Range Resources Corp. on Friday pleaded no contest to charges brought by the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s (AG) Office and a statewide grand jury as part of a two-year criminal investigation into unconventional oil and natural gas development.

Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. was also charged by the AG’s office on Monday for environmental crimes in Dimock, where for years the company and some landowners clashed over alleged water well contamination. AG Josh Shapiro also indicated that additional charges could be filed against other operators in the state.

Shapiro said too often unconventional natural gas producers “walk into our communities...backed by big investors and big influence,” acting as “if they’re above the law” and violate a state constitutional amendment that provides rights to clear air and pure water.

He said Range has taken responsibility for what his office characterized as “negligent oversight” of well pads in Southwest...

Moody’s Investors Service for the first time lowered its global oil and gas midstream rating to negative as the broader energy sector grapples with simultaneous demand and supply shocks.

In its outlook released last week, the Moody’s research team said that interstate natural gas pipelines are less vulnerable than others when it comes to price or volume risk. Moody’s in April maintained its forecast for the natural gas sector, saying that because prices started to decline in mid-2019, demand and supply responses are well underway.

Overall, though, the midstream sector is projected to see at least a 5% decline in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) this year. That compares with a minus 5% to 5% EBITDA growth that would maintain a stable outlook for the sector, according to Moody’s.

“Midstream cash flow is largely insulated from the full brunt of commodity price and volumetric instability, but the rapid pace...

Enbridge Inc. has won the second round of its legal battle against fossil fuel foes to keep its 540,000 b/d oil Line 5 across the Straits of Mackinac between Lake Huron and Lake Michigan.

The Michigan Court of Appeals upheld a trial judge’s decision in favor of a 2018 agreement with the former Republican state administration to let the pipeline stay by burying it in a new $500 million utility tunnel.

The verdict rejected a claim by the current Democrat administration that the deal violates the state constitution because the title of the bill that the legislature’s Republican majority passed to ratify it failed to describe the project completely.

The three-judge appeal panel’s unanimous verdict noted that the bill title mentioned the utility tunnel. The decision added, “The title of an act is not required to serve as an index to all of the provisions of the act.”

A further appeal by the pipeline’s opponents is expected to the Michigan...

Although Bakken Shale oil and natural gas prices in North Dakota have begun to recover, production continues to plummet at a historic pace, according to Department of Mineral Resources director Lynn Helms.

Oil production fell by 15% and gas output was down 13% in April month/month, the largest one-month decreases ever in April, Helms said last Friday. Oil production tallies are expected to dip below 1 million b/d in May.

“These are the largest declines ever in both absolute and percentage terms, and we actually expect May to be worse,” said Helms. “We’re looking at the week of May 16-23, when it appears to us there was an added 300,000 b/d reduction, and that will be a larger percentage drop than we had in March to April.”

Since March, the state’s rig count is down 82%, hitting about 10 on Friday, and Helms anticipates it is “very likely” the count will go into single digits. Well completions also are down substantially, hitting 68 in April,...

For what would be a third straight month, oil and natural gas production from seven of the nation’s most prolific onshore unconventional plays will be down in July compared to June, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said Monday.

Total gas production from the Anadarko, Appalachian and Permian basins, and the Bakken, Eagle Ford, Haynesville and Niobrara formations, is expected to be 80.56 Bcf/d next month, compared to 81.25 Bcf/d in June, according to EIA’s latest Drilling Productivity Report (DPR).

Declines in gas production are expected in all seven plays in July, EIA said. The DPR includes forecasts of 6.40 Bcf/d in the Anadarko (compared with 6.60 Bcf/d in June); 32.47 Bcf/d in Appalachia (compared with 32.70 Bcf/d); 2.26 Bcf/d in the Bakken (compared with 2.27 Bcf/d); 6.33 Bcf/d in the Eagle Ford (compared with 6.43 Bcf/d); 11.76 Bcf/d in the Haynesville (compared with 11.83 Bcf/d); 5.31 Bcf/d in the Niobrara (compared with 5.39 Bcf/d);...

Houston-based Black Stone Minerals LP has clinched an incentive agreement with ExxonMobil’s XTO Energy Inc. to turn some wells online within a section of the Haynesville Shale in East Texas.

The agreement with XTO covers drilled but uncompleted wells, aka DUCs, in Black Stone’s Shelby Trough acreage in San Augustine County, which is part of the gassy Haynesville. The agreement would allow for royalty relief on 13 existing DUCs if XTO turns the wells online by the end of 1Q2021.

In addition to the agreement with XTO, Black Stone said it is “actively evaluating alternatives to encourage further development activity in the Shelby Trough in San Augustine, working with XTO and using its available acreage position and contractual rights to bring in a second operating partner.”

Black Stone recently completed a similar development agreement covering the Shelby Trough with Aethon Energy Management LLC in nearby Angelina County. Dallas-based Aethon, a...

Moody’s Investors Service for the first time lowered its global oil and gas midstream rating to negative as the broader energy sector grapples with simultaneous demand and supply shocks.

In its outlook released last week, the Moody’s research team said that interstate natural gas pipelines are less vulnerable than others when it comes to price or volume risk. Moody’s in April maintained its forecast for the natural gas sector, saying that because prices started to decline in mid-2019, demand and supply responses are well underway.

Overall, though, the midstream sector is projected to see at least a 5% decline in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) this year. That compares with a minus 5% to 5% EBITDA growth that would maintain a stable outlook for the sector, according to Moody’s.

“Midstream cash flow is largely insulated from the full brunt of commodity price and volumetric instability, but the rapid pace...

The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) on Wednesday adopted protective wellbore integrity rules that Gov. Jared Polis called “the most protective standards in the nation in terms of protecting groundwater in the development of oil and gas.”

COGCC drafted the rules under the framework of state Senate Bill (SB) 181, which strengthened oversight of the energy industry and gave local governments greater authority to regulate oil and gas activity.

The standards adopted require regular “health checks” for all wells throughout the lifecycle of the well; isolating all fluids associated with the well from escaping to protect groundwater; and increasing public access/transparency to protect groundwater near homes/drinking water sources.

An environmental group and the oil and gas industry praised the rules.

The American Petroleum Institute’s (API) Lynn Granger, executive director for Colorado, said, the rulemaking “has served as...

The beleaguered Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP), one of the last major greenfield projects pending to move natural gas from the Marcellus and Utica shales, is almost at the finish line, but more delays and cost overruns are likely, according to the operator.

MVP is 92% complete, EQM Midstream Partners LP said late Thursday, but in-service is now expected early next year, slipping from the most recent target of late 2020. “We are confident in the ultimate completion of this important infrastructure project,” said COO Diana Charletta, noting that the project has battled “unprecedented regulatory and development challenges” for years.

The company also said total costs for the 303-mile pipeline, which would move gas from Appalachia to markets in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast, could be about 5% above the current $5.4 billion estimate. The increases could be possible if the company needs to “adapt to complex judicial decisions and regulatory changes” that...

A majority of respondents in a survey of the Texas oil and gas sector expects the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil price to average $30-59/bbl by next May, and most expressed a “good deal” or “great deal” of concern about Democratic candidate Joseph R. Biden Jr. becoming president in November.

Researchers at the University of Houston’s Hobby School of Public Affairs, with assistance from the Texas Oil and Gas Association (TXOGA), surveyed 48 TXOGA members between May 12 and May 27 about the sector’s prospects in the wake of Covid-19.

During the survey period, the July WTI contract price ranged from $26-34/bbl.

The July contract lost 8 cents to settle at $36.26 on Friday.

TXOGA member companies account for more than 80% of the state’s oil and natural gas production, 80%-plus of refining capacity, and operate the vast majority of the pipelines.

The modal (42% of respondents) and median price range predicted for WTI in May 2021...

The steep downward slope in U.S. drilling activity the past three months showed signs of leveling off during the week ended Friday (June 12) as the domestic count dropped a relatively modest five rigs, according to the latest numbers from Baker Hughes Co. (BKR).

A seven-rig decline in oil-directed drilling was partially offset by the addition of two natural gas-directed units, leaving the overall domestic rig count at 279 for the week, down from 969 in the year-ago period. Since March 13, the U.S. rig count has fallen more than 500 units amid the economic fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic.

For the most recent week, seven horizontal units and two directional units exited the patch, partially offset by the return of four vertical units. Gulf of Mexico activity held steady at 13 units, down from 24 a year ago.

The Canadian rig count was unchanged at 21 for the week, versus 107 a year ago. The combined North American count ended at 300, down from...

Mexico’s Centro Nacional de Control del Gas Natural (Cenagas) has launched the Consulta Pública 2020 with a specific focus this year on the natural gas needs of the south and southeastern parts of the country and industrial users.

Cenagas, which operates the Sistrangas national pipeline network, plans to use the results of the consulta pública, or public consultation, to help define gas demand in the country and new projects that may need to be developed.

Gasifying the south of the country and providing economic development to the region has been a priority of the current administration.

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the consultation is to be held virtually this year from Monday through Friday (June 15-19). To participate, follow this link. Participation is voluntary, Cenagas said. Results are to be published on Aug. 28.

The process is open to operators across the gas supply chain, including end-users, producers, transporters,...

Appalachia pure-play CNX Resources Corp. plans to increase some of its previously curtailed natural gas production beginning in July, with additional adjustments to be made as conditions warrant.

The producer began “sculpting” its production profile on May 1, shutting in as much as 375 MMcf/d to take advantage of the large spread between summer and winter gas prices, according to management. Shut-ins are to be reduced to around 300 MMcf/d by July.

The production profile optimization should result in more than $30 million in incremental free cash flow (FCF) over the next few years, assuming the wells are turned back online Nov. 1 and using current forward strip pricing, CNX said. Meanwhile, the company monetized hedges for the summer months and added hedges for the winter months.

CNX management touted capital efficiency improvements in the core Southwest Pennsylvania (SWPA) Marcellus Shale wells. The most recent eight-well Marcellus Shale pad,...

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported an injection of 93 Bcf into natural gas storage for the week ending June 5, a print on par with expectations but that failed to impress. Nymex natural gas futures hovered in positive territory early Thursday but gave up early gains after the report.

Ahead of the storage report, the July contract was up 3.3 cents at $1.813/MMBtu, but the prompt month lost ground to around $1.805 when the data was released. By 11 a.m. ET, the July contract was trading at $1.782, up only two-tenths of a cent from Wednesday’s close.

The latest build was notably lower than the prior week’s injection of 102 Bcf but roughly in line with the average of previous years.

The 93 Bcf injection compares with the 107 Bcf increase in storage recorded in the same week a year earlier and the five-year average build of 94 Bcf. 

Analysts said the latest injection suggests that supply and demand, while far from...

Natural gas futures advanced Thursday after the latest storage report met expectations and forecasts continued to call for more June heat. However, demand concerns lingered as markets absorbed an economic outlook that pointed to protracted fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. The July Nymex contract settled at $1.813/MMBtu, up 3.3 cents day/day. August rose 3.0 cents to $1.900.

Small losses were seen across most of the country, sending NGI’s Spot Gas National Avg. down 4.0 cents to $1.580.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Thursday reported an injection of 93 Bcf into storage for the week ending June 5. The figure was well below the previous week’s inventory build of 102 Bcf and lower than the 107 Bcf increase recorded in the same week a year earlier.

The print came in slightly below the five-year average build of 94 Bcf and was in line with expectations. A Wall Street Journal survey produced an average of 93 Bcf, while a...

Managing Editor | Houston, TX Carolyn Davis joined the editorial staff of Intelligence Press Inc. in Houston in May, 2000. Prior to that, she covered regulatory issues for environmental and occupational safety and health publications. She also has worked as a reporter for several daily newspapers in Texas, including the Waco Tribune-Herald, the Temple Daily Telegram and the Killeen Daily Herald. She attended Texas A&M University and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism from the University of Houston.

Protracted low West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil prices may lead exploration and production operators to look beyond the Permian Basin to make up for a shortfall in associated gas to service domestic demand and export needs, giving other Lower 48 areas a needed boost, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said Wednesday.

Don’t look for any big gains in gas production this year, however, the global energy watchdog said in its annual market report Gas 2020. Worldwide demand is on course for its largest annual decline in history, with consumption forecast to fall by 4%, or 150 billion cubic meters (Bcm), double the loss following the 2008 financial crisis.

“Natural gas has so far experienced a less severe impact than oil and coal, but it is far from immune from the current crisis,” IEA executive director Fatih Birol said. “The record decline this year represents a dramatic change of circumstances for an industry that had become used to strong increases...

Northern Oil and Gas Inc. has signed a definitive agreement with WPX Energy Inc. to build its Williston Basin portfolio with the $1.5 million cash purchase of about 320 acres.

Closing of the deal, announced Wednesday, is set for July 1, and it would hand Northern additional assets in its core operating area. At the end of 2019, Northern held 182,854 net acres targeting the Williston’s Bakken Shale and Three Forks formations.

“We have consistently believed this environment would create opportunities for our shareholders in 2020 and beyond, and budgeted for opportunities like this,” said COO Adam Dirlam.

“This acquisition, while modest in size, is located in the heart of the core with one of the top operators in the Williston Basin and highlights Northern’s competitive advantage as an actively managed nonoperator. We expect this deal to be materially accretive to cash flow in 2021, yet represents no additional capital spending to our stated...