Eclipse

Eclipse Resources Corp. will idle its one-rig drilling program through 1Q2016 as it looks to its inventory of drilled but uncompleted (DUC) wells to maintain production growth while waiting out the pricing downturn.

Ohio pure-play Eclipse Resources Corp. plans to continue focusing on its dry natural gas acreage for the rest of the year, where it’s currently testing tighter downspacing that could potentially increase its drilling locations there by 20%.

After three months of negotiations with several undisclosed parties, Eclipse Resources Corp. has ruled out a joint venture (JV). The company said Wednesday it has sufficient liquidity to develop its assets alone and will defer a partnership until commodity prices improve.

In an attempt to preserve liquidity and maintain the momentum it has achieved since going public in June, Appalachian pure-play Eclipse Resources Corp. has cut its rig count in the Utica Shale, plans to further reduce capital spending this year and is hoping to attract more capital with a joint venture (JV) partner.

Eclipse Resources Corp. brought six new operated wells in the Utica Shale online between the end of 3Q2014 and Nov. 30. The wells had “very encouraging” initial results that were within the company’s type curve expectations, Eclipse said.

Eclipse Resources Corp. said Monday that it slightly exceeded its third quarter guidance by producing 85.8 MMcfe/d in its core operating area of southeast Ohio in another update that shows the company has gained some momentum heading into the end of the year.

Appalachian pure-play Eclipse Resources Corp. produced 42 MMcfe/d in the second quarter, a sixty-fold increase from the 679 Mcfe/d it reported last year at the same time.

Analysts believe operators in the Utica Shale will soon be able to bring many of their wells into production, thanks to progress in building new gathering lines, but they also caution that investors may have set their expectations too high for areas outside of the play’s core.

Natural gas is going to eclipse coal to become the second biggest fuel source after oil, and even though prices aren’t cooperating, ExxonMobil Corp. has no plans to slow its North American gas projects, an executive said last week.