EQT Plans Clarington Connector Pipeline, Compression Projects as Gas Prices Lift Q4 Profit
EQT Corp. raised its natural gas production outlook and outlined $580–$640 million in infrastructure investments, including the Clarington Connector pipeline, after higher gas prices and LNG-driven demand boosted fourth-quarter profit.
(Reuters) — U.S.-based energy company EQT Corp. beat Wall Street estimates for fourth-quarter adjusted profit on Feb. 17, benefiting from higher natural gas prices and sales volumes, sending its shares up over 1% in extended trading.
Power-hungry data centers and a surge in liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports have been driving up sales for U.S. natural gas companies, pushing them to increase production to meet rising demand.
U.S. natural gas futures rose more than 11% sequentially in the three months ended Dec. 31, driven by higher demand and increased pipeline volumes, following two quarters of falling prices.
The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based company now expects current-year production between 2,275 billion cubic feet equivalent and 2,375 billion cubic feet equivalent.
Capital expenditure in 2026, meanwhile, is forecast between $2.07 billion and $2.21 billion.
The company plans to invest $580 million to $640 million in infrastructure-focused growth initiatives, including compression projects, water infrastructure, the Clarington Connector pipeline into Ohio and strategic leasing.
Average realized price for natural gas during the quarter was up 14.3% from a year earlier at $3.44 per thousand cubic feet equivalent.
Total quarterly sales volume rose to 608,994 million cubic feet equivalent from 605,183 million cubic feet equivalent a year ago. For the current quarter, the company forecast a total sales volume of 560 billion cubic feet equivalent to 610 billion cubic feet equivalent.
"Winter Storm Fern created extremely challenging weather conditions over the past several weeks, but seamless coordination between our midstream, upstream and gas marketing teams resulted in negligible impact to EQT's production," said CEO Toby Rice.
The company reported an adjusted profit of 90 cents per share for the fourth quarter, above analysts' average estimate of 74 cents per share, according to data compiled by LSEG.