Southwestern Energy CEO: ‘I’d Be Happy With $4’ Natural Gas Price
by June 3, 2015 7:19 am 143 views
Southwestern Energy CEO Steven Mueller appeared on CNBC on Monday, June 1 to discuss the current state of natural gas production and where he sees prices moving later this year.
Southwestern is the largest stakeholder in Arkansas’ Fayetteville Shale Play, which has seen a significant decline in production in the past year due to falling natural gas prices. On Tuesday, natural gas futures closed at $2.69/MMBtu.
When Mueller was asked if he was hopeful about an improvement in natural gas prices, he responded:
“Well, there’s a lot of signs. If you just think about what’s happened in the last few years with natural gas, a little bit of weather change goes from $3 to $4. So you know, you’re near balance.”
Citing new power plants being built and new industrial projects coming online – particularly in the Northeastern U.S., Mueller says demand will increase in 2015 and beyond. If that prediction holds, he contends that prices will rise to a profitable level – near or above $4.
“It’s historically cheap, but we make a lot of money at $4. So I’d be very happy with $4,” Mueller said.
Watch his full interview below.