Facts & Rumors # 553
May 18, 2024
Latest facts and rumors from the Marcellus, Utica, and Permian, Eagle Ford Plays
CNX & KeyState Energy Pittsburgh Airport Project. o accelerate regional and national hydrogen and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) development, KeyState Energy (KeyState), CNX Resources Corp. (NYSE: CNX), and Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) today announced a collaboration to bring yet another transformational project to PIT property.
The integrated facility can produce hydrogen solely, reaching up to 68,000 metric tons annually, or SAF exclusively, up to 70 million gallons per year. The plant will offer the flexibility to produce both products simultaneously at lower varying individual volumes and customize production to meet specific demands. Building upon CNX and PIT’s previously announced alternative fuel strategy in 2022, this initiative supports the national goal of significantly reducing hard-to-abate sectors’ emissions by 2030, positioning the region as a key player in the hydrogen and sustainable aviation fuel industries.
Crescent Energy – SilverBow Deal Near. Crescent Energy Nears $2.1 Billion Deal for SilverBow. Bloomberg. Crescent Energy Inc. agreed to buy SilverBow Resources Inc., a rival oil and gas producer that’s in a proxy fight with its largest shareholder, for $2.1 billion. Each SilverBow share will be exchanged for 3.125 shares in Crescent Class A stock, valued at $38.28 based on Wednesday’s closing price. SilverBow holders will have the option to receive all or a portion of the proceeds in cash at $38 a share, up to a maximum of $400 million, according to a statement Thursday.
World Needs More LNG. Qatar says new global LNG projects will be needed after 2030. Bloomberg. Demand for natural gas will keep growing and more supply projects will be required globally beyond 2030, Qatar’s energy minister said. The comments from one of the world’s biggest suppliers of liquefied natural gas come amid fears of a potential glut later this decade as more projects, including in Qatar, come online. The Middle Eastern country is pressing on with its multibillion-dollar LNG expansion, and may consider adding further capacity if more gas becomes available, minister Saad Al-Kaabi said in Doha.
Freeport LNG Up and Running. Thanks, MDN. On the demand front, we’ve been tracking the up down up down up down and now up again situation at Freeport for weeks (months, years). Freeport had been mostly offline following an episode of cold temps in January. Freeport announced that two of its three trains (Trains 1 and 2) would remain out of service for testing and repairs through May. Train 3 came back online in late March. But just as quickly, it went down. Came back up. Went down. Etc. As of Friday, April 26, it was down again. Reuters is reporting a miracle of miracles — all three trains are now back up and running.
LNG Exports Climb. U.S. LNG exports climb to 28 shipments. LNG Prime. US liquefied natural gas exports rose in the week ending May 15 compared to the week before, with the Freeport LNG terminal shipping four cargoes during the period, according to the Energy Information Administration. The agency said in its weekly report that 28 LNG carriers departed the US plants between May 9 and May 15, six shipments more compared to the week before. This is also the highest weekly number of cargoes since January this year, the data shows.
NatGas Surpluses Declining. Natural gas futures extend rally ahead of storage data as surpluses poised to contract. NGI. As traders prepared to digest updated government inventory data, expected to show surpluses trending lower week/week, natural gas futures advanced early Thursday. The June Nymex contract was up 3.0 cents to $2.446/MMBtu at around 8:40 a.m. ET. July was up 2.8 cents to $2.659.
Shale Oil Output Hits Six-Month High. US oil output in top shale regions to hit six-month high in June, EIA says. Reuters. U.S. oil output from top shale-producing regions will rise in June to its highest in six months, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in its monthly Drilling Productivity Report on Monday. Production in the top basins will reach 9.85 million barrels per day (bpd), its highest since December, the EIA said. Shale production, which represents about three-quarters of total U.S. oil output, is rising due to improved well productivity, with prod Oil uction per new rig in the Permian basin expected to reach 1,400 bpd next month, up from 1,386 in May. That would mark the highest monthly output per rig since November 2021.
Oil Production Triggers TX Earthquakes. Earthquakes triggered by oil production spread in Texas, study says. E&E News. Large earthquakes linked to oil and gas development may be occurring in new areas of Texas, according to a new study. Researchers at the University of Texas, Austin, found that seismic activity in the Midland Basin — which is in the western part of the state — may be moving northeast along a newly identified and “extensive” fault zone. The area is part of the larger Permian Basin, one of the nation’s main oil-and-gas-producing regions. “The fault zone has been activated, and it has the capability to trigger additional earthquakes that can be felt by humans, especially because it’s so close to major cities along Interstate 20” in Texas, said Dino Huang, a research assistant professor at the Jackson School of Geosciences who led the research. It was published in Seismological Research Letters and touted by the university this month. Cities near the fault zone include Odessa and Midland.
University of Houston Helps Address Carbon Footprint. VUH petroleum engineering research team helps oil companies increase production and reduce carbon footprint. Indo American News. The world may be transitioning towards clean energy sources such as wind and solar, but we still need higher volumes of oil and gas production to fulfill the energy demands of a growing global population. Furthermore, to minimize the impact on the environment, the oil and gas industry must produce fossil fuels with a lower carbon footprint. University of Houston’s Cullen College of Engineering is at the forefront of innovative research and practical technologies to help oil and gas companies enhance production while reducing carbon pollution by one of two ways: using carbon dioxide (CO2) released by refining and petrochemical plants for injection into existing fields to recover more oil and gas or injecting the CO2 into inert underground caverns for permanent storage.
25 States Fight New EPA Regulations. Thanks, MDN. The Bidenistas at the EPA attacked coal and gas-fired power plants in April, threatening to destabilize the existing electric power grid with new regulations (see EPA Rolls Out Final Regs Attacking Coal & Gas-Fired Power). Using 1,020 pages of new regulations, which will go into effect this year, all coal-fired plants that are slated to remain operational in the long term and all new gas-fired power plants will be required to control (capture) 90% of their carbon emissions using expensive and unproven technology. Translation: New gas-fired plants won’t get built, and most, if not all, coal plants will shutter, with the result that electricity will, by necessity, be rationed (see WSJ Calls Biden EPA Power Plant Regs a Plan to “Ration Electricity”). But that won’t happen if West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey and the AGs for 24 other states have their way. Last week, Morrisey and other AGs petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit, asking the court to invalidate the EPA’s new finalized power plant regulation.
PA Permits May 6, to May 16, 2024
County Township E&P Companies
1. Susquehanna Bridgewater Coterra
2. Susquehanna Bridgewater Coterra
OH Permits May 5 to May 11, 2024
County Township E&P Companies
1. Jefferson Cross Creek Ascent
2. Jefferson Cross Creek Ascent
3. Jefferson Cross Creek Ascent
4. Jefferson Cross Creek Ascent
WV Permits May 5, to May 10, 2024
1. Wetzel Antero
2. Wetzel Antero
