The State of Oil and Gas: Feb 15, 2020

Gas prices are at $1.84/MMBtu, and rig counts are the same as they were last week.

EQT is going to sell an overriding royalty, hoping to raise $1 billion.

At least one person thinks that fracking has led to fewer recessions.

Gas prices are not expected to get above $4/MMBtu until 2050. 2050! I’m not surprised. Unless there’s some kind of long, big, sudden emergency, the supply of gas is going to outpace demand.

John Hess, CEO of major oil corporation Hess Corporation, says that fracking in America is going to slow down in the next few years. Basically, he thinks we’re just about tapped out of new shale to drill.

Coronavirus is a black swan event, and will cut back on oil demand. Exactly how much is really unknown at this time as the virus’ spread and consequent affect on everything is still unknown.

EQT is in trouble, but not so much that they couldn’t declare a dividend for their stocks. It’s just 3 cents, but hey, it’s something. Guess they shouldn’t be cutting back on how much they pay people for their leases.

An article at Seeking Alpha dives deep into how capital expenditures in oil and gas are dying off and concludes that natural gas prices are going to go up again soon. The one thing he doesn’t talk about is how much more efficient drillers have become in the last few years. Gas prices are going to stay down for a while.

West Virginia’s legislature is trying to criminalize trespassing on critical infrastructure facilities (pipelines). Seriously? Why should pipelines get special consideration? We already have trespass laws on the books.