Shale Industry Group Charts Capex, Employee Cuts
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The Marcellus Shale Coalition, an industry-funded advocacy group based in Pittsburgh, reported Monday that 22 energy companies with operations in Pennsylvania have reduced capital expenditures anywhere from 12% to 74%.
These 22 companies have also furloughed workers and/or closed offices, the coalition said.
“Pennsylvania has experienced widespread job loss and massive capital expenditure reductions due to depressed global oil prices and regional natural gas commodity basis differentials that have resulted in record low prices for gas,” the coalition said.
Chesapeake Energy Corp. has reduced capital expenditures by as much as 48% or $3.5 billion; Shell by $15 billion and Consol Energy by 29%, according to the coalition.
Companies shedding workers and offices include Halliburton, Kennamental, Noble Energy, U.S. Steel and Weatherford International, which has operations in Youngstown.
In charting the reductions, the industry group warned, “Higher energy taxes coupled with Pennsylvania’s unfavorable business tax structure places Pennsylvania’s natural gas investments at a competitive disadvantage with other leading shale-producing states.”
Pa. Gov. Tom Wolf has proposed a 5% severance tax on the value of natural gas and then 4.7 cents for every thousand cubic feet.
The governor’s budget-balancing proposal remains stalled in the Pennsylvania legislature.
Pennsylvania’s shale drilling impact fees are among the lowest in the nation. Wolf’s proposal would give the commonwealth one of the highest tax rates on natural gas, according to the industry, and deter shale gas exploration.
With natural gas and crude oil prices remaining low, so is the number of active oil and gas rigs in the United States. Texas oilfield service company Baker Hughes reports 857 rigs were active nationwide during the week ended July 17, six fewer than the previous week.
Here are the capex and employee reductions charts distributed by the Marcellus Shale Coalition:
CAPITAL EXPENDITURE REDUCTIONS
Companies with Operations in Pennsylvania
| COMPANY | CAPEX REDUCTION |
| Anadarko Petroleum | 33% ($7.18-7.74 billion to $5.4-5.8 billion) |
| CalFrac | 40% ($360 million to $215 million) |
| Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation | 44% ($1.6 billion to $900 million) |
| Chevron | 12% ($39.8 billion to $35 billion) |
| Chesapeake Energy Corporation | 40-48% ($6.7 billion to $3.5-4 billion) |
| CONSOL Energy | 29% ($1.3 billion to $920 million) |
| Eclipse Resources | 20% ($800 million to $640 million) |
| EOG Resources | 40% ($8.1-8.3 billion to $4.9-5.1 billion) |
| EQT Corporation | 24% ($2.7 billion to $2.05 billion) |
| Exxon Mobil | 12% ($38.5 billion to $34 billion) |
| National Fuel Gas (Seneca Resources) | 4-10% ($1.03-1.28 billion to $990 million-1.15 billion) |
| Noble Energy | 40% ($4.8 billion to $2.9 billion) |
| Range Resources Corporation | 40% ($1.45 billion to $870 million) |
| Rex Energy Corporation | 61% ($350-365 million to $135-145 million) |
| Rice Energy, LP | 19% ($1.1 billion to $890 million) |
| Schlumberger | 30% reduction in one quarter |
| Shell | $15 billion reduction from 2015-2017 |
| Southwestern Energy | 24% ($2.6 billion to $2 billion) |
| Statoil | 10% ($20 billion to $18 billion) |
| Stone Energy | 100% ($214 million to $0) |
| Warren Resources | 74% ($80 million to $21 million) |
| Weatherford International | 38% ($1.45 billion to $900 million) |
LAYOFFS AND OFFICE CLOSURES
Companies with Operations in Pennsylvania
| COMPANY | ANNOUNCED LAYOFFS / CLOSURES |
| Baker Hughes | 7,000 employees |
| Chevron | 162 employees in Pennsylvania |
| Drager | 150 employees in Pennsylvania |
| Halliburton | 5,000 – 6,500 employees |
| Halliburton | 90 employees and Indiana County office closure |
| Hog Father’s BBQ | New location on hold |
| Kennametal Inc. | 1,000 employees |
| Nabors Energy | 3,480 employees |
| Noble Energy | 125 employees; closes Ardmore, OK andDenver, CO office |
| Noble Energy | 20 employees in Southwest Pennsylvania |
| Range Resources Corporation | 100 employees in Oklahoma City |
| Schlumberger | 9,000 employees |
| Technip | 6,000 employees |
| U.S. Steel | 756 employees in OH and TX; 614 employees inLorain, OH |
| Universal Well Services (Meadville, PA) | Less than 50 employees |
| Weatherford International | 5,000 employees |
SOURCE: Marcellus Shale Coalition
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