Drillers

Contract drillers Helmerich & Payne Inc. (H&P) and Patterson-UTI Energy Inc. are feeling the effects of producers’ migration from dry gas to oil and liquids-rich drilling targets. Pressure pumping operations are facing market challenges, and rigs are getting more of a workout as deeper holes are being drilled more quickly, executives from the companies told financial analysts during earnings conference calls.

Contract drillers Helmerich & Payne Inc. (H&P) and Patterson-UTI Energy Inc. are feeling the effects of producers’ migration from dry gas to oil and liquids-rich drilling targets. Pressure pumping operations are facing market challenges, and rigs are getting more of a workout as deeper holes are being drilled more quickly, executives from the companies told financial analysts during earnings conference calls.

A growing number of producers are shying away from dry gas drilling and instead pointing their drillbits at liquids-rich and oil targets, but drillers are “soldiering on” despite stubbornly low natural gas prices and “are set to do what they do best: drill,” according to energy analysts with Barclays Capital Markets.

A growing number of producers are shying away from dry gas drilling and instead pointing their drill bits at liquids-rich and oil targets, but drillers are “soldiering on” despite stubbornly low natural gas prices and “are set to do what they do best: drill,” according to energy analysts with Barclays Capital Markets.

Pennsylvania state Rep. Jesse White, a Democrat from the southwestern corner of the state, has introduced House Resolution 593 asking drillers to commit to a set of “Marcellus Shale Principles,” that include hiring local workers, protecting the environment and acting transparently in dealings with stakeholders. “Drilling for gas in the Marcellus Shale has created thousands of jobs, and has the potential to create thousands more at a critical time in our economy, and in areas that have historically suffered from high unemployment rates for many years…However, we can’t simply hand free reign over without any forethought to consequences and how our local communities could be affected for generations to come,” White said.

Drillers in northeastern Pennsylvania — the dry gas area of the Marcellus Shale — in the months ahead will stomp on the brakes with both feet and jam the dry gas freight train into reverse, according to an analysis by Bentek Energy LLC. Even if they do, a bulging gas surplus will fester behind pipeline capacity constraints for years to come, the firm said.

Drillers in northeastern Pennsylvania — the dry gas area of the Marcellus Shale — in the months ahead will stomp on the brakes with both feet and jam the dry gas freight train into reverse, according to an analysis by Bentek Energy LLC. Even if they do, a bulging gas surplus will fester behind pipeline capacity constraints for years to come, the firm said.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett is asking state lawmakers to hold firm on local zoning restrictions included in legislation to impose an impact fee on natural gas drillers.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett is asking state lawmakers to hold firm on local zoning restrictions included in legislation to impose an impact fee on natural gas drillers.