CNX Resources continues to adjust to the low-price natural gas market but is generally optimistic about 2020, according to its third quarter earnings call.
The Canonsburg-based natural gas exploration and production company said it expects to realize $25 million in savings from streamlining activities in the third quarter, including “reconfiguring” workflows and combining functions.
The company confirmed in August it had laid off 70 employees — about 14% of its workforce.
“Macro supply-and-demand concerns certainly lowered the forward strip during the past quarter, and we are adjusting activity accordingly by lowering our capital and production guidance for 2020,” President and CEO Nicholas J. DeIuliis said.
During the third quarter, CNX used up to three horizontal rigs and drilled 15 wells. The company currently has two rigs in operation, which it expects to run into 2020, along with one fracking crew.
The company also used three fracking crews to complete 20 wells, which included 14 Marcellus shale wells and six Utica shale wells. A completed well is one that has been drilled and fracked.
CNX turned-in-line 24 wells in the third quarter, including 10 Marcellus wells in Greene County and three Utica wells in Greene County. A turned-in-line well is one that is producing natural gas.
“These accomplishments create improvement for 2019, and our updated guidance shows lower capital and higher production for the year,” DeIuliis said, noting the company is expecting a strong production performance in the fourth quarter.
The company reported net stock earnings of $116 million and a consolidated net income of $144 million in the third quarter.
CNX has the second-highest amount of acreage among the natural gas producers working in the Appalachian Basin, with 12 years of inventory remaining after 2020.
