Monday, February 27, 2012

NatGas: Chesapeake Energy Reports Two Utica Shale Completions (CHK)

As I was saying a month ago:
Jan. 23
CHK is up 5% at $22.01, natural gas futures up 5.5% at $2.471.
The writer is correct, this is just a bounce in an oversold market. What we'll need to see is wells being shut in, not just a slowdown in drilling. The current calendar of well completions will overflow storage capacity sometime this spring which means gas will be directed onto the spot market for whatever bid it can catch....
Jan. 26
Storage capacity will be full by the end of June. If wells currently planned for completion aren't immediately shut in the gas will have to go to the spot market which will drag down the futures.
We're looking for sub $2.00...
From Utica Shale:
Chesapeake Energy (CHK) has an active development program in the Utica Shale and disclosed an update on recent operations here.  The company is currently operating eight rigs in the play, with six working in the wet gas window and one each in the dry gas and oil areas.

Chesapeake Energy’s long term plan in the Utica Shale is to ramp up to 20 rigs by the end of 2012. The company has drilled 42 wells to date and has seven wells on production, and 35 waiting on completion or pipeline....MORE