- Natural gas production from the Marcellus and Utica shales remains surprisingly strong and defying predictions that output would fall, averaging 22.63B cf/day so far in August, up 2% from last month and the most since February’s all-time high of 22.78B cf/day.
- Even though the number of drilling rigs has declined, new production per rig now averages ~11.4M cf of gas in the Marcellus, up 18% Y/Y, as producers have managed to maintain volumes by tapping inventories of drilled but uncompleted wells and burrowing deeper, longer wells that yield more gas.
- Production has been strong despite regional prices at ~$1.2757/MMBtu, less than half the price for benchmark gas in Louisiana.
- Top Marcellus/Utica producers include EQT, RRC, RICE, CVX, CNX, VTG, REXX, XOM, NBL, COG, CHK.