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Consol production in Marcellus, Utica shales still rising

Intelligencer/Wheeling News-Register photo by Casey Junkins As contractors continue constructing new natural gas pipelines throughout the Marcellus and Utica shale regions, Consol Energy’s levels of natural gas production keep climbing.
Intelligencer/Wheeling News-Register photo by Casey Junkins
As contractors continue constructing new natural gas pipelines throughout the Marcellus and Utica shale regions, Consol Energy’s levels of natural gas production keep climbing.

WHEELING, W.Va. — The hits keep coming for Consol Energy’s Marcellus and Utica shale program, as the natural gas driller increased production by 23.2 billion cubic feet during the first three months of this year when compared to the same time in 2014.

To put that in perspective, 23.2 Bcf is enough natural gas to fuel 12,969 trips to the moon and back, according to estimates provided by Cabot Oil & Gas Corp.

It would also be sufficient to power 564,108 homes for an entire year.

 

Formerly known mostly as a producer of coal, Consol pumped 71.6 Bcf from January through March, which is up from 48.4 Bcf over the 2014 span. In the Marcellus area specifically, Consol generated 36.3 billion cubic feet, an increase from the 20.7 Bcf during the first three months of 2014. Most of the company’s Marcellus activity is now in Greene, Washington and Allegheny counties in Pennsylvania.

In the Utica Shale, Consol’s yields increased from just 1.2 Bcf in the 2014 period to 9.5 Bcf in the first three months of this year. Most of the firm’s Utica drilling takes place in Monroe County.

Although the company spent $250.3 million worth of exploration and production funding during the first quarter to drill and frack wells, President and CEO Nicholas J. DeIuliis said Consol continues looking for ways to effectively operate in an environment with lower oil and natural gas prices.

“We continue to focus on areas within our control: Driving drilling and completion efficiencies to lower capital and operating costs; working with our service providers to better align terms with current market conditions; and prudently maintaining a strong balance sheet and liquidity position,” he said.

Natural gas continues becoming the dominant investment area for Consol. The firm sold five West Virginia coal mines, including the Marshall County Coal Co.’s Marshall County Mine and the Ohio County Coal Co.’s Ohio County Mine, to Murray Energy Corp. for $3.5 billion in October 2013. According to its website, Consol still operates five mines across Appalachia that produced a total of 8.3 million tons of coal in the first three months of 2015.

DeIuliis said instead of selling coal to numerous power plants, the firm now markets the mineral to facilities it believes will remain open after the Environmental Protection Agency’s new carbon dioxide and mercury reduction measures take full effect.

“The playbook of yesterday’s coal marketing era of bigger is better does not necessarily equate to success today, and Consol has embraced this changing dynamic by concentrating our footprint and strategically partnering with the power plants that will be around for many years to come,” DeIuliis said.

“Despite the prominence of shale gas growth and increasing gas demand over the years, coal’s market share may be declining, but it’s not going away. That said, the industry has clearly changed, and it has changed permanently. Consol will continue to benefit by strategically partnering with the must-run power plants that will survive and run even harder as they make up capacity that is scheduled to come off-line,” he added.

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