Category: News

This Texas Energy Report database is published each quarter and is updated as earnings are released throughout the reporting period.

Click on the name of the company for more information about the quarterly earnings report, usually from the company’s own press release

AEP

American Electric Power (Nasdaq: AEP) today reported first-quarter 2023 earnings, prepared in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), of $397 million or $0.77 per share, compared with GAAP earnings of $715 million or $1.41 per share in first-quarter 2022. Operating earnings for first-quarter 2023 were $572 million or $1.11 per share, compared with operating earnings of $616 million or $1.22 per share in first-quarter 2022.

Operating earnings is a non-GAAP measure representing GAAP earnings excluding special items. The difference between 2023 GAAP and operating earnings for the quarter was largely due to the mark-to-market impact of commodity prices on economic hedging activities and charges related to the anticipated sale of the unregulated contracted renewables portfolio. A full reconciliation of GAAP earnings to operating earnings for the quarter is included in the tables at the end of this news release.

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Amplify Energy

• • Achieved average total production of 19.4 MBoepd
  • Generated net cash provided by operating activities of $90.3 million and net income of $352.8 million
  • Delivered Adjusted EBITDA of $25.8 million
  • Generated $11.4 million of free cash flow
  • Reduced debt outstanding by $65 million
• Announced the appointments of Dan Furbee, as the Company’s Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, and Jim Frew, as the Company’s Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
• As of April 30, 2023, net debt was $109 million, consisting of $125 million outstanding under the revolving credit facility and $16 million of cash on hand
  • Net Debt to Last Twelve Months (“LTM”) Adjusted EBITDA of 1.1x¹
• Reaffirmed our full-year 2023 guidance

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APA

• Reported production of 394,000 barrels of oil equivalent (BOE) per day; adjusted production, which excludes Egypt noncontrolling interest and tax barrels, was 318,000 BOE per day; 
• Generated net cash from operating activities of $335 million, adjusted EBITDAX of $1.3 billion, and free cash flow (FCF) of $272 million;
• Strong operational execution drove higher-than-expected 1Q adjusted oil production; 
• Returned 81% of first quarter FCF to shareholders, reiterating commitment to minimum 60% capital return framework; and 
• Announced reduction in 2023 capital investment by $100 million in response to lower Permian Basin natural gas prices; full-year capital budget now set at $1.9- to $2.0 billion.

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Archrock Inc.

• Revenue for the first quarter of 2023 was $229.8 million compared to $197.2 million in the first quarter of 2022.
• Net income for the first quarter of 2023 was $16.5 million compared to $1.7 million in the first quarter of 2022.
• Adjusted EBITDA (a non-GAAP measure defined below) for the first quarter of 2023 was $97.2 million compared to $81.4 million in the first quarter of 2022.
• Declared a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per common share for the first quarter of 2023, resulting in dividend coverage of 2.0x, and announced a $50 million share repurchase authorization.
• Achieved record period-end utilization of 94% for the first quarter of 2023 compared to 84% in the first quarter of 2022.
• Trending toward the high-end of 2023 Adjusted EBITDA guidance range of $400 million to $430 million.

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Atmos

• Earnings per diluted share was $4.40 for the six months ended March 31, 2023; $2.48 per diluted share for the second fiscal quarter.
• Consolidated net income was $629.5 million for the six months ended March 31, 2023; $357.7 million for the second fiscal quarter.
• Capital expenditures totaled $1,415.3 million for the six months ended March 31, 2023, with approximately 86 percent of capital spending related to system safety and reliability investments.

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Baker Hughes

• Orders of $7.6 billion for the quarter, up 12% year-over-year.
• Revenue of $5.7 billion for the quarter, up 18% year-over-year.
• GAAP operating income of $438 million for the quarter, up $160 million year-over-year.
• Adjusted operating income (a non-GAAP measure) of $512 million for the quarter, up 47% year-over-year.
• Adjusted EBITDA* (a non-GAAP measure) of $782 million for the quarter, up 25% year-over-year.
• GAAP diluted earnings per share of $0.57 for the quarter which included $0.28 per share of adjusting items. Adjusted diluted earnings per share (a non-GAAP measure) was $0.28.
• Cash flows generated from operating activities were $461 million for the quarter. Free cash flow (a non-GAAP measure) for the quarter was $197 million.

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Baytex Energy (Canada, active in Eagle Ford)

On February 28, 2023, Baytex announced the acquisition of Ranger, a pure play Eagle Ford operator.

• Entered into an agreement to acquire Ranger Oil Corporation (“Ranger”) for approximately US$2.5 billion.
• Generated production of…
   

The Texas Legislature has weighed in and the PCM is a go — for now May 30, 2023 — After several close calls in which they almost didn’t make deadlines, a number of …

May 30, 2023 — Oil and natural gas bills quietly passed the Texas Legislature with new laws affecting mineral contracts and forward-thinking concepts like turning orphaned wells into geothermal energy projects, but the …

May 30, 2023 — We’re closely watching more than 83 bills making their way through the Texas Legislature. We list them here along with excerpts of reaction from Texas news media and op-eds. Also listed are a number of bills that are not moving. We are working to include a few bills that have been left out.

This list is being continually updated. HB = House of Representatives bill  SB = Senate bill   HJR = House Joint Resolution  SJR = Senate Joint Resolution  Companion bills (bills that are the same or very similar, one in the House, the other in the Senate) are grouped together

Looking for a certain bill number? On computer, please use your “find on page”

OIL AND GAS BILLS THAT HAVE PASSED

Texas Energy Independence Act

HB 33 — identical companion bill SB 470 by Springer — aimed at fending off implementation of any new federal regulations on oil or natural gas production in Texas — filed Nov. 14th, sent to House Energy Resources committee Feb. 23rd, public hearing March 27th, passed by the House May 5th, sent to the Senate Natural Resources & Economic Development committee May 9th, public hearing May 18th, substitute bill adopted May 19th, passed by the Senate May 22nd, reconciled May 25th, awaiting the Governor’s signature

SB 470 — companion bill HB 33 — filed Jan. 13th, sent to the Senate Natural Resources & Economic Development committee Feb. 17th

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Landmen & land services

SB 604 — companion bill HB 1915 by Hefner — land services performed by a landman — “the practice of law does not include engaging in land services … the acts are performed by a person who does not hold out the person as an attorney license to practice law in this state” — in Senate Natural Resources & Economic Development committee February 17th, public hearing March 22nd, committee substitute April 4th, passed the Senate April 12th, received in the House April 12th, sent to Senate Energy Resources committee April 14th, reported without amendments May 2nd, amended May 6th, passed by the Senate May 8th, Senate concurs with House amendment May 11th, signed and sent to the Governor May 12th, signed by the Governor May 24th

HB 1915 — companion bill SB 1915 — land services performed by a landman — “the practice of law does not include engaging in land services … the acts are performed by a person who does not hold out the person as an attorney license to practice law in this state” — in House Energy Resources committee March 8th, public hearing March 27th & April 3rd, substituted April 3rd, placed on general calendar, then postponed May 3rd, left on the table subject to call May 5th

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Orphaned well designation: Effective September 1st

SB 1210 — identical companion bill HB 3131 by Guerra — authority for the Railroad Commission of Texas to designate certain persons as the operator of an orphaned oil or gas well — filed Feb. 24th, referred to Senate Natural Resources & Economic Development committee March 9th, public testimony taken March 29th, substitute bill made April 11th, placed on local & uncontested calendar April 20th, passed the Senate April 20th and sent to the House, referred to the House Energy Resources committee April 21st, reported without amendments May 2nd, sent to Calendars May 4th, passed by the House May 5th, signed by the Governor May 19th

HB 3131 — companion bill is SB 1210 — authority for the Railroad Commission of Texas to designate certain persons as the operator of an orphaned oil or gas well — filed March 14th, sent to House Energy Resources committee March 14th, public hearing April 10th, committee substitute April 18th as CSHB 3131, sent to House Calendars April 24th, placed on general state calendar May 1st, postponed May 4th, left on the table subject to call

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Texas Produced Water Consortium: Effective Immediately

SB 1047 — funding and activities of the Texas Produced Water Consortium by Perry — in Water, Agriculture & Rural Affairs committee March 3rd, pubic hearing April 17th, placed on intent calendar April 19th, passed Senate April 20th, received in the House April 21st, referred to House Natural Resources committee April 24th, laid out in lieu of companion April 27th, passed House April 28th, sent to the Governor May 2nd, signed by the Governor May 13th, effective immediately

HB 2757 — funding and activities of the Texas Produced Water Consortium by Tepper (identical companion bill SB 1047) — now CCHB 2757 — see the bill analysis here — in House Natural Resources committee March 13th, public hearing March 21st, amendments added March 23rd, committee report sent to the House March 30th, placed on general state calendar April 26th, considered then postponed in favor of companion bill SB 1047

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O&G Royalty Interest: Becomes law Sept. 1st

HB 450 (final version) — from Rep. Tom Craddick and Burrows et al — companion bill SB 501 — cause of action for the bad faith washout of an overriding royalty interest in an oil and gas lease — in House Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence committee February 23rd, public hearing March 15th, sent to full House March 21st, passed the House and sent to the Senate April 11th, public hearing April 18th in Administration committee, placed on local and uncontested calendar April 19th to go to the governor, then removed April 20th, returned to local & uncontested calendar & passed by the Senate April 27th, sent to the governor May 2nd, filed without the governor’s signature May 13th

SB 501 — companion bill HB 450 — cause of action for the bad faith washout of an overriding royalty interest in an oil and gas lease — in Senate Natural Resources & Economic Development committee February 17th, public hearing March 29th, left committee April 4th, placed on local & uncontested calendar April 12th, removed from calendar April 12th

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“The Ch. 313 replacement”

HB 5 — Establishing a tax incentive program aimed at creating jobs and bringing business to Texas — widely seen as an attempt to replace the Chapter 313 tax incentive program that expired at the end of last year, but would not include “grid reliability” projects, including some O&G projects, from much of the provisions —  Houston Chronicle analysis here — see public comments here — see the Chronicle’s Chris Tomlinson’s critique here — filed Feb. 28th, sent to House Ways & Means committee March 1st, public hearing April 10th, another public hearing then committee substitute adopted April 24th, to Calendars May 2nd, considered by the full House, amendments offered but not adopted May 4th, passed by the House May 4th, received by the Senate May 8th, referred to Senate Business & Commerce committee May 9th, set for public hearing May 18th, substituted May 22nd, passed the Senate May 24th, signed by Legislature and sent to the Governor May 29th

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Renewal of TCEQ under Sunset

SB 1397 — companion bill HB 1505 — renewal of the TCEQ under the state Sunset guidelines, would increase penalties that can be …
 

May 29, 2023 –Governor Greg Abbott about 9 Monday night officially called a special session of the Texas Legislature to take up only border security and property taxes — but he called it “special session #1,” indicating the first in a series of special summer sessions.

Gov. Abbott said the session begins immediately — at 9 pm Monday; like, now. (See the full proclamation below.)

Earlier in the evening, three energy-related suggestions were made by the Texas Lieutenant Governor for legislative action in a likely special session of the state legislature….

May 29, 2023 — The 88th Texas Legislature ended Monday evening on an uncertain note, without the “must-pass” property tax cuts and with a special session certain and imminent; details are expected as soon as tonight, with Aug. 28th set as the deadline.

Texas Energy Report is preparing a session wrap-up report to appear Tuesday morning.

— In case you missed it, the lead story in this morning’s TER NewsClips is ConocoPhillips‘ 50% stake buy-in (for about $3 billion) in the Surmont oil facility held by TotalEnergies’ Canadian subsidiary

— The Texas Senate‘s impeachment trial of Attorney General Ken Paxton is expected sometime this summer.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick will set trial date and all the Senate must convene, must accept charges made by the House, and a two-thirds vote is required to remove Mr. Paxton from office.

The impeachment committee that will prosecute Attorney General Paxton was named on Monday, with the prosecution committee from the House made up of Rep. Andrew Murr (R) as chairman, Rep. Ann Johnson (D) as vice chair; and “managers” will be Reps. Charlie Geren (R); Joe Moody (D); Jeff Leach (R); Terry Canales (D); Briscoe Cain (R); Oscar Longoria (D); Morgan Meyer (R); Cody Vasut (R); Erin Gámez (D); and David Spiller (R)

A Senate panel of seven people will suggest procedure for the trial, with Sen. Brian Birdwell (R) as chairman, Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa (D) as vice chair; Sens. Brandon Creighton (R); Royce West (D); Pete Flores (R); Joan Huffman (R) and Phil King (R) filling out that panel.

May 29, 2023 — The Texas Legislature finally agreed on several energy-related bills on the eve of Memorial Day, the final official day of the 2023 session.

As it started to get dark, a compromise was reached on Senate Bill 2627 (Conference committee report) regarding low interest (or even no-interest) state funding for new or enhanced power plants and an agreement released from the conference committee, backdated.

The latest version of the bill, which is headed to Governor Greg Abbott‘s desk, still includes budgeting $5 billion to pay for bonuses to those entities getting plants ready and connected to the grid by June 1st, 2026 ($120,000 per megawatt of capacity) or June 1st, 2029 ($80,000 per megawatt capacity).

The enabling legislation, SJR 93 (amended), for a constitutional amendment and public vote for the creation of the Texas energy fund, has passed conference and is headed to the Governor.

The bill agreement was reached more than 18 hours after the legislative deadline of midnight Saturday night, but is considered okay to move forward.

Also better late than never was…
 

May 27, 2023 — The Texas House on Saturday afternoon voted to impeach Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, removing him from office at least temporarily while he awaits a trial in the state …

By Alex Mills

Retail gasoline prices are more than $1 per gallon lower this Memorial Day weekend than last year, and AAA expects more traffic on the highways.

AAA expects 6% more Memorial Day weekend road trips in 2023 than in 2022.

Even though U.S. retail gasoline prices are lower than 2022, prices are relatively high compared to previous years according to a report from the Energy Information Administration (EIA).

“Heading into Memorial Day weekend 2023, the U.S. retail gasoline price averaged $3.53 per gallon, or $1.24 (26%) lower than the inflation-adjusted price one year ago,” EIA stated in its report issued on Wednesday.

“Despite this price decrease, retail gasoline prices remain relatively high. This year’s price is higher than the inflation-adjusted prices of $3.38 in 2019, $2.22 in 2020 (when responses to the COVID-19 pandemic decreased demand for petroleum products), and $3.41 in 2021,” EIA stated.

Gasoline prices follow crude oil prices closely. When market conditions for both commodities are tight prices tend to follow. In recent years, a global pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have played key roles in energy prices….
 

May 25, 2023 — The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled against the Environmental Protection Agency in a dispute over its authority to regulate certain wetlands under the Clean Water Act, long seen as a key tool to protect waterways from pollution…
 

May 25, 2023 — A bill passed by the Texas Legislature to continue the Texas Produced Water Consortium has been signed by Governor Greg Abbott, to go into effect immediately. The Texas Senate …

May 25, 2023 — The Railroad Commission of Texas will have the authority to designate the operators of orphaned oil or natural gas wells under a bill signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott over the weekend.

SB 1210, from District 29 Sen. César Blanco, would allow a geothermal operator to adopt such wells in order to convert the well into geothermal electricity production….
 

May 25, 2023 — The Texas Legislature has passed the PUC Sunset Bill in modified form and is preparing to send the bill to the Governor. There were a number of amendments to …

May 25, 2023 — The Texas Legislature has passed and sent to the Governor a bill to put off new federal regulations on state O&G production.

HB 33, which author Rep. Brooks Landgraf calls the “Texas Energy Independence Act,” was passed by the House May 5th and by the Senate May 22nd, and would take effect September 1st.

The bill keeps Texas state agencies and officials from contracting with or even offering assistance to federal agencies or officials on the enforcement of federal statutes, rules, regulations or orders regulating O&G operations if the regulation does not already exist.

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In the EIA’s Issues in Focus: Effects of Liquefied Natural Gas Exports on the U.S. Natural Gas Market supplement to their Annual Energy Outlook 2023 (AEO2023), they find that the volumes of liquefied natural gas exports (LNG) do affect average U.S. natural gas prices. However, the resulting range in natural gas prices in our new cases was narrower than the price range in recent history and the AEO2023 side cases despite a wide variety of U.S. LNG export volumes.

In the EIA’s AEO2023, they explore long-term energy trends in the United States and present an outlook for energy markets through 2050. The Issues in Focus articles based on the AEO provide in-depth discussions on topics of special significance, such as LNG exports. This Issues in Focus presents three additional side cases to the AEO2023 that explore how LNG exports volumes affect domestic natural gas prices….
 

May 24, 2023 — A new bill ready to be signed by Governor Greg Abbott would eliminate the need for yearly non-commercial vehicle inspections of the horn, brakes, lights and all the rest …

May 24, 2023 — The Texas Legislature has passed a modified version of District 5 Sen. Charles Schwertner‘s and District 10 Sen. Phil King‘s SB 7, aimed at strengthening the ERCOT grid by instituting a procedure for incentivizing more gas-fueled power plants — and has also passed SB 2627 (see below)

The bill was passed by the Senate on April 5th and by the House on May 23rd and is now undergoing reconciliation as the Senate decides whether to meet with House representatives over changes the House made to the Senate’s version of the bill — or the Senate could simply accept without question those House changes….
 

May 24, 2023 — Gasoline and diesel fueled engines may not be outlawed in local jurisdictions under a new law signed by Governor Greg Abbott.

The Texas Senate passed SB 1017  by District 22 Sen. Brian Birdwell on April 5th and the House passed a modified measure on April 25th, after which the Governor signed the bill May 13th, outlawing any ban of gas stations along with any other similar or related wholesale or energy producer….
 

May 24, 2023 — Governor Greg Abbott has signed into law a bill that creates a cause of action and details a process governing “bad faith washouts” in releasing O&G royalty leases.

HB 450 from state Rep. Tom Craddick and others spells out how a person may file a lawsuit if that person can establish that he or she possessed was an overriding royalty interest right in an O&G lease and that the entity being sued and controlling the lease caused a washout of the overriding royalty in question — and it must be reasonably proven, then, that the entity being sued intentionally or knowingly caused that washout….
 

On a 119-21 (unofficial) vote with 2 (Moody, Phelan) voting present this evening, the Texas House passed its version of Senate Bill 7, low-interest loans meant to create incentives for gas-powered power plants — the bill limits net pricing built into the PCM to $1 billion a year

The House has also passed its version of SB 2627, allowing a bonus if plants are completed and hooked to the ERCOT grid by 2029 (with day-ahead and real-time pricing also part of the bill) — this bill was only introduced three weeks ago

And the House has passed …