Operating in Marcellus energizes Range Resources
A Range Resources employee working inside controls operations on a natural gas drilling site. (Photos courtesy of Range Resources)
Courtesy of Range Resources
Photos: Courtesy of Range Resources
Wellheads abound at well pads like the ones Range Resources operates.
Courtesy of Range Resources
Courtesy of Range Resources
Range Resources has a major presence in, and beyond, Southwestern Pennsylvania.
Courtesy of Range Resources
Courtesy of Range Resources
Hydraulic fracturing - fracking - is a major operation at a well site.
Courtesy of Range Resources
Courtesy of Range Resources
A view of a Range Resources well site in Washington County
Rick Shrum
Rick Shrum
Tony Gaudlip, Range Resources’ vice president of operational planning, calls Washington County “our core, our home, the DNA of our company.”
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Range Resources’ headquarters may be in Fort Worth, Texas, but Tony Gaudlip said the company’s heart and soul lie south of Pittsburgh.
“Washington County is our core, our home, the DNA of our company,” said Gaudlip, vice president of operational planning.
He operates operations from the company’s Southpointe offices at 3000 Town Center Boulevard. The mixed-use park in Cecil Township is in the midst of the Marcellus Shale, which he described as “the largest producing natural gas field in the world. It’s the ‘Best Rock.'”
Range rocked that rock nearly two decades ago and became a pioneer. The natural gas exploration and production company drilled the first hydraulic fractured well in the Marcellus formation in 2004, at the Renz No. 1 site in Mt. Pleasant Township. That was the beginning of an onslaught of oil and gas companies that would enter the “fracking” fray and change the dynamic of U.S. energy production and usage.
An independent operator, Range extracts only from the Marcellus, whose bounty has enabled the company to gain a global presence. It is a top producer of natural gas and natural gas liquids for domestic and foreign customers.
Range’s influence across the state, however, may be even more formidable. Gaudlip said 75% of the independent company’s 560 employees work in Pennsylvania, where 99.2% of the corporate budget is being spent. And, he added, 95% of that figure is devoted to Washington County.
The company has been in Southpointe since 2007. It also has an office at the county fairgrounds, two locations in Harrisburg and one in Williamsport.
“We’re pleased,” Gaudlip said. “Looking back, shale gas development came in several phases. We established ourselves and got the business going.”
Range wasn’t alone, though, as fracking gained momentum among companies across the U.S. Over the past decade, increased natural gas production has created a major shift in U.S. power generation from coal, the biggest polluter among energy sources.
In 2013, according to the Energy Information Agency (EIA), coal was the No. 1 source of national electricity production at 50%, well ahead of natural gas at 21%. Nine years later, natural gas is tops at 37% with coal at 28%.
The natural gas “boom” lasted about a decade after the horizontal drilling at Renz No. 1, until international events undercut the industry in the U.S. Saudi Arabia went to war against U.S. oil in 2014, following a huge surge in American shale oil production to four million barrels a day.
“2014 and 2015 were tough,” Gaudlip said. “The Saudis broke from OPEC and declared war on U.S. oil. That led to a sustained control of pricing, which was very low, and saturated demand. We’ll adjust operations by pricing. Most producers scaled back production.”
Some companies consolidated or left the industry.
“War” with the Saudis ended in 2016 and the U.S. natural gas industry rebounded until another obstacle arose: the pandemic in 2020. Prices for petroleum-based products initially dropped, then rose sharply after companies cut production and demand increased. “It’s Shale 2.0 – living within your cash flow,” Gaudlip said. “The industry is robust now and continuing to adapt.”
Range Resources, he said, has dodged challenges and is doing well now. “This is probably as financially strong as the company has ever been.”
CEO Dennis Degner was not disappointed when the firm’s Second Quarter 2023 results were posted on the corporate website. He said, in part, “the results reflect the resilience and durability of Range’s business. Range’s competitive cost structure, low relative capital intensity, liquids optionality and thoughtful hedging allowed us to generate healthy full-cycle margins and maintain our trajectory toward our target capital structure, despite what we expect is a cyclical low in commodity prices.”
Range also is exporting liquefied natural gas, which has been cooled to a liquid state for shipping and storage. The company is sending it to the Gulf Coast and abroad. U.S. natural gas prices are significantly less than international prices.
“LNG, ethane, propane – our products are making it overseas,” Gaudlip said. “The Russia-Ukraine crisis shed light on what the United States can do to support with LNG. We had a finite amount we could export.”
His company also is heavily involved in the regional community, and that goes beyond impact fees from drilling companies that enhance municipalities. Range has provided ample support to first responders, veterans’ causes, 11 school districts, STEM programs and other organizations.
Its Veterans Initiative provides more than $42,000 to four organizations: Life Changing Service Dogs for Veterans; Washington Cemetery’s Soldiers Road Repair Project; Washington Area Humane Society’s Pets for the U.S. Vets Program; and Washington City Mission’s Veterans Plus Program.
The company also is involved with the recently opened Veteran and Military Affiliated Center at Waynesburg University.
“We realized that Southwestern Pennsylvania had one of the largest veterans populations in the country,” said Laural Ziemba, director of public affairs at Range. “We needed to do more for veterans in the area.”
Ziemba said she and her four team members provided “383 unique grants to the community last year – and that number has increased over the years. These are not just dollar investments. We take a ‘meet and dollars’ approach. Does an organization need money or help with an event?”
Range Resources plans to continue its strong interactions within the community, while maintaining its status as a global energy provider.
“Natural gas is the largest piece of the puzzle,” Tony Gaudlip said. “We feel natural gas is going to continue to play a major role.”