EQT Gets Fired Up
Like every CEO, Toby Rice has a lot of irons in the fire. But you can bet your last buck that fire isn’t fueled by coal. At the wheel of Pa.-based EQT, the nation’s largest natural gas producer operating in the Marcellus and Utica, Rice is on a mission to replace coal with LNG. Not just in the U.S., but across the globe. And while he’s minding that iron, two others are also burning bright.
Reese Energy Consulting today is following the latest on EQT and its mission to cut $5.9 billion in debt and add more juice to shareholder returns. To achieve that, the company is exploring a $3+ billion sale of its stakes in Marcellus assets operated by Okla. City-based Chesapeake. A deal will land the buyer a 25% interest in 700 MMCFD of production. Timing for a sale couldn’t be better. The 303-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline, which will flow 1.2 BCFD from the Marcellus and Utica to W.V., Va., and markets south, is slated for service in early 1Q next year. EQT in October signed two of the largest firm sales agreements in the history of the natural gas market for all 1.2 BCFD of MVP capacity. Meanwhile, fresh from his attendance at COP28 this month, Rice added the EQT name to the landmark Oil & Gas Decarbonization Charter, joining 50 other oil and gas companies in efforts to accelerate decarbonization and advance the world’s energy transition. And it’s no symbol gesture. EQT for years has walked the walk on its journey to net zero with aggressive targets to reduce methane and GHG emissions from its business. Now with his Unleashing U.S. LNG plan, Rice is leading the largest green initiative on the planet. Irons don’t get any bigger than that.