The exploration and production sector may be feeling the heat from slumping natural gas prices, but they had little impact on Enterprise Products Partners LP’s Permian Basin operations during the first quarter, executives said Tuesday. Driven by its operations in West Texas, natural gas transportation volumes during 1Q2024 improved from a year ago to 18.6 trillion Btu/d from 18.0 trillion Btu/d. Fee-based gas processing volumes increased to 6.4 Bcf/d from 5.5 Bcf/d. Natural gas liquids (NGL) fractionation volumes also rose, climbing to 1.6 million b/d from 1.4 million b/d. At the Waha hub in W ..read more

Natural gas exploration and production (E&P) companies in the Haynesville Shale continue to drive overall cuts to Lower 48 supply. Output there is down nearly 20% from a year earlier and continues to slide following well-telegraphed efforts to slow activity and balance an oversupplied market. Prices, however, have yet to respond, given a substantial supply overhang. Natural gas in storage remained lofty relative to historical norms following a winter in which seasonally mild weather sapped heating demand. Weak consumption during the winter months intersected with production that reached re ..read more

Including activity declines in the Haynesville Shale, the U.S. natural gas rig count skidded to 110 for the week ended Friday (April 5), down two week/week, updated numbers from Baker Hughes Co. (BKR) show. Total active U.S. natural gas rigs finished the week well shy of the 158 rigs running at this time a year ago, according to the BKR numbers, which are based partly on data from Enverus. Oil drilling increased by two rigs domestically for the period. Including a decline of one miscellaneous rig, the combined U.S. rig count dropped one unit overall for the period to finish at 620, versus 751 ..read more

The domestic natural gas rig count held steady at 112 for the week ended Thursday (March 28), while a decline in oil activity lowered the combined domestic drilling tally by three to 621, the latest Baker Hughes Co. (BKR) data show. The combined oil and gas U.S. rig count for the week, which was 621, was down from 755 in the year-ago period. Land drilling went unchanged week/week in the United States at 601 rigs. The Gulf of Mexico saw three rigs exit to finish with 20, up 11% year/year. Six directional rigs exited during the period, while one vertical rig was added. The 112 active natural gas ..read more

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, already majority shareholder in Haynesville Shale pure-play Comstock Resources Inc., has agreed to invest an additional $100.5 million into the company. Two Jones entities agreed to acquire 12.5 million shares of common stock in the private placement at $8.036/share. The price represents the average closing prices for the five trading days ending Wednesday, according to Comstock. The transaction would add 2% more equity to Jones’ holdings, giving him 67% of the outstanding common shares. [Get Better Intel: Where are natural gas prices in Canada heading in the ..read more

Natural gas production from major Lower 48 plays will hold mostly steady from March to April as oil-focused regions boost output to offset declines in the Haynesville Shale and Appalachian Basin, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). EIA in its latest monthly Drilling Productivity Report (DPR) modeled combined natural gas production from seven key onshore regions of around 100.5 Bcf/d in April, a sequential decline of 167,000 MMcf/d from March. The Haynesville and Appalachia regions would see the largest production declines from March to April at 165 MMcf/d and 73 MMcf ..read more

Kinder Morgan Inc.’s (KMI) Texas-Louisiana Expansion project, aimed at bringing additional natural gas supply to the Gulf Coast, is now fully subscribed after two LNG exporters signed on as customers. Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America LLC (NGPL), a KMI subsidiary, told FERC in a recent filing it has inked agreements to supply the Golden Pass and Delfin liquefied natural gas projects in Texas and Louisiana. The deals would cover the remaining 130 MMcf/d in capacity available on the proposed expansion, according to NGPL. “Both the Delfin and Golden Pass precedent agreements provide for pri ..read more

Dallas-based independent Matador Resources Co., which works in the Permian Basin, Haynesville and Eagle Ford shales, reported record natural gas production for 2023, and it is not planning to reduce output this year, even with low prices. The independent “exceeded production expectations” for gas and oil. Output increased 38% year/year during 4Q2023, driven by the Permian’s Delaware sub-basin. Average total production was 154,261 boe/d during the quarter, up from 111,735 boe/d in 4Q2022.  Average natural gas output surged to nearly 394 MMcf/d during the final quarter from 297 MMcf/d in th ..read more

Haynesville Shale pure-play Comstock Resources Inc. is pumping the brakes on natural gas drilling and shareholder distributions because of low commodity prices. “In response to weak natural gas prices, Comstock plans to suspend its quarterly dividend until natural gas prices improve,” management said. “In addition, the company plans to reduce the number of operating drilling rigs it is running from seven to five.  “Two of the five drilling rigs will continue to be deployed in the company’s Western Haynesville play.”  [Download Now: In our 2024 Natural Gas Outlook Report ‘Future In Fo ..read more

Led by gains in both the Haynesville and Marcellus shales, the U.S. natural gas rig count advanced to 121 for the week ended Friday (Feb. 9), up four rigs for the period, according to the latest tally from Baker Hughes Co. (BKR). Total U.S. oil-directed rigs were unchanged week/week at 499, and the combined domestic rig count rose four units to 623, versus 761 in the year-earlier period, according to the BKR figures, which are based partly on data from Enverus. Land drilling increased by two rigs domestically, while the Gulf of Mexico added two rigs to reach 19, versus 18 a year ago. Domestic ..read more