Bank affirms $350-million credit for Rex Energy
Rex Energy Corp. of State College, Pa., said its bank group reaffirmed an existing $350 million borrowing base.
The bank group re-determines the borrowing base semi-annually, utilizing the estimates of reserves and future oil and gas prices. In addition, the bank group approved an amendment to the credit agreement which, among other things, allows the company to repurchase up to $25 million of Rex Energy common stock or senior unsecured notes, subject to certain terms and conditions.
"We appreciate the support of our bank group as we continue to navigate through the challenging price environment," said Tom Stabley, Rex Energy's president and chief executive officer.
"Preserving our liquidity and flexibility is a key component of our strategy," Stabley said. "We continue to pursue strategic transactions to further reduce our capital expenditure budget, increase overall liquidity, and hold by production the company's core position in the Appalachian basin."
Gulfport boosts output from Ohio's Utica
Gulfport Energy Corp., Oklahoma City, reported its second-quarter Utica shale production in Ohio accounted for 97% of its overall net production compared with 79% for the same period a year ago.
Net production for Gulfport from its Utica assets totaled 457.6 MMcfd natural gas equivalent, and companywide production was 473.9 MMcfd.
Gulfport's realized prices for the quarter averaged $1.99/Mcf for natural gas, $12.71/bbl or 30¢/gal for NGL, and $47.40/bbl for oil. Gulfport's overall production mix was 77% gas, 13% NGL, and 10% oil.
As of June 30, Gulfport reported 137 producing Utica wells (gross).
The independent operator spudded 9 Utica wells (gross) during the second quarter and completed 19 wells to sales, all in the dry gas window.
Cabot sees exploration options in W. Virginia
Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. has nearly 1 million acres in West Virginia where it has ongoing exploration including looking at a deep section south of Wood County, said Dan O. Dinges, Cabot president and chief executive officer.
"We have drilled a deeper test...and we are flowing that well just to get a test. It's a vertical well just to look at a section."
He told analysts during a second-quarter earnings call that he could not provide details yet but that, "There are a couple of areas that we're continuing to look at that we think has exploration opportunity," Dinges said. "We have enough reason to believe that it merits further capital at some point in time."
During 2013, Cabot announced that it had found a Marcellus sweet spot in its Susquehanna, Pa., acreage. During an earnings call, Dinges said Cabot sees Utica opportunities in that same area. Susquehanna County is on the Susquehanna River about 23 miles southeast of Binghamton, NY.
EQT to construct pipeline for Range Resources
EQT Midstream Partners LP signed a definitive agreement with Range Resources-Appalachia LLC to construct a natural gas header pipeline in southwestern Pennsylvania to support Range's dry Marcellus and Utica development.
The pipeline will provide greater than 500 MMbcf of firm capacity and is backed by a long-term firm capacity reservation commitment.
EQT Midstream Partners plans to spend $250 million to construct 32 miles of pipeline and install 32,000 hp of compression.
Plans call for the project to be completed in two phases, with Phase 1 expected to be in-service by the third quarter of 2016 and Phase 2 by July 2017.
