Twitter trolls, valuation methods, and why anyone can do it A discussion about SMOG as a valuation method for oil & gas companies. Part of the O&G Financial Accounting series

Would a rose by any other name smell as sweet?  Perhaps, as long as you didn’t call it “Ovintiv”! Bring a bouquet of ovintiv home and I’m pretty sure you are going to get punched in the face. That notwithstanding, as of yesterday, the artist formerly known as Encana became Ovintiv: an unpronounceable and entirely forgettable corporate brand that made the change from Pan Canadian to Encana and Cenovus look like Shakespeare himself had come up with it.  And while we...

I was a natural gas bear before this interview but it turns out I was just a “public company with firm transport and quarterly guidance to meet” bear.  This week I'm joined by Chris Kalnin, CEO of Kalnin Ventures, for a wide ranging discussion on LNG, coal to gas conversions, owning the supply, gas power plants and why natural gas is the fuel of the future. Hope you enjoy! "We're very bullish on gas... We think natural gas is the...

In the #hottakeoftheday yesterday, we did a deeper dive into SMOG- and who didn't love that? So good, right? Today, with the help of ShaleProfile Analytics we look at what the combination of Jagged Peak and Parsley looks like (and on a special edition Technical Thursday, we will look at SRC/PDC as they are scheduled to close their transaction today) Some observations from the graphic: Obvious overlap of acreage in the Delaware basin- should mean that the G&A...

The expression "to beat a dead horse" comes from a clever catch-phrase-ologist in the mid 19th century who identified that beating a dead horse would not make it go faster. The only thing more pointless is identifying "Hey, that horse is dead" and not offering an alternative transport solution. Today on Twitter, LinkedIn and the internet, SMOG is the name of that horse. As one industry veteran opined "I have worked as an investor for a decade and I've...

Source: S&P Global U.S. coal consumption is likely to decline sharply again in 2020, though the current roster of planned and completed coal plant retirements suggests the year may not be quite as rough as the past two. At 13,703 MW, 2019 marks the highest level of annual coal capacity retirements in the U.S. since 2015, a new S&P Global Market Intelligence analysis of federal data shows. The amount of coal capacity planned for retirement in 2020 is expected to exceed...

Sometimes I do stupid things and this weekend, I'm going to say that getting into a Twitter debate about CDEV, SMOG and whether or not shale is a viable business falls into the category of stupid. If I closed my eyes and imagined what it must be like to be a politician on the opposite side of the aisle debating someone, I think the conversation I had would be a close proxy. I should know better,...

#hottakeover your commute A shout out to Range Resources for a great press release on 2020 guidance (too bad they are Natgas producers!) We talk debt issuance: for refinancing (Range) and M&A (WPX) and why there is a difference. Parsley closed the deal with Jagged January 10th and PDC closes their deal with SRC January 14th- two more HQ loses for Denver and a continuation of the theme that only headcount reductions can free up capital for drilling wells since the banks and equity markets are closed. Finally,...

With de-marketing campaigns that regularly attack the oil and gas industry with false and misleading claims, it is striking to me why venting and flaring hasn't been more specifically targeted. I mean, do they not have advisors they can afford to pay for good advice? In 2018, the EIA reported that total vented and flared natural gas was 1.28 BCF/d. Venting, which releases methane instead of the CO2, is the worse of the two as methane gas...

A wise woman once said "You only have to run faster than the person you are with if you are being chased by a large animal that wants to eat you". Good advice, and frequently why it makes sense to bring children on camping trips. For energy investors, hanging out with natural gas should ensure the bear pays no attention to you because... well, it's natural gas and basically just lies down and dies for you. ...