EQT increases Marcellus drilling in third quarter
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Downtown-based EQT Corp. sold a major pipeline and increased Marcellus Shale drilling by 252 percent in the third quarter.
The decisions appear to have paid off: The energy company this morning announced a third-quarter profit of $178.9 million, or $1.19 per diluted share, up from the $36.5 million and 24 cents seen this time one year ago.
The company closed the sale of its Big Sandy Pipeline to Spectra Energy Partners LP for $390 million in July, earning a pre-tax gain of $180 million on the sale, the company said. Revenues for the quarter increased 32 percent to $328.5 million.
The company drilled 36 wells in the Marcellus Shale rock formation during the third quarter, bringing its 2011 total to 87 wells so far. Nationwide, EQT Corp. has drilled 178 horizontal wells in the past nine months. Sales volumes from the accelerated development were 51 percent higher than the third quarter of 2010.
The company's midstream operations, which include gas processing and compressing facilities, saw division income increase 16 percent to hit $41.7 million.
First Published October 27, 2011 9:06 am
