U.S. and parts of Canada, home to around 180 million people, could fall short of electricity during extreme cold again this winter (see NERC: Half of U.S. Faces Elec Blackouts This Winter – Lack of NatGas). FERC is also chiming in with a warning about potential blackouts. Why? Lack of natural gas pipelines to help feed gas-fired power plants.
‘Uncle Joe’ Sell Those Leases. Court orders Biden administration to hold oil and gas lease sale. Oil Price. A federal appeals court has ordered the federal government to hold an oil and gas lease sale for the Gulf of Mexico within 37 days. It will be the last lease sale for the Gulf of Mexico until 2025, Bloomberg noted in a report. The obligation to sell drilling rights to the oil and gas industry in the Gulf of Mexico was a stipulation in the Inflation Reduction Act spearheaded by Senator Joe Manchin in exchange for his support for the IRA and its climate stipulations.
Restocking SPR. U.S. plans to buy 1.2 million barrels of oil for Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Reuters. The U.S. plans to buy 1.2 million barrels of oil to help replenish the Strategic Petroleum Reserve after it sold off the largest amount ever last year, the Energy Department said on Monday. The department said the planned purchase for the oil is at an average price of $77.57 a barrel from two companies after 18 bids were submitted. The administration of President Joe Biden last year conducted the largest ever sale from the SPR of 180 million barrels, part of a strategy to stabilize soaring oil markets and combat high pump prices in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
PA November 6, to November 16, 2023
County Township E&P Companies
1. Bradford Monroe Chesapeake
2. Susquehanna Forest Lake Coterra
3. Susquehanna Forest Lake Coterra
4. Susquehanna Forest Lake Coterra
5. Susquehanna Forest Lake Coterra
6. Susquehanna Forest Lake Coterra
OH November 5, to November 11 2023
County Township E&P Companies
1. Columbiana Elk Run Hilcorp
2. Columbiana Elk Run Hilcorp
3. Columbiana Elk Run Hilcorp
4. Columbiana Elk Run Hilcorp
5. Columbiana Elk Run Hilcorp
6. Columbiana Elk Run Hilcorp
7. Columbiana Elk Run Hilcorp
8. Columbiana Elk Run Hilcorp
9. Columbiana Elk Run Hilcorp
10. Columbiana Elk Run Hilcorp
11. Columbiana Elk Run Hilcorp
12. Columbiana Elk Run Hilcorp
13. Harrison Nottingham Gulfport
14. Harrison Nottingham Gulfport
15. Monroe Center SWN
16. Monroe Center SWN
WV Permits November 6, to November 10, 2023
1. Wetzel Antero
