Facts & Rumors # 555
June 8, 2024
U.S. Oil Production Remains Steady. US oil production holds at 13.1 million b/d. Energy Intelligence. Crude oil production in the US remained at roughly 13.1 million b/d in the week ended May 31, according to estimates from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).
EQT Restores Production. Thanks, MDN. The country’s largest natural gas producer, EQT Corporation, headquartered in Pittsburgh and solely focused on drilling in the Marcellus/Utica, previously announced it had sliced 1 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of its production as of late February because of the ongoing low price of NatGas. In late April, as part of its first quarter update for investors, EQT’s top brass said the 1 Bcf/d curtailment would continue until “at least the end of May”. It looks like the curtailment is over, although EQT is not publicly saying so…yet.
Manchin Dumps Democratic Party, But Keeps Energy Gavel. Manchin to keep Energy gavel after dumping Democratic Party. E&E News. West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin left the Democratic Party on Friday and registered as an independent, further cementing his yearslong fallout with the party. Manchin announced in a statement that he changed his voting registration to have no party affiliation at West Virginia’s State Capitol in Charleston, along with a photo of him holding what appears to be a registration form. “I have never seen America through a partisan lens,” he said in a statement announcing the switch.
Problem Areas on MVP. Thanks, MDN. Newly released information gathered from a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request shows that as Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) tested its 303-mile pipeline from Wetzel County, WV, to Pittsylvania County, VA, some 130 potential problem areas were located. Running a PIG (pipeline inspection gauge) device through the pipeline to check for dents and other weaknesses found 50 “anomalies” that required further excavation work to check. Another 80 excavations were needed after tests using an electric current to probe for weaknesses in the pipeline’s special anti-corrosion coating.
Buying from SPR. U.S. buys 3 million barrels of oil for Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Reuters. The U.S. is buying another 3 million barrels of oil for the country’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the Department of Energy said on Monday, as it slowly replenishes the stockpile after the largest sale ever in 2022. The oil, which is for delivery to the SPR in November, is being purchased at an average price of $77.69 per barrel, the department said.
SPR at 50% Capacity. Is That a Problem? Biden sold off nearly 50% of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Is that a problem? Fortune. In dozens of underground salt caverns nestled along the Gulf Coast in Texas and Louisiana sit hundreds of millions of barrels of crude oil, America’s “insurance policy” against the volatile nature of the global oil market.
ODNR’s 1st Qtr. Numbers. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) released production numbers for the first quarter 2024 yesterday. Oil production, led by Encino Energy wells, is the headline news. Oil production from Encino represented 51.3% of all Ohio Utica oil production in 1Q. Ascent Resources was the next closest oil producer, with 21.8% of Utica oil produced. As for natural gas, Ascent Resources dominated with 42.8% of all Ohio Utica NatGas production. In the number two slot was Gulfport Energy with 17.6% of NatGas production, followed closely by Encino with 16.0% of NatGas production. Below, we have lists of the top 25 gas and oil wells by production in 1Q24, along with charts showing gas and oil production by both drillers and by county. You’ll only find this news (and this level of detail) here on MDN.
Driller wants ODNR to Open More of Salt Fork. Driller asks Ohio to open more of Salt Fork State Park for fracking. Cleveland.com. An unidentified company asked the state to open more than 2,300 additional acres underneath Salt Fork State Park in Guernsey County for oil and gas development. If the land nomination is granted by the Oil and Gas Land Management Commission, the state could lease drilling rights under the stretch of parkland to the “highest and best” bidder. Earlier this year, commissioners sold rights to drill under about 5,700 acres of Salt Fork to Infinity Natural Resources, a West Virginia company, for about $59 million plus a 20% royalty payment on gas produced.
More Leases for OH State Land. Two out-of-state companies picked to lease parts of Ohio public land for fracking. The Scene. The Ohio Oil and Gas Land Management Commission picked the “highest and best” bidders to lease parts of a state park and two wildlife areas for fracking Monday. West Virginia-based Infinity Natural Resources had the winning bid to drill in Salt Fork State Park in Guernsey County. Infinity Natural Resources — which has more than 120 wells in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia — leased two parcels at Salt Fork for $58.4 million. Texas-based company Encino Energy had the top bid for Valley Run Wildlife Area in Carroll County and Zepernick Wildlife Area in Columbiana County.
LNG Exports Rise in May. U.S. LNG exports rise in May as Freeport LNG returns to production. Reuters. U.S. exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) rebounded in May as Freeport LNG, the country’s second-largest exporter of the super chilled gas, returned to full production and as more supplies flowed to Asia, preliminary data from LSEG showed. The U.S. is the world’s largest exporter of LNG and a key supplier to Europe since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but overall exports declined for four consecutive months this year, data from the financial firm showed on Monday.
Refracking in the Eagle Ford. Classic rock: E&Ps launch refracs of vintage Eagle Ford wells. Hart Energy. Over the years, the hydraulic fracturing recipe has changed and with inventory always a concern for operators, some E&Ps are returning to shale plays —particularly the Eagle Ford Shale— to forage through wells that may yet have some meat on the bone. Fracking operations typically produce only about 10% of the available oil in place from a reservoir.
Phillips 66 Acquires Pinnacle Midland Parent LLC. Phillips 66 announces $550 million sale of Permian Basin pipeline system. Carlsbad Current Argus. A Houston-based oil and gas company said it was adding to its pipeline and processing systems in the Permian Basin, spending more than half a billion dollars on an acquisition announced May 20. Phillips 66 said it agreed to buy out Pinnacle Midland Parent LLC for $550 million, expanding the company’s natural gas gathering and processing facilities in the eastern Midland Basin region of the Permian.
PA Permits May 27, to June 6, 2024
County Township E&P Companies
1. Bradford Springfield Blackhill Energy
2. Bradford Springfield Blackhill Energy
3. Bradford Springfield Blackhill Energy
4. Bradford Wyalusing Chesapeake Brad
5. Bradford Wyalusing Chesapeake
6. Bradford Wyalusing Chesapeake
7. Bradford Wyalusing Chesapeake
8. Bradford Wyalusing Chesapeake
9. Susquehanna Auburn Coterra
10. Washington Blaine Range
11. Washington Blaine Range
12. Washington Blaine Range
13. Washington Blaine Range
14. Washington Blaine Range
15. Washington Blaine Range
16. Washington Donegal Range
17. Washington Donegal Range
18. Washington Donegal Range
19. Washington Donegal Range
20. Washington Donegal Range
21. Westmoreland Allegheny Olympus
22. Westmoreland Allegheny Olympus
OH Permits May 27, to June 6, 2024
County Township E&P Companies
1. NO NEW PERMITS
WV Permits May 27, to May 31, 2024
1. Wetzel EQT
2. Wetzel EQT
3. Wetzel EQT
4. Wetzel EQT
5. Wetzel EQT
6. Wetzel EQT
7. Wetzel EQT
8. Wetzel EQT
9. Wetzel EQT
