By Narrative Science Analysts have become increasingly bullish on EQT in the month leading up to the company’s second quarter earnings announcement scheduled for Thursday, July 25, 2013. The consensus earnings per share estimate has moved up from 52 cents a share to the current expectation of earnings of 55 cents a share. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Markets
By Matt DiLallo, The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
Our national energy policy is akin to a tug of war between national security concerns, environmental issues, and determining what’s needed to keep our domestic economy humming. Energy itself usually plays a subordinate role in the discussion; the more pressing issues take precedence and we work our energy policy around them.
That’s created a number of stopgap measures, some of which are driven by the market and some are driven by government intervention. Where the government hasn’t intervened, at least on a national level, is in maximizing how we use our massive natural gas resources. One state is tired of waiting for direction from above and has decided to take matters in its own hands.
Currently, there are eight natural gas vehicle bills making their way through the Pennsylvania legislature. These bills range in content from tax credits to proposals to move funds from one program to another, all designed to spur the use of natural gas as a transportation fuel. Considering that Pennsylvania is sitting on one of the largest natural gas deposits in the world, it makes sense for the state to do something to increase its own use of that resource.
Natural gas has the power to change the face of the fuel industry. In the state we’ve seen drillers like EQT build its own natural gas fuel station, only to find it necessary to expand within 18 months. That’s without any help from the government, which gives a bit of an indication as to how powerful the economics of switching has become.
In the state, what’s coming out of committees isn’t addressing the refueling infrastructure; instead, it’s addressing the vehicle side of the equation. Nationally, companies like Clean Energy Fuels are addressing the infrastructure side of things. However, that infrastructure needs to be used in order for the investments to grow the infrastructure to continue flowing, which is why tax credits will be important.
The importance of tax credits does stretch beyond the funding of vehicles to switch to natural gas, of course. There is an important economic trickle-down effect for the state, which had been seeing reduced employment as drilling has slowed down due to the price of natural gas falling. By spurring increased demand for natural gas, the state is also hoping to turn around falling rig counts.
Drillers are incentivized to increase drilling activity if the profits justify doing so. Top Marcellus leaseholder Chesapeake Energy has slashed its overall drilling budget by 39% this year. It’s turning its focus on the most liquids-rich plays, which is why 35% of the drilling budget is going to the Eagle Ford. It’s still drilling in the Marcellus, but it’s reduced both its rig count and its capex.
The company has also shifted some of its attention to next-door neighbor Ohio’s Utica Shale. It’s not the only Marcellus driller to look to the higher profit potential in the liquids-rich Utica. Smaller drillers like Rex
From: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/04/18/1-state-taking-charge-of-its-natural-gas-future/
By Matt DiLallo, The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
If you haven’t noticed yet, natural gas prices have started to head higher. A combination of factors, including a surprisingly cold March, have led to resilient demand. As prices have inched up, two top Wall Street banks have seen enough momentum to raise their 2013 price target for natural gas. Morgan Stanley‘s price forecast was bumped up by 7% to $3.93 per million British thermal units, or MMBtu, while Goldman Sachs raised its forecast from $3.75 per MMBtu all the way to $4.40 per MMBtu.
That’s good news for those companies in regions where natural gas production is actually growing. Overall since the end of 2011, North American dry shale gas production has risen by 9.95% to 27.2 billion cubic feet of production per day as of the beginning of this past February. This rise has been driven primarily by production growth at three big plays. Let’s take a look.
Eagle Ford
While not known for natural gas, the Eagle Ford Shale has actually seen a 43.12% pop in natural gas production according to data from the Energy Information Administration, or EIA, over the past year. Most of this gas is associated with oil and liquids, as fewer companies are drilling in the dry gas window at the moment.
For example, Chesapeake Energy‘s core acreage is in the sweet spot of the oil window. Despite that, 19% of the company’s fourth-quarter production was natural gas. As Chesapeake increases its overall production, natural gas production increases as a byproduct of its liquids-focused drilling. Further, as the nation’s No. 2 gas producer, Chesapeake is one of the biggest beneficiaries of higher gas prices.
Marcellus
According to the EIA, natural gas production out of the Marcellus jumped 55.28% over the past year. Top producer, Range Resources , produced a total of 146 Bcf of natural gas last year. That production easily exceeded that of number two producer EQT‘s 103 Bcf of natural gas production last year.
These two companies hold one thing in common: Both are among the lowest-cost producers of natural gas in the country, which gives them a competitive advantage to make money when most of their competitors cannot. Investors in these low-cost producers have been served well as both have returned around 40% over the past year.
Bakken
While the Bakken is known for its oil, natural gas production skyrocketed by 94.38% according to data from the EIA. Part of the reason more gas is being produced is because less of it is being flared — instead, it’s being put into pipelines. Most of this infrastructure simply didn’t exist until recently and now that companies have a way to get gas to market, they’re able to sell instead of flare.
The impact of this reduced flaring is clearly evident at Kodiak Oil & Gas . In 2011 the company produced 1,329 MMcf of gas, but flared 807 MMcf. That’s 61% of the gas! Last year the
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance
By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
EQT Corporation Announces Q1 2013 Earnings Conference Call
PITTSBURGH–(BUSINESS WIRE)– EQT Corporation (NYS: EQT) will host a teleconference with security analysts on April 25, 2013, beginning at 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time. Topics of the teleconference will include financial results, operational results, and other matters. A brief Q&A session for security analysts will immediately follow the results discussion.
The teleconference will be webcast live at http://www.eqt.com and will be available as a replay for seven days following the call.
The tentative dates for the remaining 2013 earnings conference calls are: July 25 and October 24, 2013.
EQT Midstream Partners, LP (Partnership), for which EQT Corporation is the general partner and majority equity owner, will also host a teleconference with security analysts on April 25, 2013, beginning at 11:30 a.m. Eastern Time. Topics of the teleconference will include financial results, operational results, and other matters with respect to the Partnership. The teleconference will be webcast live at www.eqtmidstreampartners.com and will be available as a replay for seven days following the call.
About EQT Corporation:
EQT Corporation is an integrated energy company with emphasis on Appalachian area natural gas production, gathering, transmission, and distribution. EQT is the general partner and majority equity owner of EQT Midstream Partners, LP. With more than 120 years of experience, EQT is a technology-driven leader in the integration of air and horizontal drilling. Through safe and responsible operations, the Company is committed to meeting the country’s growing demand for clean-burning energy, while continuing to provide a rewarding workplace and enrich the communities where its employees live and work. Company shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange as EQT.
Visit EQT Corporation on the Internet at www.EQT.com.
EQT Corporation
Analyst inquiries please contact:
Patrick Kane – Chief Investor Relations Officer, EQT, 412-553-7833
pkane@eqt.com
or
Nate Tetlow – Investor Relations Manager, 412-553-5834
ntetlow@eqt.com
or
Media inquiries please contact:
Natalie Cox – Corporate Director, Communications, 412-395-3941
ncox@eqt.com
KEYWORDS: United States North America Pennsylvania
INDUSTRY KEYWORDS:
The article EQT Corporation Announces Q1 2013 Earnings Conference Call originally appeared on Fool.com.
Try any …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance
By Matthew DiLallo, The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
Business is so good at EQT‘s natural gas fueling station that the company is adding a second fueling island at the station. That’s really good news for the Pittsburgh-based exploration and production company — it’s a validation that natural gas is beginning to catch on as a transaction fuel in the region. The company, which is one of the lowest-cost producers of natural gas in the Marcellus, is just one of many companies investing to increase demand for natural gas.
The EQT station, which incidentally is just down the road from my home, is a steady reminder of how cheap natural gas is as a transportation fuel. Every time I pass the station it’s at least a dollar and a half cheaper than regular gas. Apparently, that difference was not lost on its growing customer count, who have deemed the difference being worth the cost of conversion.
The station has seen its monthly transaction count spike from just 200 last January to more than 1,000 by December. While the company had anticipated that customer growth would come, it never had anticipated that it would need to expand the station after just 18 months in operation.
EQT, of course, is not the first producer to make an investment in natural gas fueling infrastructure. The nation’s No. 2 natural gas producer, Chesapeake Energy , invested $160 million for a stake in Clean Energy Fuels . That deal provided Clean Energy with big cash infusion to help fuel the build-out of America’s Natural Gas Highway (pictured below).
Source: Clean Energy Fuels
While Chesapeake is looking to divest of its stake in Clean Energy, that has nothing to do with the future of the natural gas fuel business. Clean Energy is growing rapidly; its gallons delivered jumped 25% year over year to 194.9 million gallons. The company believes it’s well-positioned for an exciting year in 2013 as its sees the beginnings of a transition to natural gas by the heavy-duty trucking industry.
That means a bright future for natural gas engine partners Cummins and Westport Innovation . While there are currently 16 million natural gas vehicles in use around the world, just 126,000 of them are in North America. The industry believes this number will explode over the coming decade with more than 50 million natural gas vehicles in use across the world. That could yield explosive growth for the Cummins Westport joint venture given its technical leadership in the industry.
While lack of refueling infrastructure had been holding back the growth of natural gas vehicles in the U.S., that burden is quickly being lifted thanks to companies like EQT and Clean Energy. This is a really exciting time in the energy industry — each passing day we take one step closer to a natural-gas-powered future.
This movement toward a natural gas future is really gaining momentum. That means Clean Energy Fuels, which focuses its natural gas efforts primarily on …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance
By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
EQT Expands Downtown Natural Gas Fueling Station
Additional Pumps Needed to Accommodate Demand
PITTSBURGH–(BUSINESS WIRE)– EQT Corporation (EQT) today announced that it will expand its public access compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling station on Smallman Street with the addition of another fueling island. Construction is currently underway.
EQT opened the CNG station in July of 2011, one of the first within Pittsburgh city limits and accessible by both commercial and privately owned natural gas vehicles (NGVs). Due to the high volume of vehicles utilizing the fueling station, EQT is adding two additional fuel dispensers. The station will have the ability to fuel a total of eight vehicles simultaneously to service the growing number of fleets and consumers who are converting to NGVs as a way to save money and use a clean fuel source from the Pennsylvania region.
“EQT‘s fueling station has experienced consistently increasing customer interest and sales since its inception,” said David Ross, EQT Vice President of Demand Development. “We knew we’d be expanding at some point, but we were ahead of schedule at just 18 months of operation.”
According to last year’s sales volumes, January 2012 saw close to 200 transactions, with the sale of about 2,000 gallons of compressed natural gas. In December 2012, the station had more than 1,000 transactions with nearly 15,000 gallons sold.
EQT is on target to have roughly 200 vehicles, or 14% of its light-duty fleet, converted to bi-fuel by the end of the year, making them capable of running on CNG. When the station first opened, EQT vehicles were responsible for a large percentage of the station’s volume. Today, other major businesses in the area have made the transition to natural gas, such as the City of Pittsburgh, UPMC, Paragon Foods and Veterans’ Taxi – four of the fueling station’s customers that make up about 45% of the sales volume.
“Using CNG is a big savings for us and for the veterans who buy the fuel for their taxis,” said Robert DeLucia, CEO of Veterans’ Taxi. “It helps us compete with a better rate (for passengers) than drivers at other transportation companies. We fuel up twice a day and our guys need to get in and get out as quickly as possible, so the more pumping stations the Smallman station has, the better it will be.”
Paragon Foods currently uses a tractor trailer that runs on CNG …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance
By Joel South, The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
With the overproduction of natural gas in the United States leading to such an abundance of the resource that it has driven the price down through the floor, many companies in the natural gas space are feeling the pinch and watching their margins shrink away to nothing. In this video, Motley Fool energy analyst Joel South tells investors why EQT is one highly diversified natural gas company that produces its gas at an extremely low cost compared to its competitors, allowing it to thrive even in this environment. And with natural gas prices starting to recover, EQT could be poised for a big upside.
On the other side of the coin, energy investors would be hard-pressed to find another company trading at a deeper discount than Chesapeake Energy. Its share price depreciated after negative news surfaced concerning the company’s management and spiraling debt picture. While the debt issues still persist, giant steps have been taken to help mitigate the problems. To learn more about Chesapeake and its enormous potential, you’re invited to check out The Motley Fool‘s brand-new premium report on the company. Simply click here now to access your copy.
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Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance
When last we looked at Vertu, it was to look at their first full touchscreen smartphone, the Vertu Constellation –this was back in September of 2012, and the announcement of the handset corresponded with another series of announcements from Vertu –most significantly, that the company was moving forward no longer going to be part of its erstwhile parent firm –the troubled giant, Nokia, which was in the process of weaning itself from Symbian and taking the leap of faith that is Windows Phone 8 –but would henceforward be an independent firm, thanks to the intervention of private equity group EQT. The Constellation was classic Vertu –a beautifully made and styled handset crafted of premium materials; a pleasure to hold (and have, I presume) that ran the latest version of Symbian, and whose most important identity lay in its combination of seductive visuals and tactility with a suite of Vertu specific personal services. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest
By Narrative Science Despite an expected dip in profit, analysts are generally optimistic about EQT (EQT) as it prepares to reports its fourth quarter earnings on Thursday, January 24, 2013.
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Markets
