Appalachia

A split FERC on Wednesday upheld a recent decision to allow Mountain Valley Pipeline LLC (MVP) to partially resume construction near national forest lands, denying a stay request filed by a coalition of environmental groups. Divided three to two along party lines, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission rebuffed efforts to overturn a December order allowing…

Ascent Resources Utica Holdings LLC, Ohio’s largest oil and natural gas producer, plans to cut spending this year and hold production flat to 2020 levels as the industry continues to take a more conservative financial approach.  The Ohio pure-play has issued 2021 capital guidance at a range of $550-600 million and intends to maintain production…

Appalachian pure-play Southwestern Energy Co. plans to keep year/year production and spending flat in 2021 even as it assumes a larger asset base and entry into Ohio with its acquisition of Montage Resources Corp. The exploration and production company laid out its vision for the year last week, joining peers in announcing a plan aimed…

Appalachian heavyweights Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. and Range Resources Corp. both plan to keep spending and production flat this year despite an improving outlook for natural gas.  “While a warmer start to the winter heating season and higher storage levels resulted in wider than anticipated differentials across the Appalachian Basin during the fourth quarter,…

Pine Run Gathering LLC, a joint venture owned by subsidiaries of Stonehenge Energy Resources III LLC and UGI Energy Services LLC (UGIES), has completed a transaction to acquire Pine Run Midstream LLC for $205 million. The acquisition is from Pittsburgh-based independent PennEnergy, an anchor customer on the Pine Run system.  Pine Run Midstream currently operates…

India’s Reliance Industries Ltd. has agreed to divest its entire stake in 64,000 net acres in the Appalachian Basin, continuing its exodus from unconventional oil and natural gas assets in the United States.  Northern Oil and Gas Inc. (NOG) agreed to acquire the nonoperated stake from Reliance Marcellus LLC in exchange for $175 million and…

Seeking to wrap up construction on a project long ensnared in a tangle of legal and regulatory complications, Mountain Valley Pipeline LLC (MVP) will pursue a new strategy to obtain the waterbody and wetlands crossing approvals that represent the natural gas conduit’s final permitting hurdle. Instead of waiting out the legal process on its stayed…

Lower 48 oil and gas producers have drawn down their inventory of drilled but uncompleted (DUC) wells to pre-pandemic levels, reflecting an improved commodity pricing and demand outlook, according to new analysis by Rystad Energy. After reaching a multiyear high of 6,548 wells last June, the DUC count in the country’s major oil regions fell…

The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) has finalized a supplemental environmental review of the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP), a key step in resolving a permitting setback that has prevented construction on a small portion of the project routed through the Jefferson National Forest. Late last week, the USFS released a final supplemental environmental impact statement for…