Haynesville Shale

Marathon Petroleum Corp. outlined a $4.2 billion 2016 capital investment plan at an investor meeting on Thursday, just two days after the company said MarkWest Energy Partners LP unitholders overwhelmingly approved a merger with MPC’s master limited partnership (MLP), MPLX LP.

The New York Stock Exchange(NYSE) has accepted Goodrich Petroleum Corp.’s plan for continued listing on the exchange, subject to quarterly reviews. Goodrich was told in late August that it was below the NYSE continued listing criteria of (1) average global market capitalization or total stockholders’ equity over a consecutive 30 trading-day period of at least $50 million; and (2) average closing price of its common stock of at least $1.00 over a consecutive 30 trading-day period. The company has 18 months from the original notification date to regain compliance with the market capitalization or stockholder’s equity listing standard. It has six months from the original notification date to regain compliance with the $1.00 price listing standard. Goodrich operates in the Haynesville, Eagle Ford and Tuscaloosa Marine shales.

Dallas-based onshore operator Exco Resources Inc., pressured for months by low oil prices, said Wednesday it will focus nearly all of its activity in the first half of 2016 on its natural gas portfolio in the Haynesville Shale.

Anadarko Petroleum Corp. confirmed Wednesday it approached Apache Corp. about a potential buyout, but there currently are no “discussions of substance” after an initial offer was rejected.

Total natural gas and oil production from the nation’s seven largest unconventional plays, which has been on a mild downturn since April, will decline more steeply next month compared to November, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said.

The United States saw a net loss of four rigs in the most recent county by Baker Hughes Inc. released Friday Nov. 6. That’s a slowing of the decline rate seen in the previous week, but indications are that the count will continue to drop in the weeks ahead.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. continued to slash onshore exploration costs — and capital spending — during the third quarter, while production continued to rise. However, as the company burns through its cash, CEO Doug Lawler said the focus going forward is to uncover value, not volumes.

EXCO Resources Inc. said it has shut down its drilling program in the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas due to low commodity prices and plans to divert the remainder of its capital expenditures (capex) to East Texas, in the Haynesville/Bossier Shale, where returns are expected to be above 25%.

Recent declines in the weekly U.S. rig count ended Friday with a splat rather than a bounce. The Baker Hughes Inc. count of active U.S. oil and natural gas rigs was static at 787 units.