Appalachian gas production last month registered its first monthly decline since May as producers in the dynamic US Northeast shale basin responded to low prices and growing pressure from the investment community. In December, output across the Marcellus and Utica averaged 33.1 Bcf/d, having declined nearly 380 MMcf/d compared to the prior-month average, S&P Global Platts Analytics data shows. Last month’s slowdown comes amid sustained low gas prices in the region. In the fourth quarter, cash prices at the Appalachian benchmark Dominion South averaged just $1.78/MMBtu, marking a two-year low and testing producers’ margins for profit. In the Marcellus, wellhead breakeven prices are currently estimated at $1.80/MMBtu; breakevens in Utica […]