EQT to Reduce Natgas Production Through March on Low Prices

Reuters

(Reuters) – EQT will curtail nearly 1 billion cubic feet per day (bcfpd) of natural gas production through March, the top U.S. natural gas producer said on Monday, as companies respond to persistently low prices of the commodity.

The company said the reduction is expected to total nearly 30 to 40 bcf of net production during the first quarter.

Natgas prices fell to more than a 3-1/2-year low last week, mostly on mild winter weather and a surge in production towards the end of 2023. Production hit a record 118.2 bcfpd in December, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said.

One billion cubic feet of gas is enough to fuel about five million U.S. homes for a day.

Natgas prices jumped 5% after EQT announced production cuts.

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EQT in its last quarter earnings report lowered its 2024 production forecast range by about 50 billion cubic feet equivalent (bcfe) from its earlier projection in mid-January to 2,200-2,300 bcfe.

Chesapeake Energy — soon to be the biggest U.S. gas producer after its merger with Southwestern Energy — also cut the amount of fuel it plans to produce in 2024 by roughly 30% due to the recent plunge in prices.

Other energy firms Antero Resources and Comstock Resources planned to reduce drilling this year.

U.S. gas drillers have cut the number of gas rigs operating over the past year by 26%, according to energy service firm Baker Hughes with most cuts happening in the Haynesville and the Marcellus/Utica shale regions.

Oilfield service companies and drillers have also put the brakes on hiring and further job cuts could loom, with some 4,680 oilfield jobs having been lost since December.