In a slumping oil and natural gas market, Consol Energy will cut capital spending by $300 million this year compared to 2014. Still, the firm long known for mining coal continues shattering its own Marcellus and Utica shale production records.
From Oct. 1 through Dec. 31, Consol pumped 7.1 billion cubic feet of natural gas from the Utica formation, up from just 0.5 Bcf during the same period in 2013. This is 14 times more gas than the amount the company generated from the Utica in the same three-month stretch the previous year. In the Marcellus Shale field, Consol nearly doubled its natural gas output by collecting 36.5 Bcf from Oct. 1 through Dec. 31, compared to the 19.4 Bcf drawn in the 2013 fourth quarter.
Overall, the company produced 70.5 Bcf during the three-month period, up from 48.5 Bcf the prior year. Consol expects overall gas production to grow 30 percent each year for the next two years.
