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UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
Form 10-K
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ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES
EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
For the Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2022
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TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES
EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
For the Transition Period from
to
Commission File Number 1-3880
National Fuel Gas Company
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
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New Jersey |
13-1086010 |
(State or other jurisdiction of
incorporation or organization) |
(I.R.S. Employer
Identification No.) |
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6363 Main Street |
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Williamsville, |
New York |
14221 |
(Address of principal executive offices) |
(Zip Code) |
(716) 857-7000
(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)
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Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the
Act: |
Title of Each Class |
Trading Symbol |
Name of Each Exchange
on Which Registered
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Common Stock, par value $1.00 per share |
NFG |
New York Stock Exchange |
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:
None
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned
issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities
Act. Yes ☑ No ☐
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file
reports pursuant to Section 13 or
Section 15 (d) of the
Act. Yes ☐ No ☑
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed
all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months
(or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to
file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing
requirements for the past
90 days. Yes ☑ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted
electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted
pursuant to Rule 405 of
Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during
the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the
registrant was required to submit such
files). Yes ☑ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large
accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a
smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the
definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,”
“smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule
12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
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Large accelerated filer |
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Accelerated filer |
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Non-accelerated filer |
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Smaller reporting company |
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Emerging growth company |
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If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the
registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period
for complying with any new or revised financial accounting
standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.
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Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on
and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness
of its internal control over financial reporting under Section
404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the
registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit
report. ☑
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company
(as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the
Act). Yes ☐ No ☑
The aggregate market value of the voting stock held by
nonaffiliates of the registrant amounted to $6,253,478,000 as of
March 31, 2022.
Common Stock, par value $1.00 per share, outstanding as of
October 31, 2022: 91,485,294 shares.
DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
Portions of the registrant’s definitive Proxy Statement for its
2023 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, to be filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission within 120 days of September 30,
2022, are incorporated by reference into Part III of this
report.
Glossary of Terms
Frequently used abbreviations, acronyms, or terms used in this
report:
National Fuel Gas Companies
Company
The Registrant, the Registrant and its subsidiaries or the
Registrant’s subsidiaries as appropriate in the context of the
disclosure
Distribution Corporation
National Fuel Gas Distribution Corporation
Empire
Empire Pipeline, Inc.
Midstream Company
National Fuel Gas Midstream Company, LLC
National Fuel
National Fuel Gas Company
NFR
National Fuel Resources, Inc.
Registrant
National Fuel Gas Company
Seneca
Seneca Resources Company, LLC
Supply Corporation
National Fuel Gas Supply Corporation
Regulatory Agencies
CFTC
Commodity Futures Trading Commission
EPA
United States Environmental Protection Agency
FASB
Financial Accounting Standards Board
FERC
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
IRS
Internal Revenue Service
NYDEC
New York State Department of Environmental
Conservation
NYPSC
State of New York Public Service Commission
PaDEP
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection
PaPUC
Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission
PHMSA
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
SEC
Securities and Exchange Commission
Other
Bbl
Barrel (of oil)
Bcf
Billion cubic feet (of natural gas)
Bcfe (or Mcfe) — represents Bcf (or Mcf) Equivalent
The total heat value (Btu) of natural gas and oil expressed as a
volume of natural gas. The Company uses a conversion formula of
1 barrel of oil = 6 Mcf of natural gas.
Btu
British thermal unit; the amount of heat needed to raise the
temperature of one pound of water one degree
Fahrenheit.
Capital expenditure
Represents additions to property, plant, and equipment, or the
amount of money a company spends to buy capital assets or upgrade
its existing capital assets.
Cashout revenues
A cash resolution of a gas imbalance whereby a customer pays Supply
Corporation and/or Empire for gas the customer receives in excess
of amounts delivered into Supply Corporation’s and Empire’s systems
by the customer’s shipper.
CLCPA
Legislation referred to as the "Climate Leadership & Community
Protection Act," enacted by the State of New York on July 18,
2019.
Degree day
A measure of the coldness of the weather experienced, based on the
extent to which the daily average temperature falls below a
reference temperature, usually 65 degrees Fahrenheit.
Derivative
A financial instrument or other contract, the terms of which
include an underlying variable (a price, interest rate, index rate,
exchange rate, or other variable) and a notional amount (number of
units, barrels, cubic feet, etc.). The terms also permit for the
instrument or contract to be settled net and no initial net
investment is required to enter into the financial instrument or
contract. Examples include futures contracts, options, no cost
collars and swaps.
Development costs
Costs incurred to obtain access to proved oil and gas reserves and
to provide facilities for extracting, treating, gathering and
storing the oil and gas.
Development well
A well drilled to a known producing formation in a previously
discovered field.
Dodd-Frank Act
Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection
Act.
Dth
Decatherm; one Dth of natural gas has a heating value of 1,000,000
British thermal units, approximately equal to the heating value of
1 Mcf of natural gas.
Exchange Act
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended
Expenditures for long-lived assets
Includes capital expenditures, stock acquisitions and/or
investments in partnerships.
Exploitation
Development of a field, including the location, drilling,
completion and equipment of wells necessary to produce the
commercially recoverable oil and gas in the field.
Exploration costs
Costs incurred in identifying areas that may warrant examination,
as well as costs incurred in examining specific areas, including
drilling exploratory wells.
Exploratory well
A well drilled in unproven or semi-proven territory for the purpose
of ascertaining the presence underground of a commercial
hydrocarbon deposit.
FERC 7(c) application
An application to the FERC under Section 7(c) of the federal
Natural Gas Act for authority to construct, operate (and provide
services through) facilities to transport or store natural gas in
interstate commerce.
Firm transportation and/or storage
The transportation and/or storage service that a supplier of such
service is obligated by contract to provide and for which the
customer is obligated to pay whether or not the service is
utilized.
GAAP Accounting
principles generally accepted in the United States of
America
Goodwill
An intangible asset representing the difference between the fair
value of a company and the price at which a company is
purchased.
Hedging
A method of minimizing the impact of price, interest rate, and/or
foreign currency exchange rate changes, often times through the use
of derivative financial instruments.
Hub
Location where pipelines intersect enabling the trading,
transportation, storage, exchange, lending and borrowing of natural
gas.
ICE
Intercontinental Exchange. An exchange which maintains a futures
market for crude oil and natural gas.
Interruptible transportation and/or storage
The transportation and/or storage service that, in accordance with
contractual arrangements, can be interrupted by the supplier of
such service, and for which the customer does not pay unless
utilized.
LDC
Local distribution company
LIBOR
London Interbank Offered Rate
LIFO
Last-in, first-out
Marcellus Shale
A Middle Devonian-age geological shale formation that is present
nearly a mile or more below the surface in the Appalachian region
of the United States, including much of Pennsylvania and southern
New York.
Mbbl
Thousand barrels (of oil)
Mcf
Thousand cubic feet (of natural gas)
MD&A
Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and
Results of Operations
MDth
Thousand decatherms (of natural gas)
MMBtu
Million British thermal units (heating value of one decatherm of
natural gas)
MMcf
Million cubic feet (of natural gas)
MMcfe
Million cubic feet equivalent
NGA
The Natural Gas Act of 1938, as amended; the federal law regulating
interstate natural gas pipeline and storage companies, among other
things, codified beginning at 15 U.S.C.
Section 717.
NYMEX
New York Mercantile Exchange. An exchange which maintains a futures
market for crude oil and natural gas.
OPEB
Other Post-Employment Benefit
Open Season
A bidding procedure used by pipelines to allocate firm
transportation or storage capacity among prospective shippers, in
which all bids submitted during a defined time period are evaluated
as if they had been submitted simultaneously.
PCB
Polychlorinated Biphenyl
Precedent Agreement
An agreement between a pipeline company and a potential customer to
sign a service agreement after specified events (called “conditions
precedent”) happen, usually within a specified time.
Proved developed reserves
Reserves that can be expected to be recovered through existing
wells with existing equipment and operating methods.
Proved undeveloped (PUD) reserves
Reserves that are expected to be recovered from new wells on
undrilled acreage, or from existing wells where a relatively major
expenditure is required to make those reserves
productive.
PRP
Potentially responsible party
Reliable technology
Technology that a company may use to establish reserves estimates
and categories that has been proven empirically to lead to correct
conclusions.
Reserves
The unproduced but recoverable oil and/or gas in place in a
formation which has been proven by production.
Restructuring
Generally referring to partial “deregulation” of the pipeline
and/or utility industry by statutory or regulatory process.
Restructuring of federally regulated natural gas pipelines resulted
in the separation (or “unbundling”) of gas commodity service from
transportation service for wholesale and large-volume retail
markets. State restructuring programs attempt to extend the same
process to retail mass markets.
Revenue decoupling mechanism
A rate mechanism which adjusts customer rates to render a utility
financially indifferent to throughput decreases resulting from
conservation.
S&P
Standard & Poor’s Ratings Service
SAR
Stock appreciation right
Service Agreement
The binding agreement by which the pipeline company agrees to
provide service and the shipper agrees to pay for the
service.
SOFR
Secured Overnight Financing Rate
Spot gas purchases
The purchase of natural gas on a short-term basis.
Stock acquisitions
Investments in corporations.
Unbundled service
A service that has been separated from other services, with rates
charged that reflect only the cost of the separated
service.
Utica Shale
A Middle Ordovician-age geological formation lying several thousand
feet below the Marcellus Shale in the Appalachian region of the
United States, including much of Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia
and southern New York.
VEBA
Voluntary Employees’ Beneficiary Association
WNC/WNA
Weather normalization clause/adjustment; a clause in utility rates
which adjusts customer rates to allow a utility to recover its
normal operating costs calculated at normal temperatures. If
temperatures during the measured period are warmer than normal,
customer rates are adjusted upward in order to recover projected
operating costs. If temperatures during the measured period are
colder than normal, customer rates are adjusted downward so that
only the projected operating costs will be recovered.
For the Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2022
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Part I |
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ITEM 1A |
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ITEM 1B |
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ITEM 2 |
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ITEM 3 |
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ITEM 4 |
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Part II |
ITEM 5 |
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ITEM 6 |
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ITEM 7 |
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ITEM 7A |
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ITEM 9 |
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ITEM 9C |
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Part III |
ITEM 10 |
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Part IV |
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PART I
The Company and its Subsidiaries
National Fuel Gas Company (the Registrant), incorporated in 1902,
is a holding company organized under the laws of the State of New
Jersey. The Registrant owns directly or indirectly all of the
outstanding securities of its subsidiaries. Reference to “the
Company” in this report means the Registrant, the Registrant and
its subsidiaries or the Registrant’s subsidiaries as appropriate in
the context of the disclosure. Also, all references to a certain
year in this report relate to the Company’s fiscal year ended
September 30 of that year unless otherwise noted.
The Company is a diversified energy company engaged principally in
the production, gathering, transportation, storage and distribution
of natural gas. The Company operates an integrated business, with
assets centered in western New York and Pennsylvania, being used
for, and benefiting from, the production and transportation of
natural gas from the Appalachian basin. Current natural gas
production development activities are focused in the Marcellus and
Utica shales, geological shale formations that are present nearly a
mile or more below the surface in the Appalachian region of the
United States. Pipeline development activities are designed to
transport natural gas production to both existing and new markets.
The common geographic footprint of the Company’s subsidiaries
enables them to share management, labor, facilities and support
services across various businesses and pursue coordinated projects
designed to produce and transport natural gas from the Appalachian
basin to markets in the eastern United States and Canada. The
Company reports financial results for four business segments:
Exploration and Production, Pipeline and Storage, Gathering, and
Utility.
1. The Exploration and Production segment operations are
carried out by Seneca Resources Company, LLC (Seneca), a
Pennsylvania limited liability company. Seneca is engaged in the
exploration for, and the development and production of, primarily
natural gas in the Appalachian region of the United States. At
September 30, 2022, Seneca had proved developed and
undeveloped reserves of 4,170,662 MMcf of natural gas and 250 Mbbl
of oil.
2. The Pipeline and Storage segment operations are carried
out by National Fuel Gas Supply Corporation (Supply Corporation), a
Pennsylvania corporation, and Empire Pipeline, Inc. (Empire), a New
York corporation. Supply Corporation and Empire provide interstate
natural gas transportation services for affiliated and
nonaffiliated companies through integrated gas pipeline systems in
Pennsylvania and New York. Supply Corporation also provides storage
services through its underground natural gas storage fields, and
Empire provides storage service (via lease with Supply Corporation)
to a nonaffiliated company.
3. The Gathering segment operations are carried out by
wholly-owned subsidiaries of National Fuel Gas Midstream Company,
LLC (Midstream Company), a Pennsylvania limited liability company.
Through these subsidiaries, Midstream Company builds, owns and
operates natural gas processing and pipeline gathering facilities
in the Appalachian region.
4. The Utility segment operations are carried out by National
Fuel Gas Distribution Corporation (Distribution Corporation), a New
York corporation. Distribution Corporation provides natural gas
utility services to approximately 754,000 customers through a local
distribution system located in western New York and northwestern
Pennsylvania. The principal metropolitan areas served by
Distribution Corporation include Buffalo, Niagara Falls and
Jamestown, New York and Erie and Sharon, Pennsylvania.
Financial information about each of the Company’s business segments
can be found in Item 7, MD&A and also in Item 8 at
Note M — Business Segment Information.
Seneca’s Northeast Division is included in the Company's All Other
category for 2021 and 2020. This division marketed timber from
Appalachian land holdings. On August 5, 2020, the Company entered
into a purchase and sale agreement to sell substantially all timber
and other assets, which at September 30, 2020, accounted for
the Company's ownership of approximately 95,000 acres of
timber property and management of approximately 2,500 additional
acres of timber cutting rights. The transaction closed on December
10, 2020.
For additional discussion of the purchase and sale agreement to
sell these assets, see Item 8 at Note B — Asset Acquisitions and
Divestitures.
Revenues from three customers of the Company's Exploration and
Production segment, exclusive of hedging losses transacted with
separate parties, represented approximately $850 million, or 38.9%,
of the Company's consolidated revenue for the year ended September
30, 2022. These three customers were also customers of the
Company's Pipeline and Storage segment, accounting for an
additional $15 million, or 0.7%, of the Company's consolidated
revenue for the year ended September 30, 2022.
Rates and Regulation
The Company’s businesses are subject to regulation under a wide
variety of federal, state and local laws, regulations and policies.
This includes federal and state agency regulations with respect to
rate proceedings, project permitting and environmental
requirements.
The Company is subject to the jurisdiction of the FERC with respect
to Supply Corporation, Empire and some transactions performed by
other Company subsidiaries. The FERC, among other things, approves
the rates that Supply Corporation and Empire may charge to their
gas transportation and/or storage customers. Those approved rates
also impact the returns that Supply Corporation and Empire may earn
on the assets that are dedicated to those operations. The
operations of Distribution Corporation are subject to the
jurisdiction of the NYPSC, the PaPUC and, with respect to certain
transactions, the FERC. The NYPSC and the PaPUC, among other
things, approve the rates that Distribution Corporation may charge
to its utility customers. Those approved rates also impact the
returns that Distribution Corporation may earn on the assets that
are dedicated to those operations. If Supply Corporation, Empire or
Distribution Corporation are unable to obtain approval from these
regulators for the rates they are requesting to charge customers,
particularly when necessary to cover increased costs, earnings may
decrease. For additional discussion of the Pipeline and Storage and
Utility segments’ rates, see Item 7, MD&A under the heading
“Rate Matters” and Item 8 at Note A — Summary of Significant
Accounting Policies (Regulatory Mechanisms) and Note F — Regulatory
Matters.
The discussion under Item 8 at Note F — Regulatory
Matters includes a description of the regulatory assets and
liabilities reflected on the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets
in accordance with applicable accounting standards. To the extent
that the criteria set forth in such accounting standards are not
met by the operations of the Utility segment or the Pipeline and
Storage segment, as the case may be, the related regulatory assets
and liabilities would be eliminated from the Company’s Consolidated
Balance Sheets and such accounting treatment would be
discontinued.
The FERC also exercises jurisdiction over the construction and
operation of interstate gas transmission and storage facilities and
possesses significant penalty authority with respect to violations
of the laws and regulations it administers. The Company is also
subject to the jurisdiction of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials
Safety Administration (PHMSA). PHMSA issues regulations and
conducts evaluations, among other things, that set safety standards
for pipelines and underground storage facilities. PHMSA may
delegate this authority to a state, as it has in New York and
Pennsylvania, and that state may choose to institute more stringent
safety regulations for the construction, operation and maintenance
of intrastate facilities. In addition to this state safety
authority program, the NYPSC imposes additional requirements on the
construction of certain utility facilities. Increased regulation by
these agencies, and other regulators, or requested changes to
construction projects, could lead to operational delays or
restrictions and increase compliance costs that the Company may not
be able to recover fully through rates or otherwise
offset.
For additional discussion of the material effects of compliance
with government environmental regulation, see Item 7, MD&A
under the heading “Environmental Matters.”
The Exploration and Production Segment
The Exploration and Production segment contributed net income of
$306.1 million in 2022.
Additional discussion of the Exploration and Production segment
appears below in this Item 1 under the headings “Sources and
Availability of Raw Materials” and “Competition: The Exploration
and Production Segment,” in Item 7, MD&A and in
Item 8, Financial Statements and Supplementary
Data.
The Pipeline and Storage Segment
The Pipeline and Storage segment contributed net income of $102.6
million in 2022.
The Pipeline and Storage segment generated approximately 30% of its
revenues in 2022 from services provided to the Utility segment or
Exploration and Production segment.
Additional discussion of the Pipeline and Storage segment appears
below under the headings “Sources and Availability of Raw
Materials,” “Competition: The Pipeline and Storage Segment” and
“Seasonality,” in Item 7, MD&A and in Item 8,
Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.
The Gathering Segment
The Gathering segment contributed net income of $101.1 million in
2022.
The Gathering segment generated approximately 94% of its revenues
in 2022 from services provided to the Exploration and Production
segment.
Additional discussion of the Gathering segment appears below under
the headings “Sources and Availability of Raw Materials” and
“Competition: The Gathering Segment,” in Item 7, MD&A and
in Item 8, Financial Statements and Supplementary
Data.
The Utility Segment
The Utility segment contributed net income of $68.9 million in
2022.
Additional discussion of the Utility segment appears below under
the headings “Sources and Availability of Raw Materials,”
“Competition: The Utility Segment” and “Seasonality,” in
Item 7, MD&A and in Item 8, Financial Statements and
Supplementary Data.
All Other Category and Corporate Operations
The All Other category and Corporate operations incurred a net loss
of $12.7 million in 2022.
Additional discussion of the All Other category and Corporate
operations appears below in Item 7, MD&A and in
Item 8, Financial Statements and Supplementary
Data.
Sources and Availability of Raw Materials
The Exploration and Production segment seeks to discover and
produce raw materials (natural gas and hydrocarbon liquids) as
further described in this report in Item 7, MD&A and
Item 8 at Note M — Business Segment Information and
Note N — Supplementary Information for Oil and Gas Producing
Activities.
The Pipeline and Storage segment transports and stores natural gas
owned by its customers, whose gas primarily originates in the
Appalachian region of the United States, as well as other gas
supply regions in the United States and Canada. Additional
discussion of proposed pipeline projects appears below under
“Competition: The Pipeline and Storage Segment” and in Item 7,
MD&A.
The Gathering segment gathers, processes and transports natural gas
that is, in large part, produced by Seneca in the Appalachian
region of the United States.
Natural gas is the principal raw material for the Utility segment.
In 2022, the Utility segment purchased 76.0 Bcf of gas (including
74.2 Bcf for delivery to retail customers and 1.8 Bcf used in
operations) pursuant to its purchase contracts with firm delivery
requirements. Gas purchased from producers and suppliers in the
United States under multi-month contracts accounted for 48% of
these purchases. Purchases of gas in the spot market (contracts of
one month or less) accounted for 52% of the Utility segment’s 2022
purchases. Purchases from DTE Energy Trading, Inc. (33%), Emera
Energy Services, Inc. (12%), Chevron Natural Gas (8%), EQT Energy,
LLC (7%), Vitol Inc. (6%), Tenaska Marketing Ventures (6%), and
Shell Energy North America US (6%), accounted for nearly 78% of the
Utility segment's 2022 gas purchases. No other producer or supplier
provided the Utility segment with more than 5% of its gas
requirements in 2022. The Utility segment does not directly
purchase gas from affiliates.
Competition
Competition in the natural gas industry exists among providers of
natural gas, as well as between natural gas and other sources of
energy, such as fuel oil and electricity. Management believes that
the reliability and affordability, along with the environmental
advantages of natural gas have enhanced its competitive position
relative to other fuels.
The Company competes on the basis of price, service and
reliability, product performance and other factors. Sources and
providers of energy, other than those described under this
“Competition” heading, do not compete with the Company to any
significant extent.
Competition: The Exploration and Production Segment
The Exploration and Production segment competes with other natural
gas producers and marketers with respect to sales of natural gas.
The Exploration and Production segment also competes, by
competitive bidding and otherwise, with other natural gas producers
with respect to exploration and development prospects and mineral
leaseholds.
To compete in this environment, Seneca originates and acts
primarily as operator on its prospects, seeks to minimize the risk
of exploratory efforts through partnership-type arrangements,
utilizes technology for both exploratory studies and drilling
operations, and seeks prospect and partnership opportunities based
on size, operating expertise and financial criteria.
Competition: The Pipeline and Storage Segment
Supply Corporation competes for market growth in the natural gas
market with other pipeline companies transporting gas in the
northeast United States and with other companies providing gas
storage services. Supply Corporation has some unique
characteristics which enhance its competitive position. Most of
Supply Corporation’s facilities are in or near areas overlying the
Marcellus and Utica shale production areas in Pennsylvania, and it
has established interconnections with producers and other pipelines
that provide access to these supplies and to premium off-system
markets. Its facilities are also located adjacent to the Canadian
border at the Niagara River providing access to markets in Canada
and the northeastern and midwestern United States via the TC Energy
pipeline system. Supply Corporation has developed and placed into
service a number of pipeline expansion projects designed to
transport natural gas to key markets in New York, Pennsylvania, the
northeastern United States, Canada, and to long-haul pipelines with
access to the U.S. Midwest and the Gulf Coast. For further
discussion of Pipeline and Storage projects, refer to Item 7,
MD&A under the heading “Investing Cash Flow.”
Empire competes for natural gas market growth with other pipeline
companies transporting gas in the northeast United States and
upstate New York in particular. Empire is well situated to provide
transportation of Appalachian shale gas as well as gas supplies
available at Empire’s interconnect with TC Energy at Chippawa.
Empire’s geographic location provides it the opportunity to compete
for service to its on-system LDC markets, as well as for a share of
the gas transportation markets into Canada (via Chippawa) and into
the northeastern United States. The Empire Connector, along with
other subsequent projects, has expanded Empire’s footprint and
capability, allowing Empire to serve new markets in New York and
elsewhere in the Northeast, and to attach to prolific Marcellus and
Utica supplies principally from Tioga and Bradford Counties in
Pennsylvania. Like Supply Corporation, Empire’s expanded system
facilitates transportation of natural gas to key markets within New
York State, the northeastern United States and Canada.
Competition: The Gathering Segment
The Gathering segment provides gathering services for Seneca and,
to a lesser extent, other producers. It competes with other
companies that gather and process natural gas in the Appalachian
region.
Competition: The Utility Segment
With respect to gas commodity service, in New York and
Pennsylvania, both of which have implemented “unbundling” policies
that allow customers to choose their gas commodity supplier,
Distribution Corporation
has retained a substantial majority of small sales customers. In
both New York and Pennsylvania, approximately 8% of Distribution
Corporation’s small-volume residential and commercial customers
purchase their supplies from unregulated marketers. In contrast,
almost all large-volume load is served by unregulated retail
marketers. However, retail competition for gas commodity service
does not pose an acute competitive threat for Distribution
Corporation, because in both jurisdictions, utility cost of service
is recovered through rates and charges for gas delivery service,
not gas commodity service.
Competition for transportation service to large-volume customers
continues with local producers or pipeline companies attempting to
sell or transport gas directly to end-users located within the
Utility segment’s service territories without use of the utility’s
facilities (i.e., bypass). In addition, while competition with fuel
oil suppliers exists, natural gas retains its competitive position
despite recent commodity pricing.
The Utility segment competes in its most vulnerable markets (the
large commercial and industrial markets) by offering unbundled,
flexible, high quality services. The Utility segment continues to
advance programs promoting the efficient use of natural
gas.
Legislative and regulatory measures to address climate change and
greenhouse gas emissions are in various phases of discussion or
implementation in jurisdictions that impact the Utility segment. In
addition to the Inflation Reduction Act, New York, for example,
adopted the Climate Leadership & Community Protection Act
(CLCPA) in July 2019, which could ultimately result in increased
competition from electric and geothermal forms of energy. However,
given the extended time frames associated with the CLCPA's emission
reduction mandates as discussed in Item 7, MD&A under the
heading “Environmental Matters” and subheading “Environmental
Regulation,” any meaningful competition resulting from the CLCPA
cannot be determined.
Seasonality
Variations in weather conditions can materially affect the volume
of natural gas delivered by the Utility segment, as virtually all
of its residential and commercial customers use natural gas for
space heating. The effect that this has on Utility segment margins
in New York is largely mitigated by a weather normalization clause
(WNC), which covers the eight-month period from October through
May. Weather that is warmer than normal results in an upward
adjustment to customers’ current bills, while weather that is
colder than normal results in a downward adjustment, so that in
either case projected delivery revenues calculated at normal
temperatures will be largely recovered.
Volumes transported and stored by Supply Corporation and by Empire
may vary significantly depending on weather, without materially
affecting the revenues of those companies. Supply Corporation’s and
Empire’s allowed rates are based on a straight fixed-variable rate
design which allows recovery of fixed costs in fixed monthly
reservation charges. Variable charges based on volumes are designed
to recover only the variable costs associated with actual
transportation or storage of gas.
Capital Expenditures
A discussion of capital expenditures by business segment is
included in Item 7, MD&A under the heading “Investing Cash
Flow.”
Environmental Matters
A discussion of material environmental matters involving the
Company is included in Item 7, MD&A under the heading
“Environmental Matters” and in Item 8, Note L —
Commitments and Contingencies.
Miscellaneous
The Utility segment has numerous municipal franchises under which
it uses public roads and certain other rights-of-way and public
property for the location of facilities. When necessary, the
Utility segment renews such franchises.
The Company makes its annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly
reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and
any amendments to those reports, available free of charge on the
Company’s website, www.nationalfuelgas.com, as soon as reasonably
practicable after they are electronically filed with or
furnished
to the SEC. The information available at the Company’s website is
not part of this Form 10-K or any other report filed with or
furnished to the SEC.
Human Capital
The Company aims to attract the best employees, to retain those
employees through offering competitive benefits, career development
and training opportunities, while also prioritizing their safety
and wellness, and to create a safe, inclusive and productive work
environment for everyone. Human capital measures and objectives
that the Company focuses on in managing its business include the
safety of its employees, its voluntary attrition rate, the number
of work stoppages, its employee benefits, employee development, and
diversity and inclusion. Additional information regarding the
Company’s human capital measures and objectives is contained in the
Company’s recently published Corporate Responsibility Report, which
is available on the Company’s website, www.nationalfuelgas.com. The
information on the Company’s website is not, and will not be deemed
to be, a part of this annual report on Form 10-K or incorporated
into any of the Company’s other filings with the SEC.
Employees and Collective Bargaining Agreements
The Company and its wholly-owned subsidiaries had a total of 2,132
full-time employees at September 30, 2022.
As of September 30, 2022, 48% of the Company’s active workforce was
covered under collective bargaining agreements. The Company has
agreements in place with collective bargaining units in New York
into February 2025, as well as with collective bargaining units in
Pennsylvania into April 2026.
Safety
Safety is one of the Company’s guiding principles. In managing the
business, the Company focuses on the safety of its employees and
contractors and has implemented safety programs and management
practices to promote a culture of safety. This includes required
trainings for both field and office employees, as well as specific
qualifications and certifications for field employees. The Company
also ties executive compensation to safety related goals to
emphasize the importance of and focus on safety at the
Company.
Voluntary Attrition Rate
The Company measures the voluntary attrition rate of its employees
in assessing the Company’s overall human capital. The Company's
voluntary attrition rate (not including retirements and excluding
the severance related to the sale of Seneca's assets in California)
was 8%. Additionally, throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the Company
did not institute any furloughs or workforce
reductions.
No Work Stoppages
During the Company’s fiscal year, the Company did not incur any
work stoppages (strikes or lockouts) and therefore experienced zero
idle days for the fiscal year.
Employee Benefits
To attract employees and meet the needs of the Company’s workforce,
the Company offers market-competitive benefits packages to
employees of its subsidiaries. The Company’s benefits package
options may vary depending on type of employee and date of hire.
Additionally, the Company continuously looks for ways to improve
employee work-life balance and well-being.
Employee Development
The Company provides its employees with tools and development
resources to enhance their skills and careers at the Company,
including: (i) encouraging employees to discuss their professional
development and identify interests or possible cross-training areas
during annual performance reviews with their supervisors; (ii)
offering corporate and technical training programs based on
position, regulatory environment, and employee needs; (iii)
providing a tuition aid program for educational pursuits related to
present work or possible future positions; (iv) providing talent
review and succession planning; (v) providing opportunities for
on-the-job growth, through stretch assignments or temporary
projects outside of an employee’s typical responsibilities;
and
(vi) offering one-on-one meetings for supervisory employees at the
Company’s subsidiaries to discuss career pathing and employee
development.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
The Company recognizes that a diverse talent pool provides the
opportunity to gain a diversity of perspectives, ideas and
solutions to help the Company succeed. As such, the Company
approaches diversity from the top-down, which is reflected in the
makeup of our Board of Directors and senior leadership team: three
out of eleven directors are diverse, and four of the Company’s
eight designated executive officers are women. The Company's
Corporate Governance Guidelines incorporate the “Rooney Rule.” As a
result, when identifying independent director candidates for
nomination to the Board, the Nominating/Corporate Governance
Committee is committed to including in any initial candidate pool
qualified racially, ethnically and/or gender diverse candidates.
Beginning in fiscal 2021, the Compensation Committee adopted
specific diversity and inclusion performance goals as part of the
Company's Annual at Risk Compensation Incentive Plan and Executive
Annual Compensation Incentive Program to link executive
compensation to the Company's focus on diversity.
During fiscal 2022, the Company furthered numerous initiatives to
increase the diversity of our workforce and create a more inclusive
environment. The Company's Director of Diversity and Inclusion
(“D&I Director”) continued to spearhead diversity and inclusion
initiatives across the organization. Additional resources were
added to the Diversity and Inclusion team with the creation of a
Diversity and Inclusion Specialist ("D&I Specialist") role to
assist and expand the Company’s proactive efforts of creating a
more inclusive organization. These efforts include initiatives to
focus on diversity when making hiring and promotional decisions. To
attract diverse candidates, the Company works with community groups
and organizations to help promote awareness of our job
opportunities within diverse communities. The D&I Director
maintains close partnerships with the employment teams, cultivates
the Company’s relationships with community organizations, and
focuses on initiatives to attract diverse candidates, vendors and
suppliers. The executive team receives a monthly report about the
composition of the Company’s salaried applicant pools to encourage
the recruiting team to focus recruiting in diverse communities and
identify resources needed to do so. The Company has also focused on
encouraging diverse suppliers to receive the necessary
certifications to participate in the industry and has added new
diverse suppliers to its list of vendors in an effort to promote
diversity.
The D&I Director and D&I Specialist also spearhead
inclusion initiatives throughout the organization. To promote a
more inclusive work environment, the Company has continued to
provide training opportunities to employees relating to Unconscious
Bias, Inclusivity, and Micro-aggressions. In addition, four new
Employee Resource Groups, focused towards ethnically diverse,
veteran, LGBTQ and female employees, were developed. These Employee
Resource Groups provide an opportunity to engage and connect with
underrepresented employees, and each group has an executive sponsor
which helps facilitate communication directly to senior management.
In addition, the Company has several policies that reinforce its
commitment to diversity and inclusion within the workplace. The
Company’s Employee Handbook Policy includes equal employment
opportunity commitments and nondiscrimination and anti-harassment
disclosures, which communicate the Company’s expectations with
respect to maintaining a professional workplace free of harassment.
The Company prohibits discrimination or harassment against any
employee or applicant on the basis of sex, race/ethnicity, or the
other protected categories listed within the Company’s
Non-Discrimination and Anti-Harassment Policy. This policy is
mailed to employees annually with an employee survey, and employees
must acknowledge that they have received the policy. The Company
reiterates its commitment to a harassment free workplace through
this process, as well as through prevention training for employees.
Annually, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer reinforces the
Company’s commitment to harassment prevention and equal employment
opportunity by signing corporate Equal Employment Opportunity and
Non-Discrimination and Anti-Harassment policy statements. These
statements are then displayed at Company locations, included in
employee handbooks, and discussed with new hires during their
onboarding process.
Executive Officers of the Company as of November 15,
2022(1)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Name and Age (as of
November 15, 2022)
|
|
Current Company Positions and
Other Material Business Experience
During Past Five Years |
David P. Bauer
(53)
|
|
Chief Executive Officer of the Company since July 2019. President
of Supply Corporation from February 2016 through June 2019.
Treasurer and Principal Financial Officer of the Company from July
2010 through June 2019. Treasurer of Seneca from April 2015 through
June 2019. Treasurer of Distribution Corporation from April 2015
through June 2019. Treasurer of Midstream Company from April 2013
through June 2019. Treasurer of Supply Corporation from June 2007
through June 2019. Treasurer of Empire from June 2007 through June
2019. |
Donna L. DeCarolis
(63)
|
|
President of Distribution Corporation since February 2019. Ms.
DeCarolis previously served as Vice President of Business
Development of the Company from October 2007 through January
2019. |
Ronald C. Kraemer
(66)
|
|
Chief Operating Officer of the Company since March 2021, President
of Supply Corporation since July 2019 and President of Empire since
August 2008. Mr. Kraemer previously served as Senior Vice President
of Supply Corporation from June 2016 through June 2019. |
Karen M. Camiolo
(63)
|
|
Treasurer and Principal Financial Officer of the Company since July
2019. Treasurer of Seneca Resources Company since July 2019. Ms.
Camiolo previously served as Treasurer of Distribution Corporation,
Supply Corporation, Empire and Midstream Company from July 2019
through June 2021. Ms. Camiolo previously served as Controller and
Principal Accounting Officer of the Company from April 2004 through
June 2019. Vice President of Distribution Corporation from April
2015 through June 2019. Controller of Midstream Company from April
2013 through June 2019. Controller of Empire from June 2007 through
June 2019. Controller of Distribution Corporation and Supply
Corporation from April 2004 through June 2019. |
Elena G. Mendel
(56)
|
|
Controller and Principal Accounting Officer of the Company since
July 2019. Controller of Distribution Corporation, Supply
Corporation, Empire, and Midstream Company since July 2019.
Assistant Controller of Distribution Corporation, Supply
Corporation and Empire from February 2017 through June
2019. |
Martin A. Krebs
(52)
|
|
Chief Information Officer of the Company since December 2018. Prior
to joining the Company, Mr. Krebs served as Chief Information
Officer and Chief Information Security Officer of Fidelis Care, a
health insurance provider for New York State residents, from
January 2012 to June 2018. Centene Corporation acquired Fidelis
Care in July 2018, and Mr. Krebs served as the Chief Information
Officer of the Fidelis Plan and Senior Vice President of
Information Technology and Security from the acquisition to
November 2018. Mr. Krebs' prior employers are not subsidiaries or
affiliates of the Company. |
Sarah J. Mugel
(58)
|
|
Corporate Responsibility Officer of the Company since April 2022.
General Counsel of the Company since May 2020 and Secretary of the
Company since July 2018. Ms. Mugel has been Vice President of
Supply Corporation since April 2015 and General Counsel and
Secretary of Supply Corporation since April 2016. Ms. Mugel has
been Secretary of Empire Pipeline and Secretary of Midstream
Company, and has served as the General Counsel of both entities,
since April 2016. Ms. Mugel previously served as Assistant
Secretary of the Company from June 2016 through June
2018.
|
Justin I. Loweth
(44)
|
|
President of Midstream Company since April 2022 and President of
Seneca Resources Company since May 2021. Mr. Loweth previously
served as Senior Vice President of Seneca Resources Company from
October 2017 through April 2021. |
(1)The
executive officers serve at the pleasure of the Board of Directors.
The information provided relates to the Company and its principal
subsidiaries. Many of the executive officers also have served, or
currently serve, as officers or directors of other subsidiaries of
the Company.
STRATEGIC RISKS
The Company is dependent on capital and credit markets to
successfully execute its business strategies.
The Company relies upon short-term bank borrowings, commercial
paper markets and longer-term capital markets to finance capital
requirements not satisfied by cash flow from operations. The
Company is dependent on these capital sources to provide capital to
its subsidiaries to fund operations, acquire, maintain and develop
properties, and execute growth strategies. The availability and
cost of credit sources may be cyclical and these capital sources
may not remain available to the Company. Turmoil in credit markets
may make it difficult for the Company to obtain financing on
acceptable terms or at all for working capital, capital
expenditures and other investments, or to refinance existing debt.
These difficulties could adversely affect the Company's growth
strategies, operations and financial performance.
The Company's ability to borrow under its credit facilities and
commercial paper agreements, and its ability to issue long-term
debt under its indentures, depend on the Company's compliance with
its obligations under the facilities, agreements and indentures.
For example, to issue incremental long-term debt, the Company must
meet an interest coverage test under its 1974 indenture. In
general, the Company’s operating income, subject to certain
adjustments, over a consecutive 12-month period within the 15
months preceding the debt issuance, must be not less than two times
the total annual interest charges on the Company’s long-term debt,
taking into account the incremental issuance. In addition, taking
into account the incremental issuance, and using a pro forma
balance sheet as of the last day of the 12-month period used in the
interest coverage test, the Company must maintain a ratio of
long-term debt to consolidated assets (as defined under the 1974
indenture) of not more than 60%. The 1974 indenture defines
consolidated assets as total assets less a number of items,
including current and accrued liabilities. Depending on their
magnitude, factors that reduce the Company’s operating income
and/or total assets, including impairments (i.e., write-downs) of
the Company’s natural gas properties, or that increase current and
accrued liabilities, like short-term borrowings and "out of the
money" derivative financial instruments, could contribute to the
Company’s inability to meet the interest coverage test or
debt-to-assets ratio.
In addition, the Company's short-term bank loans and commercial
paper are in the form of floating rate debt or debt that may have
rates fixed for very short periods of time, resulting in exposure
to interest rate fluctuations in the absence of interest rate
hedging transactions. The cost of long-term debt, the interest
rates on the Company's short-term bank loans and commercial paper
and the ability of the Company to issue commercial paper are
affected by its credit ratings published by S&P, Moody's
Investors Service, Inc. and Fitch Ratings, Inc. A downgrade in the
Company's credit ratings could increase borrowing costs, restrict
or eliminate access to commercial paper markets, negatively impact
the availability of capital from uncommitted sources, and require
the Company’s subsidiaries to post letters of credit, cash or other
assets as collateral with certain counterparties. Additionally,
$1.1 billion of the Company’s outstanding long-term debt would be
subject to an interest rate increase if certain fundamental changes
occur that involve a material subsidiary and result in a downgrade
of a credit rating assigned to the notes below investment grade. In
addition to the $1.1 billion, another $500 million of the Company’s
outstanding long-term debt would be subject to an interest rate
increase based solely on a downgrade of a credit rating assigned to
the notes below investment grade, regardless of any additional
fundamental changes.
Climate change, and the regulatory, legislative, consumer behaviors
and capital access developments related to climate change, may
adversely affect operations and financial results.
Climate change, and the laws, regulations and other initiatives to
address climate change, may impact the Company’s financial results.
In early 2021, the U.S. rejoined the Paris Agreement, the
international effort to establish emissions reduction goals for
signatory countries. Under the Paris Agreement, signatory countries
are expected to submit their nationally determined contributions to
curb greenhouse gas emissions and meet the agreed temperature
objectives every five years. On April 22, 2021, the federal
administration announced the U.S. nationally determined
contribution to achieve a fifty to fifty-two percent reduction from
2005 levels in economy-wide net greenhouse gas pollution by 2030.
In addition to the federal reentry into the Paris
Agreement, state and local governments, non-governmental
organizations, investment firms, and financial institutions have
made, and will likely continue to make, more aggressive efforts to
reduce emissions and advance the objectives of the Paris Agreement.
Executive orders from the federal administration, in addition to
federal, state and local legislative and regulatory initiatives
proposed or adopted in an attempt to limit the effects of climate
change, including greenhouse gas emissions, could have significant
impacts on the energy industry including government-imposed
limitations, prohibitions or moratoriums on the use and/or
production of gas, establishment of a carbon tax and/or methane
fee, lack of support for system modernization, as well as
accelerated depreciation of assets and/or stranded
assets.
Federal and state legislatures have from time to time considered
bills that would establish a cap-and-trade program, methane fee or
carbon tax to incent the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. For
example, in August 2022, the federal Inflation Reduction Act was
signed into law, which includes a methane charge that is expected
to be applicable to the reported annual methane emissions of
certain oil and gas facilities, above specified methane intensity
thresholds, starting in calendar year 2024. In addition, the New
York State legislature, in early 2021, proposed a bill known as the
Climate and Community Investment Act, which proposed an escalating
fee starting at $55 per short ton of carbon dioxide equivalent on
any carbon-based fuels sold, used or brought into the state. That
bill did not pass, but similar legislation may be proposed in the
future. If the Company becomes subject to new or revised
cap-and-trade programs, methane charges, fees for carbon-based
fuels or other similar costs or charges, the Company may experience
additional costs and incremental operating expenses, which would
impact our future earnings and cash flows.
A number of states have also adopted energy strategies or plans
with goals that include the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
For example, Pennsylvania has a methane reduction framework for the
natural gas industry which has resulted in permitting changes with
the stated goal of reducing methane emissions from well sites,
compressor stations and pipelines. In addition, the NYPSC initiated
a proceeding to consider climate-related financial disclosures at
the utility operating level, and in 2019, the New York State
legislature passed the CLCPA, which created emission reduction and
electric generation mandates, and could ultimately impact the
Utility segment’s customer base and business. Pursuant to the
CLCPA, New York's Climate Action Council issued for comment a draft
scoping plan that includes recommendations to decommission
substantial portions of the natural gas system and curtail use of
natural gas and natural gas appliances.
Legislation or regulation that aims to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions could also include natural gas bans, greenhouse gas
emissions limits and reporting requirements, carbon taxes and/or
similar fees on carbon dioxide, methane or equivalent emissions,
restrictive permitting, increased efficiency standards requiring
system remediation and/or changes in operating practices, and
incentives or mandates to conserve energy or use renewable energy
sources. NYDEC finalized its Part 203 Oil and Gas Sector Rule in
March 2022, which significantly increases leak detection and repair
inspections, recordkeeping, reporting, and notification
requirements for multiple sources along city gates, transmission
pipelines, compressor stations, storage facilities, and gathering
lines.
Additionally, the trend toward increased energy conservation,
change in consumer behaviors, competition from renewable energy
sources, and technological advances to address climate change may
reduce the demand for natural gas. For further discussion of the
risks associated with environmental regulation to address climate
change, refer to Item 7, MD&A under the heading “Environmental
Matters.”
Further, recent trends directed toward a low-carbon economy could
shift funding away from, or limit or restrict certain sources of
funding for, companies focused on fossil fuel-related development
or carbon-intensive investments. To the extent financial markets
view climate change and greenhouse gas emissions as a financial
risk, the Company’s cost of and access to capital could be
negatively impacted.
Organized opposition to the natural gas industry could have an
adverse effect on Company operations.
Organized opposition to the natural gas industry, including
exploration and production activity, pipeline expansion and
replacement projects, and the extension and continued operation of
natural gas distribution systems, may continue to increase as a
result of, among other things, safety incidents involving natural
gas facilities, and concerns raised by politicians, financial
institutions and advocacy groups about greenhouse gas
emissions, hydraulic fracturing, or fossil fuels generally. This
opposition may lead to increased regulatory and legislative
initiatives that could place limitations, prohibitions or
moratoriums on the use of natural gas, impose costs tied to carbon
emissions, provide cost advantages to alternative energy sources,
or impose mandates that increase operational costs associated with
new natural gas infrastructure and technology. There are also
increasing litigation risks associated with climate change concerns
and related disclosures. Increased litigation could cause
operational delays or restrictions, and increase the Company’s
operating costs. In turn, these factors could impact the
competitive position of natural gas, ultimately affecting the
Company’s results of operations and cash flows.
Delays or changes in plans or costs with respect to Company
projects, including regulatory delays or denials with respect to
necessary approvals, permits or orders, could delay or prevent
anticipated project completion and may result in asset write-offs
and reduced earnings.
Construction of planned distribution, gathering, and transmission
pipeline and storage facilities, as well as the expansion and
replacement of existing facilities, and the development of new
natural gas wells, is subject to various regulatory, environmental,
political, legal, economic and other development risks, including
the ability to obtain necessary approvals and permits from
regulatory agencies on a timely basis and on acceptable terms, or
at all. Existing or potential third-party opposition, such as
opposition from landowner and environmental groups, which are
beyond our control, could materially affect the anticipated
construction of a project. In addition, third parties could impede
the Company’s acquisition, expansion or renewal of rights-of-way or
land rights on a timely basis and on acceptable terms. Any delay in
project development or construction may prevent a planned project
from going into service when anticipated, which could cause a delay
in the receipt of revenues from those facilities, result in asset
write-offs and materially impact operating results or anticipated
results. Additionally, delays in pipeline construction projects or
gathering facility completion could impede the Exploration and
Production segment's ability to transport its production to premium
markets, or to fulfill obligations to sell at contracted delivery
points.
FINANCIAL RISKS
As a holding company, the Company depends on its operating
subsidiaries to meet its financial obligations.
The Company is a holding company with no significant assets other
than the stock of its operating subsidiaries. In order to meet its
financial needs, the Company relies exclusively on repayments of
principal and interest on intercompany loans made by the Company to
its operating subsidiaries and income from dividends. Such
operating subsidiaries may not generate sufficient net income to
pay dividends to the Company or generate sufficient cash flow to
make payments of principal or interest on such intercompany
loans.
The Company may be adversely affected by economic conditions and
their impact on our suppliers and customers.
Periods of slowed economic activity generally result in decreased
energy consumption, particularly by industrial and large commercial
companies. As a consequence, national or regional recessions or
other downturns in economic activity could adversely affect the
Company’s revenues and cash flows or restrict its future growth.
Additionally, supply chain disruptions, and the associated costs
and inflation related thereto, could have an impact on the
Company's operations. Economic conditions in the Company’s utility
service territories, along with legislative and regulatory
prohibitions and/or limitations on terminations of service, also
impact its collections of accounts receivable. Customers of the
Company’s Utility segment may have particular trouble paying their
bills during periods of declining economic activity, high
inflation, or high commodity prices, potentially resulting in
increased bad debt expense and reduced earnings. Similarly, if
reductions were to occur in funding of the federal Low Income Home
Energy Assistance Program, bad debt expense could increase and
earnings could decrease. In addition, oil and natural gas
exploration and production companies that are customers of the
Company’s Pipeline and Storage segment may decide not to renew
contracts for the same transportation capacity. Certain customers
of the Company's Exploration and Production segment can represent a
concentrated risk during times of high commodity prices and high
hedge losses. Any of these events
or circumstances could have or contribute to a material adverse
effect on the Company’s results of operations, financial condition
and cash flows.
Changes in interest rates may affect the Company’s financing and
its regulated businesses’ rates of return.
Rising interest rates may impair the Company’s ability to
cost-effectively finance capital expenditures and to refinance
maturing debt. In addition, the Company’s authorized rate of return
in its regulated businesses is based upon certain assumptions
regarding interest rates. If interest rates are lower than assumed
rates, the Company’s authorized rate of return could be reduced. If
interest rates are higher than assumed rates, the Company’s ability
to earn its authorized rate of return may be adversely
impacted.
Loans to the Company under its committed credit facilities may be
alternate base rate loans or term SOFR loans. SOFR is a reference
rate (the Secured Overnight Financing Rate) published by the
Federal Reserve Bank of New York. SOFR is one available replacement
for LIBOR (the London Interbank Offered Rate), which the U.K.’s
Financial Conduct Authority is phasing out as a benchmark. The
change from LIBOR to SOFR could expose the Company’s borrowings to
less favorable rates. If the change to SOFR results in increased
interest rates or if the Company's lenders have increased costs due
to the change, then the Company's debt that uses benchmark rates
could be affected and, in turn, the Company's cash flows and
interest expense could be adversely impacted.
Fluctuations in natural gas prices could adversely affect revenues,
cash flows and profitability.
Financial results in the Company’s Exploration and Production
segment are materially dependent on prices received for its natural
gas production. Both short-term and long-term price trends affect
the economics of exploring for, developing, producing, and
gathering natural gas. Natural gas prices can be volatile and can
be affected by various factors, including weather conditions,
natural disasters, the level of consumer product demand, national
and worldwide economic conditions, economic disruptions caused by
terrorist activities, acts of war or major accidents, political
conditions in foreign countries, the price and availability of
alternative fuels, the proximity to, and availability of,
sufficient capacity on transportation and liquefaction facilities,
regional and global levels of supply and demand, energy
conservation measures, and government regulations. The Company
sells the natural gas that it produces at a combination of current
market prices, indexed prices or through fixed-price contracts. The
Company hedges a significant portion of future sales that are based
on indexed prices utilizing the physical sale counter-party and/or
the financial markets. The prices the Company receives depend upon
factors beyond the Company’s control, including the factors
affecting price mentioned above. The Company believes that any
prolonged reduction in natural gas prices could restrict its
ability to continue the level of exploration and production
activity the Company otherwise would pursue, which could have a
material adverse effect on its future revenues, cash flows and
results of operations.
In the Company’s Pipeline and Storage segment, significant changes
in the price differential between equivalent quantities of natural
gas at different geographic locations could adversely impact the
Company. For example, if the price of natural gas at a particular
receipt point on the Company’s pipeline system increases relative
to the price of natural gas at other locations, then the volume of
natural gas received by the Company at the relatively more
expensive receipt point may decrease, or the Company may need to
discount the approved tariff rate for that transportation path in
the future in order to maintain the existing volumes on its system.
Changes in price differentials can cause shippers to seek
alternative lower priced natural gas supplies and, consequently,
alternative transportation routes. In some cases, shippers may
decide not to renew transportation contracts due to changes in
price differentials. While much of the impact of lower volumes
under existing contracts would be offset by the straight
fixed-variable rate design, this rate design does not protect
Supply Corporation or Empire where shippers do not contract for
expiring capacity at the same quantity and rate. If contract
renewals were to decrease, revenues and earnings in this segment
may decrease. Significant changes in the price differential between
futures contracts for gas having different delivery dates could
also adversely impact the Company. For example, if the prices of
natural gas futures contracts for winter deliveries to locations
served by the Pipeline and Storage segment decline relative to the
prices of such contracts for summer deliveries (as a result, for
instance, of increased production of gas within the segment’s
geographic area or other
factors), then demand for the Company’s natural gas storage
services driven by that price differential could decrease.
These changes could adversely affect future revenues, cash flows
and results of operations.
In the Company’s Utility segment, during periods when natural gas
prices are significantly higher than historical levels, customers
may have trouble paying the resulting higher bills, which could
increase bad debt expenses and ultimately reduce earnings.
Additionally, increases in the cost of purchased gas affect cash
flows and can therefore impact the amount or availability of the
Company’s capital resources.
The Company has significant transactions involving price hedging of
its natural gas production as well as its fixed price sale
commitments.
To protect itself to some extent against price volatility and to
lock in fixed pricing on natural gas production for certain periods
of time, the Company’s Exploration and Production segment regularly
enters into commodity price derivatives contracts (hedging
arrangements) with respect to a portion of its expected production.
These contracts may extend over multiple years, covering a
substantial majority of the Company’s expected energy production
over the course of the current fiscal year, and lesser percentages
of subsequent years' expected production. These contracts reduce
exposure to subsequent price drops but can also limit the Company’s
ability to benefit from increases in commodity prices.
The nature of these hedging contracts could lead to potential
liquidity impacts in scenarios of significantly increased natural
gas prices if the Company has hedged its current production at
prices below the current market price. Hedging collateral deposits
represent the cash, letters of credit, or other eligible
instruments held in Company funded margin accounts to serve as
collateral for hedging positions used in the Company’s Exploration
and Production segment. A significant increase in natural gas
prices may cause the Company’s outstanding derivative instrument
contracts to be in a liability position creating margin calls on
the Company’s hedging arrangements, which could require the Company
to temporarily post significant amounts of cash collateral with our
hedge counterparties. That collateral could be in excess of the
Company’s available short-term liquidity under its committed credit
facility and other uncommitted sources of capital, leading to
potential default under certain of its hedging arrangements. That
interest-bearing cash collateral is returned to us in whole or in
part upon a reduction in forward market prices, depending on the
amount of such reduction, or in whole upon settlement of the
related derivative contract.
Use of energy commodity price hedges also exposes the Company to
the risk of nonperformance by a contract counterparty. These
parties might not be able to perform their obligations under the
hedge arrangements.
In the Exploration and Production segment, under the Company’s
hedging guidelines, commodity derivatives contracts must be
confined to the price hedging of existing and forecast production.
The Company maintains a system of internal controls to monitor
compliance with its policy. However, unauthorized speculative
trades, if they were to occur, could expose the Company to
substantial losses to cover positions in its derivatives contracts.
In addition, in the event the Company’s actual production of
natural gas falls short of hedged forecast production, the Company
may incur substantial losses to cover its hedges.
The Dodd-Frank Act increased federal oversight and regulation of
the over-the-counter derivatives markets and certain entities that
participate in those markets. Although regulators have issued
certain regulations, other rules that may be relevant to the
Company have yet to be finalized. For discussion of the risks
associated with the Dodd-Frank Act, refer to Item 7, MD&A under
the heading “Market Risk Sensitive Instruments.”
You should not place undue reliance on reserve information because
such information represents estimates.
This Form 10-K contains estimates of the Company’s proved natural
gas reserves and the future net cash flows from those reserves,
which the Company’s petroleum engineers prepared and independent
petroleum engineers audited. Petroleum engineers consider many
factors and make assumptions in estimating natural gas reserves and
future net cash flows. These factors include: historical production
from the area compared with production from other producing areas;
the assumed effect of governmental regulation; and
assumptions
concerning natural gas prices, production and development costs,
severance and excise taxes, and capital expenditures. Changes in
natural gas prices impact the quantity of economic natural gas
reserves. Estimates of reserves and expected future cash flows
prepared by different engineers, or by the same engineers at
different times, may differ substantially. Ultimately, actual
production, revenues and expenditures relating to the Company’s
reserves will vary from any estimates, and these variations may be
material. Accordingly, the accuracy of the Company’s reserve
estimates is a function of the quality of available data and of
engineering and geological interpretation and
judgment.
If conditions remain constant, then the Company is reasonably
certain that its reserve estimates represent economically
recoverable natural gas reserves and future net cash flows. If
conditions change in the future, then subsequent reserve estimates
may be revised accordingly. You should not assume that the present
value of future net cash flows from the Company’s proved reserves
is the current market value of the Company’s estimated natural gas
reserves. In accordance with SEC requirements, the Company bases
the estimated discounted future net cash flows from its proved
reserves on a 12-month average of historical prices for natural gas
(based on first day of the month prices and adjusted for hedging)
and on costs as of the date of the estimate, which are all
discounted at the SEC mandated discount rate. Actual future prices
and costs may differ materially from those used in the net present
value estimate. Any significant price changes will have a material
effect on the present value of the Company’s reserves.
Petroleum engineering is a subjective process of estimating
underground accumulations of natural gas and other hydrocarbons
that cannot be measured in an exact manner. The process of
estimating natural gas reserves is complex. The process involves
significant assumptions in the evaluation of available geological,
geophysical, engineering and economic data for each reservoir.
Future economic and operating conditions are uncertain, and changes
in those conditions could cause a revision to the Company’s reserve
estimates in the future. Estimates of economically recoverable
natural gas reserves and of future net cash flows depend upon a
number of variable factors and assumptions, including historical
production from the area compared with production from other
comparable producing areas, and the assumed effects of regulations
by governmental agencies. Because all reserve estimates are to some
degree subjective, each of the following items may differ
materially from those assumed in estimating reserves: the
quantities of natural gas that are ultimately recovered, the timing
of the recovery of natural gas reserves, the production and
operating costs to be incurred, the amount and timing of future
development and abandonment expenditures, and the price received
for the production.
Financial accounting requirements regarding exploration and
production activities may affect the Company's
profitability.
The Company accounts for its exploration and production activities
under the full cost method of accounting. Each quarter, the Company
must perform a "ceiling test" calculation, comparing the level of
its unamortized investment in oil and natural gas properties to the
present value of the future net revenue projected to be recovered
from those properties according to methods prescribed by the SEC.
In determining present value, the Company uses a 12-month
historical average price for oil and natural gas (based on first
day of the month prices and adjusted for hedging) as well as the
SEC mandated discount rate. If, at the end of any quarter, the
amount of the unamortized investment exceeds the net present value
of the projected future cash flows, such investment may be
considered to be "impaired," and the full cost authoritative
accounting and reporting guidance require that the investment must
be written down to the calculated net present value. Such an
instance would require the Company to recognize an immediate
expense in that quarter, and its earnings would be reduced.
Depending on the magnitude of any decrease in average prices, that
charge could be material. Under the Company's existing indenture
covenants, an impairment could restrict the Company's ability to
issue incremental long-term unsecured indebtedness for a period of
time, beginning with the fourth calendar month following the
impairment. In addition, because an impairment results in a charge
to retained earnings, it lowers the Company's total capitalization,
all other things being equal, and increases the Company's debt to
capitalization ratio. As a result, an impairment can impact the
Company's ability to maintain compliance with the debt to
capitalization covenant set forth in its credit facilities. For
example, for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2020 and the
quarter ended December 31, 2020, the Company recognized non-cash,
pre-tax impairment charges on its oil and natural gas properties of
$449.4 million and $76.2 million, respectively.
OPERATIONAL RISKS
The nature of the Company’s operations presents inherent risks of
loss that could adversely affect its results of operations,
financial condition and cash flows.
The Company’s operations in its various reporting segments are
subject to inherent hazards and risks such as: fires; natural
disasters; explosions; blowouts during well drilling; collapses of
wellbore casing or other tubulars; pipeline ruptures; spills; and
other hazards and risks that may cause personal injury, death,
property damage, environmental damage or business interruption
losses. Additionally, the Company’s facilities, machinery, and
equipment may be subject to sabotage. These events, in turn, could
lead to governmental investigations, recommendations, claims, fines
or penalties. As protection against operational hazards, the
Company maintains insurance coverage against some, but not all,
potential losses. The Company also seeks, but may be unable, to
secure written indemnification agreements with contractors that
adequately protect the Company against liability from all of the
consequences of the hazards described above. The occurrence of an
event not fully insured or indemnified against, the imposition of
fines, penalties or mandated programs by governmental authorities,
the failure of a contractor to meet its indemnification
obligations, or the failure of an insurance company to pay valid
claims could result in substantial losses to the Company. In
addition, insurance may not be available, or if available may not
be adequate, to cover any or all of these risks. It is also
possible that insurance premiums or other costs may rise
significantly in the future, so as to make such insurance
prohibitively expensive.
Hazards and risks faced by the Company, and insurance and
indemnification obtained or provided by the Company, may subject
the Company to litigation or administrative proceedings from time
to time. Such litigation or proceedings could result in substantial
monetary judgments, fines or penalties against the Company or be
resolved on unfavorable terms, the result of which could have a
material adverse effect on the Company’s results of operations,
financial condition and cash flows.
Our businesses depend on natural gas gathering, storage, and
transmission facilities, which, if unavailable, could adversely
affect the Company’s results of operations, financial condition,
and cash flows.
Our businesses depend on natural gas gathering, storage, and
transmission facilities, including third-party midstream facilities
that are not within our control. Our Exploration and Production and
Utility segments have entered into long-term agreements with
midstream providers for natural gas gathering, storage, and/or
transportation services. The disruption or unavailability of the
midstream facilities required to provide these services, due to
maintenance, mechanical failures, accidents, weather, regulatory
requirements and/or other operational hazards, could negatively
impact our ability to market and/or deliver our products,
especially if such disruption were to last for an extended period
of time. In addition, any substantial disruptions to the services
provided by our midstream providers could cause us to curtail a
significant amount of our production or could impair our ability to
deliver natural gas to our utility customers and could have a
material adverse effect on the Company’s results of operations,
financial condition, and cash flows. Furthermore, as substantially
all of our production is transported from the well pad to
interconnections with various FERC-regulated pipelines though our
affiliated gathering facilities, such a production curtailment
could result in significantly reduced throughput on those
facilities, adversely affecting revenues and cash flows of our
Gathering business.
The disruption of the Company's information technology and
operational technology systems, including third party attempts to
breach the Company’s network security, could adversely affect the
Company's financial results.
The Company relies on information technology and operational
technology systems to process, transmit, and store information, to
manage and support a variety of business processes and activities,
and to comply with regulatory, legal, and tax requirements. The
Company's information technology and operational technology
systems, some of which are dependent on services provided by third
parties, may be vulnerable to damage, interruption, or shutdown due
to any number of causes outside of our control such as catastrophic
events, natural disasters, fires, power outages, systems failures,
telecommunications failures, and employee error or malfeasance. In
addition, the Company's information technology and operational
technology systems are subject to attempts by others to gain
unauthorized access, or to otherwise introduce malicious software.
These
attempts might be the result of industrial or other espionage, or
actions by hackers seeking to harm the Company, its services or
customers. These more sophisticated cyber-related attacks, as well
as cybersecurity failures resulting from human error, pose a risk
to the security of the Company’s systems and networks and the
confidentiality, availability and integrity of the Company’s and
its customers’ data. That data may be considered sensitive,
confidential, or personal information that is subject to privacy
and security laws, regulations and directives. While the Company
employs reasonable and appropriate controls to maintain and protect
its information technology and operational technology systems, the
Company may be vulnerable to material disruptions, material
security breaches, lost or corrupted data, programming errors and
employee errors and/or malfeasance that could lead to interruptions
to the Company's business operations or the unauthorized access,
use, disclosure, modification or destruction of sensitive,
confidential or personal information. Attempts to breach the
Company’s network security may result in disruption of the
Company’s business operations and services, delays in production,
theft of sensitive and valuable data, damage to our physical
systems, and reputational harm. Significant expenditures may be
required to remedy system disruptions or breaches, including
restoration of customer service and enhancement of information
technology and operational technology systems.
The Company seeks to prevent, detect and investigate security
incidents, but in some cases the Company might be unaware of an
incident or its magnitude and effects. In addition to existing
risks, the adoption of new technologies may also increase the
Company’s exposure to data breaches or the Company’s ability to
detect and remediate effects of a breach. The Company has
experienced attempts to breach its network security and has
received notifications from third-party service providers who have
experienced disruptions to services or data breaches where Company
data was potentially impacted. Although the scope of such incidents
is sometimes unknown, they could prove to be material to the
Company. Even though insurance coverage is in place for
cyber-related risks, if a material disruption or breach were to
occur, the Company’s operations, earnings, cash flows and financial
condition could be adversely affected to the extent not fully
covered by such insurance.
The amount and timing of actual future natural gas production and
the cost of drilling are difficult to predict and may vary
significantly from reserves and production estimates, which may
reduce the Company’s earnings.
There are many risks in developing natural gas, including numerous
uncertainties inherent in estimating quantities of proved natural
gas reserves and in projecting future rates of production and
timing of development expenditures. The future success of the
Company’s Exploration and Production and Gathering segments depends
on its ability to develop additional natural gas reserves that are
economically recoverable, and its failure to do so may reduce the
Company’s earnings. The total and timing of actual future
production may vary significantly from reserves and production
estimates. The Company’s drilling of development wells can involve
significant risks, including those related to timing, success
rates, and cost overruns, and these risks can be affected by lease
and rig availability, completion crew and related equipment
availability, geology, and other factors. Drilling for natural gas
can be unprofitable, not only from non-productive wells, but from
productive wells that do not produce sufficient revenues to return
a profit. Also, title problems, competition and cost to acquire
mineral rights, weather conditions, governmental requirements,
including completion of environmental impact analyses and
compliance with other environmental laws and regulations, and
shortages or delays in the delivery of equipment and services can
delay drilling operations or result in their cancellation. The cost
of drilling, completing, and operating wells is significant and
often uncertain, and new wells may not be productive or the Company
may not recover all or any portion of its investment. Production
can also be delayed or made uneconomic if there is insufficient
gathering, processing and transportation capacity available at an
economic price to get that production to a location where it can be
profitably sold. Without continued successful exploitation or
acquisition activities, the Company’s reserves and revenues will
decline as a result of its current reserves being depleted by
production. The Company cannot make assurances that it will be able
to find or acquire additional reserves at acceptable
costs.
The physical risks associated with climate change may adversely
affect the Company’s operations and financial results.
Climate change could create acute and/or chronic physical risks to
the Company’s operations, which may adversely affect financial
results. Acute physical risks include more frequent and severe
weather events, which may result in adverse physical effects on
portions of U.S. natural gas infrastructure, and could disrupt the
Company’s supply chain and ultimately its operations. Disruption of
production activities, as well as natural gas transportation and
distribution systems, could result in reduced operational
efficiency, and customer service interruption. Severe weather
events could also cause physical damage to facilities, all of which
could lead to reduced revenues, increased insurance premiums or
increased operational costs. To the extent the Company’s regulated
businesses are unable to recover those costs, or if the recovery of
those costs results in higher rates and reduced demand for Company
services, the Company’s future financial results could be adversely
impacted. Chronic physical risks include long-term shifts in
climate patterns resulting in new storm patterns or chronic
increased temperatures, which could cause demand for gas to
increase or decrease as a result of warmer weather and less degree
days, and adversely impact the Company's future financial
results.
Disputes with collective bargaining units representing the
Company’s workforce, and work stoppage (e.g. strike or lockout),
could adversely affect the Company’s operations as well as its
financial results.
Approximately half of the Company’s active workforce is represented
by collective bargaining units in New York and Pennsylvania. These
labor agreements are negotiated periodically, and therefore, the
Company is subject to the risk that such agreements may not be able
to be renewed on reasonably satisfactory terms, on anticipated
timelines, or at all. In connection with the negotiation of such
collective bargaining agreements, or in future matters involving
collective bargaining units representing the Company’s workforce,
the Company could experience, among other things, strikes, work
stoppages, slowdowns or lockouts, which could cause a disruption of
the Company's operations and have a material adverse effect on the
Company's results of operations and financial
condition.
REGULATORY RISKS
The Company’s need to comply with comprehensive, complex, and the
sometimes unpredictable enforcement of government regulations may
increase its costs and limit its revenue growth, which may result
in reduced earnings.
The Company’s businesses are subject to regulation under a wide
variety of federal and state laws, regulations and policies.
Existing statutes and regulations, including current tax rates, may
be revised or reinterpreted and new laws and regulations may be
adopted or become applicable to the Company, which may increase the
Company's costs, require refunds to customers or affect its
business in ways that the Company cannot predict. Administrative
agencies may apply existing laws and regulations in unanticipated,
inconsistent or legally unsupportable ways, making it difficult to
develop and complete projects, and harming the economic climate
generally.
Various aspects of the Company's operations are subject to
regulation by a variety of federal and state agencies with respect
to permitting and environmental requirements. In some areas, the
Company’s operations may also be subject to locally adopted
ordinances. Administrative proceedings or increased regulation by
these agencies could lead to operational delays or restrictions and
increased expense for one or more of the Company’s
subsidiaries.
The Company is subject to the jurisdiction of the Pipeline and
Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA). The PHMSA issues
regulations and conducts evaluations, among other things, that set
safety standards for pipelines and underground storage facilities.
If as a result of these or similar new laws or regulations the
Company incurs material compliance costs that it is unable to
recover fully through rates or otherwise offset, the Company's
financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows could be
adversely affected.
The Company is subject to the jurisdiction of the FERC with respect
to Supply Corporation, Empire and some transactions performed by
other Company subsidiaries. The FERC, among other things, approves
the rates
that Supply Corporation and Empire may charge to their gas
transportation and/or storage customers. Those approved rates also
impact the returns that Supply Corporation and Empire may earn on
the assets that are dedicated to those operations. Pursuant to the
petition of a customer or state commission, or on the FERC's own
initiative, the FERC has the authority to investigate whether
Supply Corporation's and Empire's rates are still "just and
reasonable" as required by the NGA, and if not, to adjust those
rates prospectively. If Supply Corporation or Empire is required in
a rate proceeding to adjust the rates it charges its gas
transportation and/or storage customers, or if either Supply
Corporation or Empire is unable to obtain approval for rate
increases, particularly when necessary to cover increased costs,
Supply Corporation's or Empire's earnings may decrease. In
addition, the FERC exercises jurisdiction over the construction and
operation of interstate natural gas transmission and storage
facilities and also possesses significant penalty authority with
respect to violations of the laws and regulations it
administers.
The operations of Distribution Corporation are subject to the
jurisdiction of the NYPSC, the PaPUC and, with respect to certain
transactions, the FERC. The NYPSC and the PaPUC, among other
things, approve the rates that Distribution Corporation may charge
to its utility customers. Those approved rates also impact the
returns that Distribution Corporation may earn on the assets that
are dedicated to those operations. If Distribution Corporation is
unable to obtain approval from these regulators for the rates it is
requesting to charge utility customers, particularly when necessary
to cover increased costs, earnings and/or cash flows may
decrease.
Environmental regulation significantly affects the Company’s
business.
The Company’s business operations are subject to federal, state,
and local laws, regulations and agency policies relating to
environmental protection including obtaining and complying with
permits, leases, approvals, consents and certifications from
various governmental and permit authorities. These laws,
regulations and policies concern the generation, storage,
transportation, disposal, emission or discharge of pollutants,
contaminants, hazardous substances and greenhouse gases into the
environment, the reporting of such matters, and the general
protection of public health, natural resources, wildlife and the
environment. For example, currently applicable environmental laws
and regulations restrict the types, quantities and concentrations
of materials that can be released into the environment in
connection with regulated activities, limit or prohibit activities
in certain protected areas, and may require the Company to
investigate and/or remediate contamination at certain current and
former properties regardless of whether such contamination resulted
from the Company’s actions or whether such actions were in
compliance with applicable laws and regulations at the time they
were taken. Moreover, spills or releases of regulated substances or
the discovery of currently unknown contamination could expose the
Company to material losses, expenditures and environmental, health
and safety liabilities. Such liabilities could include penalties,
sanctions or claims for damages to persons, property or natural
resources brought on behalf of the government or private litigants
that could cause the Company to incur substantial costs or
uninsured losses.
Costs of compliance and liabilities could negatively affect the
Company’s results of operations, financial condition and cash
flows. In addition, compliance with environmental laws, regulations
or permit conditions could require unexpected capital expenditures
at the Company’s facilities, temporarily shut down the Company’s
facilities or delay or cause the cancellation of expansion projects
or natural gas drilling activities. Because the costs of such
compliance are significant, additional regulation could negatively
affect the Company’s business.
Increased regulation of exploration and production activities,
including hydraulic fracturing, could adversely impact the
Company.
Various state legislative and regulatory initiatives regarding the
exploration and production business have been proposed or adopted
in the northeast United States affecting the Marcellus and Utica
Shale gas plays. These initiatives include potential new or updated
statutes and regulations governing the drilling, casing, cementing,
testing, monitoring and abandonment of wells, the protection of
water supplies and restrictions on water use and water rights,
hydraulic fracturing operations, surface owners’ rights and damage
compensation, the spacing of wells, use and disposal of potentially
hazardous materials, and environmental and safety issues regarding
gas pipelines. New permitting fees and/or severance taxes for
natural gas production are also possible.
Additionally, legislative initiatives in the U.S. Congress and
regulatory studies, proceedings or rule-making initiatives at
federal, state or local agencies focused on the hydraulic
fracturing process, the use of underground injection control wells
for produced water disposal, and related operations could result in
operational delays or prohibitions and/or additional permitting,
compliance, reporting and disclosure requirements, which could lead
to increased operating costs and increased risks of litigation for
the Company.
The Company could be adversely affected by the delayed recovery or
disallowance of purchased gas costs incurred by the Utility
segment.
Tariff rate schedules in each of the Utility segment’s service
territories contain purchased natural gas adjustment clauses which
permit Distribution Corporation to file with state regulators for
rate adjustments to recover increases in the cost of purchased
natural gas. Assuming those rate adjustments are granted, increases
in the cost of purchased natural gas have no direct impact on
profit margins. Distribution Corporation is required to file an
accounting reconciliation with the regulators in each of the
Utility segment’s service territories regarding the costs of
purchased natural gas. Extreme weather events, variations in
seasonal weather, and other events disrupting supply and/or demand
could cause the Company to experience unforeseeable and
unprecedented increases in the costs of purchased natural gas. Any
prudently incurred natural gas costs could be subject to deferred
recovery if regulators determine such costs are detrimental to
customers in the short-term. Furthermore, there is a risk of
disallowance of full recovery of these costs if regulators
determine that Distribution Corporation was imprudent in making its
natural gas purchases. Any material delayed recovery or
disallowance of purchased natural gas costs could have a material
adverse effect on cash flow and earnings.
GENERAL RISKS
The Company’s credit ratings may not reflect all the risks of an
investment in its securities.
The Company’s credit ratings are an independent assessment of its
ability to pay its obligations. Consequently, real or anticipated
changes in the Company’s credit ratings will generally affect the
market value of the specific debt instruments that are rated, as
well as the market value of the Company’s common stock. The
Company’s credit ratings, however, may not reflect the potential
impact on the value of its common stock of risks related to
structural, market or other factors discussed in this Form
10-K.
The increasing costs of certain employee and retiree benefits could
adversely affect the Company’s results.
The Company’s earnings and cash flow may be impacted by the amount
of income or expense it expends or records for employee benefit
plans. This is particularly true for pension and other
post-retirement benefit plans, which are dependent on actual plan
asset returns and factors used to determine the value and current
costs of plan benefit obligations. In addition, if medical costs
rise at a rate faster than the general inflation rate, the Company
might not be able to mitigate the rising costs of medical benefits.
Increases to the costs of pension, other post-retirement and
medical benefits could have an adverse effect on the Company’s
financial results.
Significant shareholders or potential shareholders may attempt to
effect changes at the Company or acquire control over the Company,
which could adversely affect the Company’s results of operations
and financial condition.
Shareholders of the Company may from time to time engage in proxy
solicitations, advance shareholder proposals or otherwise attempt
to effect changes or acquire control over the Company. Campaigns by
shareholders to effect changes at publicly traded companies are
sometimes led by investors seeking to increase short-term
shareholder value through actions such as financial restructuring,
increased debt, special dividends, stock repurchases or sales of
assets or the entire company. Additionally, activist shareholders
may submit proposals to promote an environmental, social, and/or
governance position. Responding to proxy contests and other actions
by activist shareholders can be costly and time-consuming,
disrupting the Company’s operations and diverting the attention of
the Company’s Board of Directors and senior management from the
pursuit of business strategies. As a result, shareholder campaigns
could adversely affect the Company’s results of operations and
financial condition.
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Item 1B |
Unresolved Staff Comments |
None.
General Information on Facilities
The net investment of the Company in property, plant and
equipment
was $6.6 billion
at September 30, 2022. The Exploration and Production
segment
constitutes 31.2%
of this investment, and is primarily located in the Appalachian
region of the United States.
Approximately 56.1%
of the Company's investment in net property, plant and equipment
was in the Utility and Pipeline and Storage segments, whose
operations are located primarily in western and central New York
and western Pennsylvania. The Gathering segment
constitutes 12.6%
of the Company’s investment in net property, plant and equipment,
and is located in northwestern and central Pennsylvania. The
remaining 0.1% of the Company's net investment in property, plant
and equipment falls within All Other and Corporate operations.
During the past five years, the Company has made significant
additions to property, plant and equipment in order to expand its
exploration and production and gathering operations in the
Appalachian region of the United States and to expand and modernize
transmission and distribution facilities for customers in New York
and Pennsylvania. Net property, plant and equipment
has increased $1.9 billion, or 40.5%,
since September 30, 2017. The five year increase is net of
impairments of oil and gas producing properties recorded in 2020
and 2021 ($449 million and $76 million, respectively).
The Exploration and Production segment had a net investment in
property, plant and equipment of
$2.1 billion
at September 30, 2022.
The Pipeline and Storage segment had a net investment of
$2.0 billion in
property, plant and equipment at September 30, 2022.
Transmission pipeline
represents 37% of
this segment’s total net investment and includes
2,301 miles of pipeline
utilized to move large volumes of gas throughout its service area.
Storage facilities
represent 13%
of this segment’s total net investment
and consist of 387 miles of pipeline, as well as 30 storage fields
operating at a combined working gas level of 77.2 Bcf, three of
which are jointly owned and operated with other interstate gas
pipeline companies.
Net investment in storage facilities includes
$79.7 million of gas stored
underground-noncurrent,
representing the cost of the gas utilized to maintain pressure
levels for normal operating purposes as well as gas maintained for
system balancing and other purposes, including that needed for
no-notice transportation service. The Pipeline and Storage segment
has
34 compressor stations with 262,393 installed horsepower that
represent 32% of this segment’s total net investment in property,
plant and equipment.
The Pipeline and Storage segment's facilities provided the capacity
to meet Supply Corporation’s 2022 peak day sendout for
transportation service
of 2,092 MMcf, which occurred on January 10, 2022. Withdrawals
from storage of 718 MMcf provided approximately 34% of the
requirements on that day.
The Gathering segment had a net investment of
$0.8 billion in
property, plant and equipment at September 30, 2022. Gathering
lines and related compressor stations represent substantially all
of this segment’s total net investment,
including 368 miles of pipelines utilized to move Appalachian
production (including Marcellus and Utica shales) to various
transmission pipeline receipt points. The Gathering segment has 25
compressor stations with 119,980 installed horsepower.
The Utility segment had a net investment in property, plant and
equipment of
$1.7 billion
at September 30, 2022. The net investment in its gas
distribution network
(including 15,040 miles of distribution pipeline)
and its service connections to customers
represent approximately 49% and 32%,
respectively, of the Utility segment’s net investment in property,
plant and equipment at September 30, 2022.
Company maps are included in Exhibit 99.2 of this
Form 10-K and are incorporated herein by
reference.
Exploration and Production Activities
The Company is engaged in the exploration for and the development
of natural
gas reserves in
the Appalachian region of the United States. The Company's
development activities in the Appalachian region are
focused primarily in the Marcellus and Utica shales. Further
discussion of oil and gas producing activities is included in
Item 8, Note N — Supplementary Information for Oil and Gas
Producing Activities. Note N sets forth proved developed and
undeveloped reserve information for Seneca. The September 30,
2022, 2021 and 2020 reserves shown in Note N are valued using
an unweighted arithmetic average of the first day of the month oil
and gas prices for each month within the twelve-month period prior
to the end of the reporting period. The reserves were estimated by
Seneca’s petroleum engineers and were audited by independent
petroleum engineers from Netherland, Sewell & Associates,
Inc. Note N discusses the qualifications of the Company's
petroleum engineers, internal controls over the reserve estimation
process and audit of the reserve estimates and changes in proved
developed and undeveloped oil and natural gas reserves year over
year.
Seneca's proved developed and undeveloped natural gas
reserves increased from
3,723 Bcf at September 30, 2021
to 4,171 Bcf
at September 30, 2022.
This increase is attributed to extensions and discoveries of 838
Bcf and revisions of previous estimates of 3 Bcf, partially offset
by production of 343 Bcf. Upward revisions included 3 Bcf of
price-related revisions and 13 Bcf of revisions related to positive
performance improvements including reduced operating expenses. The
additions and upward revisions were partially offset by divestures
of 50 Bcf as well as downward revisions of 13 Bcf from the removal
of 1 PUD location related to pad layout changes. The Company has no
near term plans to develop the reserves at this PUD
location.
Seneca’s proved developed
and undeveloped oil reserves decreased from 21,537 Mbbl at
September 30, 2021 to 250 Mbbl at September 30, 2022. The decrease
of 21,287 Mbbl is attributed to production of 1,604 Mbbl and the
sale of Seneca's West Coast region (i.e., California assets) of
20,766 Mbbl. These decreases were partially offset by positive
performance revisions of 787 Mbbl and extensions and discoveries of
296 Mbbl.
On a Bcfe basis, Seneca’s proved developed and undeveloped
reserves increased from 3,853 Bcfe at September 30, 2021 to 4,172
Bcfe at September 30, 2022. This increase is attributed to
extensions and discoveries of 839 Bcfe and upward revisions of
previous estimates of 8 Bcfe, partially offset by production of 353
Bcfe and divestures, primarily from the sale of the West Coast
region (i.e., California assets), of 175 Bcfe.
Seneca's proved developed and undeveloped natural gas reserves
increased from 3,325 Bcf at September 30, 2020 to 3,723 Bcf at
September 30, 2021. This increase was attributed to extensions and
discoveries of 689 Bcf and revisions of previous estimates of 23
Bcf, partially offset by production of 314 Bcf. Upward revisions
included 74 Bcf of price-related revisions and 29 Bcf of revisions
related to positive performance improvements including reduced
operating expenses. Downward revisions of 80 Bcf from the removal
of 8 PUD locations were due to continued integration of the Tioga
assets acquired in July 2020, as well as other operational
optimizations that resulted in pad layout and development schedule
changes.
Seneca’s proved developed and undeveloped oil reserves decreased
from 22,100 Mbbl at September 30, 2020 to 21,537 Mbbl at September
30, 2021. The decrease of 563 Mbbl was attributed to production of
2,235 Mbbl and downward revisions of previous estimates of 579
Mbbl, partially offset by positive price-related revisions of 1,210
Mbbl and extensions and discoveries of 1,041 Mbbl, primarily
occurring in the West Coast region.
On a Bcfe basis, Seneca’s proved developed and undeveloped reserves
increased from 3,458 Bcfe at September 30, 2020 to 3,853 Bcfe at
September 30, 2021. This increase was attributed to extensions and
discoveries of 696 Bcfe and upward revisions of previous estimates
of 26 Bcfe, partially offset by production of 327
Bcfe.
At September 30, 2022,
the Company’s Exploration and Production segment had delivery
commitments for natural gas production of 2,390 Bcf. The Company
expects to meet those commitments through the future production of
reserves that are currently classified as proved reserves and
future extensions and discoveries.
The following is a summary of certain oil and gas information taken
from Seneca’s records. All monetary amounts are expressed in
U.S. dollars.
Production
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For The Year Ended September 30 |
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2022 |
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2021 |
|
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2020 |
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United States |
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Appalachian Region |
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|
|
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|
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Average Sales Price per Mcf of Gas |
$ |
5.03 |
|
(1) |
|
$ |
2.46 |
|
(1) |
|
$ |
1.75 |
|
(1) |
Average Sales Price per Barrel of Oil |
$ |
97.82 |
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|
|
$ |
48.02 |
|
|
|
$ |
45.69 |
|
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Average Sales Price per Mcf of Gas (after hedging) |
$ |
2.69 |
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|
|
$ |
2.22 |
|
|
|
$ |
2.05 |
|
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Average Sales Price per Barrel of Oil (after hedging) |
$ |
97.82 |
|
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|
$ |
48.02 |
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|
$ |
45.69 |
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Average Production (Lifting) Cost per Mcf Equivalent of Gas and Oil
Produced
|
$ |
0.68 |
|
(1) |
|
$ |
0.67 |
|
(1) |
|
$ |
0.68 |
|
(1) |
Average Production per Day (in MMcf Equivalent of Gas and Oil
Produced)
|
936 |
|
(1) |
|
856 |
|
(1) |
|
616 |
|
(1) |
West Coast Region |
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Average Sales Price per Mcf of Gas |
$ |
10.03 |
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$ |
6.34 |
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|
$ |
3.82 |
|
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Average Sales Price per Barrel of Oil |
$ |
94.06 |
|
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|
$ |
60.50 |
|
|
|
$ |
45.94 |
|
|
Average Sales Price per Mcf of Gas (after hedging) |
$ |
10.03 |
|
|
|
$ |
6.34 |
|
|
|
$ |
3.82 |
|
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Average Sales Price per Barrel of Oil (after hedging) |
$ |
70.53 |
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|
$ |
56.55 |
|
|
|
$ |
56.97 |
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Average Production (Lifting) Cost per Mcf Equivalent of Gas and Oil
Produced
|
$ |
4.83 |
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|
$ |
3.74 |
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$ |
3.14 |
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Average Production per Day (in MMcf Equivalent of Gas and Oil
Produced)
|
39 |
|
(2) |
|
41 |
|
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|
44 |
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Total Company |
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Average Sales Price per Mcf of Gas |
$ |
5.05 |
|
|
|
$ |
2.49 |
|
|
|
$ |
1.77 |
|
|
Average Sales Price per Barrel of Oil |
$ |
94.10 |
|
|
|
$ |
60.49 |
|
|
|
$ |
45.94 |
|
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Average Sales Price per Mcf of Gas (after hedging) |
$ |
2.71 |
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|
$ |
2.25 |
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|
$ |
2.07 |
|
|
Average Sales Price per Barrel of Oil (after hedging) |
$ |
70.80 |
|
|
|
$ |
56.54 |
|
|
|
$ |
56.96 |
|
|
Average Production (Lifting) Cost per Mcf Equivalent of Gas and Oil
Produced
|
$ |
0.81 |
|
|
|
$ |
0.82 |
|
|
|
$ |
0.84 |
|
|
Average Production per Day (in MMcf Equivalent of Gas and Oil
Produced)
|
966 |
|
|
|
897 |
|
|
|
660 |
|
|
(1)Average
sales prices per Mcf of gas reflect sales of gas in the Marcellus
and Utica Shale fields. The Marcellus Shale fields
(which exceed 15% of total reserves at September 30, 2022, 2021 and
2020)
contributed
574 MMcfe, 597
MMcfe and 463 MMcfe of daily production in 2022, 2021 and
2020, respectively. The average lifting costs (per Mcfe)
were
$0.71 in
2022, $0.70 in 2021 and $0.70 in 2020. The Utica Shale
fields
(which exceed 15% of total reserves at September 30, 2022, 2021 and
2020) contributed 357 MMcfe, 255 MMcfe and 151 MMcfe of daily
production in 2022, 2021 and 2020, respectively. The average
lifting costs (per Mcfe) were $0.63 in
2022, $0.62 in 2021 and $0.62 in 2020.
(2)West
Coast region properties were sold at June 30, 2022.
Productive Wells
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Appalachian
Region |
|
West Coast
Region |
|
Total Company |
At September 30, 2022 |
Gas |
|
Oil |
|
Gas |
|
Oil |
|
Gas |
|
Oil |
Productive Wells — Gross |
996 |
|
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
|
996 |
|
|
— |
|
Productive Wells — Net |
870 |
|
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
|
870 |
|
|
— |
|
Developed and Undeveloped Acreage
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
At September 30, 2022 |
Appalachian
Region |
|
West Coast
Region |
|
Total
Company |
Developed Acreage |
|
|
|
|
|
— Gross |
655,433 |
|
|
— |
|
|
655,433 |
|
— Net |
643,381 |
|
|
— |
|
|
643,381 |
|
Undeveloped Acreage |
|
|
|
|
|
— Gross |
675,886 |
|
|
— |
|
|
675,886 |
|
— Net |
636,523 |
|
|
— |
|
|
636,523 |
|
Total Developed and Undeveloped Acreage |
|
|
|
|
|
— Gross |
1,331,319 |
|
|
— |
|
|
1,331,319 |
|
— Net |
1,279,904 |
|
(1) |
— |
|
|
1,279,904 |
|
(1)Of
the 1,279,904 Total Developed and Undeveloped Net Acreage in the
Appalachian region as of September 30, 2022, there are a total of
1,208,976 net acres in Pennsylvania. Of the 1,208,976 total net
acres in Pennsylvania, shale development in the Marcellus, Utica or
Geneseo shales has occurred on approximately 121,411 net acres, or
10% of Seneca’s total net acres in Pennsylvania. Developed Acreage
in the table reflects previous development activities in the Upper
Devonian formation, but does not include the potential for
development beneath this formation in areas of previous
development, which includes the Marcellus, Utica and Geneseo
shales.
As of September 30, 2022, the aggregate amounts
of gross undeveloped acreage expiring in the next three years and
thereafter are as follows: 2,569 acres in 2023 (2,368 net
acres), 15,203 acres in 2024 (14,310 net acres),
1,547 acres in 2025 (1,388 net acres) and 192,105 acres
thereafter (187,765 net acres).
The remaining 464,462 gross acres (430,692 net acres) represent
non-expiring oil and gas rights owned by the Company. Of the
acreage that is currently scheduled to expire in 2023, 2024 and
2025, Seneca has 80.2 Bcf of associated proved undeveloped gas
reserves. As a part of its management approved development plan,
Seneca generally commences development of these reserves prior to
the expiration of the leases and/or proactively extends/renews
these leases.
Drilling Activity
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Productive |
|
Dry |
For the Year Ended September 30 |
2022 |
|
2021 |
|
2020 |
|
2022 |
|
2021 |
|
2020 |
United States |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Appalachian Region |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net Wells Completed |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
— Exploratory |
— |
|
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
|
1.00 |
|
— Development(1) |
43.00 |
|
|
47.83 |
|
|
39.84 |
|
|
2.50 |
|
|
2.00 |
|
|
6.50 |
|
West Coast Region |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net Wells Completed |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
— Exploratory |
— |
|
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
— Development |
23.00 |
|
|
10.00 |
|
|
34.00 |
|
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
Total Company |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net Wells Completed |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
— Exploratory |
— |
|
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
|
1.00 |
|
— Development |
66.00 |
|
|
57.83 |
|
|
73.84 |
|
|
2.50 |
|
|
2.00 |
|
|
6.50 |
|
(1)Fiscal
2022, 2021 and 2020
Appalachian region dry wells include 2.5, 2 and 4.5 net wells,
respectively, drilled prior to 2012 that were never completed under
a joint venture in which the Company was the nonoperator. The
Company became the operator of the properties in 2017 and plugged
and abandoned the wells in 2022, 2021 and 2020 after the Company
determined it would not continue development activities. The
remaining 2 dry wells in fiscal 2020 relate to plugged and
abandoned well locations where preparatory top-hole drilling
operations had commenced but further development activities (e.g.,
vertical and horizontal drilling, hydraulic fracturing, etc.) did
not proceed as a result of changes to the Company's development
plans.
Present Activities
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
At September 30, 2022 |
Appalachian
Region |
|
West Coast Region |
|
Total Company |
Wells in Process of Drilling(1) |
|
|
|
|
|
— Gross |
49.00 |
|
|
— |
|
|
49.00 |
|
— Net |
46.50 |
|
|
— |
|
|
46.50 |
|
(1)Includes
wells awaiting completion.
For a discussion of various environmental and other matters, refer
to Part II, Item 7, MD&A and Item 8 at
Note L — Commitments and Contingencies.
For a discussion of certain rate matters involving the NYPSC, refer
to Part II, Item 7, MD&A of this report under the heading
"Other Matters - Rate Matters."
|
|
|
|
|
|
Item 4 |
Mine Safety Disclosures |
Not Applicable.
PART II
|
|
|
|
|
|
Item 5 |
Market for the Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder
Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities |
At September 30, 2022, there were 9,236 registered shareholders of
Company common stock. The common stock is listed and traded on the
New York Stock Exchange under the trading symbol "NFG". Information
regarding the market for the Company’s common equity and related
stockholder matters appears under Item 12 at Security
Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related
Stockholder Matters and Item 8 at Note H —
Capitalization and Short-Term Borrowings.
On July 1, 2022, the Company issued a total of 6,560 unregistered
shares of Company common stock to non-employee directors of the
Company then serving on the Board of Directors of the Company (or,
in the case of non-employee directors who elected to defer receipt
of such shares pursuant to the Company's Deferred Compensation Plan
for Directors and Officers (the “DCP”), to the DCP trustee),
consisting of 656 shares per director. All of these unregistered
shares were issued under the Company’s 2009 Non-Employee Director
Equity Compensation Plan as partial consideration for such
directors’ services during the quarter ended September 30,
2022. The Company issued an additional 273 unregistered shares in
the aggregate on July 15, 2022, pursuant to the dividend
reinvestment feature of the DCP, to the six non-employee directors
who defer the shares issued for the quarter ended September 30,
2022. These transactions were exempt from registration under
Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, as transactions not
involving a public offering.
Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Period |
Total Number
of Shares
Purchased(a) |
|
Average Price
Paid per
Share |
|
Total Number of
Shares Purchased
as Part of
Publicly Announced
Share Repurchase
Plans or Programs |
|
Maximum Number
of Shares that May
Yet Be Purchased Under Share Repurchase Plans or
Programs(b) |
July 1-31, 2022
|
12,420 |
|
|
$ |
65.24 |
|
|
— |
|
|
6,971,019 |
|
Aug. 1-31, 2022
|
10,598 |
|
|
$ |
72.22 |
|
|
— |
|
|
6,971,019 |
|
Sept. 1-30, 2022
|
9,387 |
|
|
$ |
71.18 |
|
|
— |
|
|
6,971,019 |
|
Total |
32,405 |
|
|
$ |
69.37 |
|
|
— |
|
|
6,971,019 |
|
(a)Represents
(i) shares of common stock of the Company purchased with Company
“matching contributions” for the accounts of participants in the
Company’s 401(k) plans, and (ii) shares of common stock of the
Company tendered to the Company by holders of stock-based
compensation awards for the payment of applicable withholding
taxes. During the quarter ended September 30, 2022, the
Company did not purchase any shares of its common stock pursuant to
its publicly announced share repurchase program. Of the 32,405
shares purchased other than through a publicly announced share
repurchase program, 29,440 were purchased for the Company’s 401(k)
plans and 2,965 were purchased as a result of shares tendered to
the Company by holders of stock-based compensation
awards.
(b)In
September 2008, the Company's Board of Directors authorized the
repurchase of eight million shares of the Company's common stock.
The Company has not repurchased any shares since September 17,
2008. The repurchase program has no expiration date and management
would discuss with the Company's Board of Directors any future
repurchases under this program.
Performance Graph
The following graph compares the Company’s common stock performance
with the performance of the S&P 500 Index, the S&P Mid Cap
400 Gas Utility Index and the S&P 1500 Oil & Gas
Exploration & Production Index for the period
September 30, 2017 through September 30, 2022. The graph
assumes that the value of the investment in the Company’s common
stock and in each index was $100 on September 30, 2017 and
that all dividends were reinvested.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
National Fuel |
$100 |
$101 |
$87 |
$79 |
$106 |
$127 |
S&P 500 Index |
$100 |
$117 |
$122 |
$141 |
$183 |
$155 |
S&P Mid Cap 400 Gas Utility Index (S4GASU) |
$100 |
$112 |
$116 |
$82 |
$100 |
$103 |
S&P 1500 Oil & Gas Exp & Prod Index
(S15OILP) |
$100 |
$126 |
$81 |
$45 |
$105 |
$155 |
Source: Bloomberg
The performance graph above is furnished and not filed for purposes
of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and will
not be incorporated by reference into any registration statement
filed under the Securities Act of 1933 unless specifically
identified therein as being incorporated therein by reference. The
performance graph is not soliciting material subject to Regulation
14A.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Item 7 |
Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and
Results of Operations |
OVERVIEW
The Company is a diversified energy company engaged principally in
the production, gathering, transportation, storage and distribution
of natural gas. The Company operates an integrated business, with
assets centered in western New York and Pennsylvania, being
utilized for, and benefiting from, the production and
transportation of natural gas from the Appalachian basin. Current
development activities are focused primarily in the Marcellus and
Utica shales. The common geographic footprint of the Company’s
subsidiaries enables them to share management, labor, facilities
and support services across various businesses and pursue
coordinated projects designed to produce and transport natural gas
from the Appalachian basin to markets in the eastern United States
and Canada. The Company's efforts in this regard are not limited to
affiliated projects. The Company has also been designing and
building pipeline projects for the transportation of natural gas
for non-affiliated natural gas customers in the Appalachian basin.
The Company reports financial results for four business segments:
Exploration and Production, Pipeline and Storage, Gathering, and
Utility.
Corporate Responsibility
The Board of Directors and management recognize that the long-term
interests of stockholders are served by considering the interests
of customers, employees and the communities in which the Company
operates. The Board retains risk oversight and general oversight of
corporate responsibility, including environmental, social and
governance (“ESG”) concerns, and any related health and safety
issues that might arise from the Company’s operations. The Board’s
Nominating/Corporate Governance Committee oversees and provides
guidance concerning the Company’s practices and reporting with
respect to corporate responsibility and ESG factors that are of
significance to the Company and its stakeholders, and may also make
recommendations to the Board regarding ESG initiatives and
strategies, including the Company’s progress on integrating ESG
factors into business strategy and decision-making.
Part of the Board and management’s strategic and capital spending
decision process includes identifying and assessing climate-related
risks and opportunities. Management reports quarterly to the Board
on critical and potentially emerging risks, including
climate-related risks, as part of the Enterprise Risk Management
process. Since the Company operates an integrated business with
assets being utilized for, and benefiting from, the production,
transportation and consumption of natural gas, the Board and
management consider physical and transitional climate risks,
including policy and legal risks, technological developments,
shifts in market conditions, including future natural gas usage,
and reputational risks, and the impact of those risks on the
Company’s business. In March 2022, the Company published its
inaugural Climate Report, analyzing climate-related transitional
and physical risks, and describing our strategy for addressing
those risks, as well as the resiliency of that strategy under a
carbon constrained scenario. The Company reviews and considers
adjustments to its approach to capital investment in response to
these transitional developments, with its long-term,
returns-focused approach.
The Company recognizes the important role of ongoing system
modernization and efficiency in reducing greenhouse gas emissions
and remains focused on reducing the Company’s carbon footprint,
with these efforts positioning natural gas, and the Company’s
related infrastructure, to remain an important part of the energy
complex. In 2021, the Company set methane intensity reduction
targets at each of its businesses, an absolute greenhouse gas
emissions reduction target for the consolidated Company, and
greenhouse gas reduction targets associated with the Company’s
utility delivery system. In 2022, the Company began measuring
progress against these reduction targets. The Company also
incorporated short-term and long-term executive compensation goals
designed to incentivize and reward performance if reduction targets
are met or exceeded. The Company's ability to estimate accurately
the time, costs and resources necessary to meet these emissions
reduction targets may change as environmental exposures and
opportunities change, technology advances, and legislative and
regulatory updates are issued.
Fiscal 2022 Highlights
This Item 7, MD&A, provides information
concerning:
1.The
critical accounting estimates of the Company;
2.Changes
in revenues and earnings of the Company under the heading, “Results
of Operations;”
3.Operating,
investing and financing cash flows under the heading “Capital
Resources and Liquidity” and;
4.Other
Matters, including: (a) 2022 and projected 2023 funding for
the Company’s pension and other post-retirement benefits;
(b) disclosures and tables concerning market risk sensitive
instruments; (c) rate matters in the Company’s New York,
Pennsylvania and FERC-regulated jurisdictions;
(d) environmental matters; and (e) effects of
inflation.
The information in MD&A should be read in conjunction with the
Company’s financial statements in Item 8 of this report, which
includes a comparison of our Results of Operations and Capital
Resources and Liquidity for fiscal 2022 and fiscal 2021. For a
discussion of the Company's earnings, refer to the Results of
Operations section below. A discussion of changes in the Company’s
results of operations from fiscal 2020 to fiscal 2021 has been
omitted from this Form 10-K, but may be found in Item 7, MD&A,
of the Company’s Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30,
2021, filed with the SEC on November 19, 2021.
On June 30, 2022, the Company completed the sale of Seneca’s
California assets to Sentinel Peak Resources California LLC for a
total sale price of $253.5 million, consisting of $240.9 million in
cash and contingent consideration valued at $12.6 million at
closing. The Company pursued this sale given the strong commodity
price environment and the Company's strategic focus in the
Appalachian Basin. Under the terms of the purchase and sale
agreement, the Company can receive up to three annual contingent
payments between calendar year 2023 and calendar year 2025, not to
exceed $10 million per year, with the amount of each annual payment
calculated as $1.0 million for each $1 per barrel that the ICE
Brent Average for each calendar year exceeds $95 per barrel up to
$105 per barrel. The sale price, which reflected an effective date
of April 1, 2022, was reduced for production revenues less expenses
that were retained by Seneca from the effective date to the closing
date. Under the full cost method of accounting for oil and natural
gas properties, $220.7 million of the sale price at closing was
accounted for as a reduction of capitalized costs since the
disposition did not alter the relationship between capitalized
costs and proved reserves of oil and gas attributable to the cost
center. The remainder of the sale price ($32.8 million) was applied
against assets that are not subject to the full cost method of
accounting, with the Company recognizing a gain of $12.7 million on
the sale of such assets. The majority of this gain related to the
sale of emission allowances.
The Company has continued to pursue development projects to expand
its Pipeline and Storage segment. One project on Supply
Corporation's system, referred to as the FM100 Project, upgraded a
1950’s era pipeline in northwestern Pennsylvania and created
approximately 330,000 Dth per day of additional transportation
capacity in Pennsylvania from a receipt point with NFG Midstream
Clermont, LLC in McKean County, Pennsylvania to the
Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company, LLC ("Transco") system at
Leidy, Pennsylvania. Construction activities on the expansion
portion of the FM100 Project are complete and the project was
placed into service in December 2021. This project will provide
incremental annual transportation revenues of approximately $50
million. The FM100 Project is discussed in more detail in the
Capital Resources and Liquidity section that follows. For further
discussion of the Pipeline and Storage segment's revenues and
earnings, refer to the Results of Operations section
below.
The Company's Exploration and Production segment continues to grow,
as evidenced by an 8% growth in proved reserves from the prior year
to a total of 4,172 Bcfe at September 30, 2022. Production
increased 25.1 Bcfe during the fiscal year ended September 30, 2022
to a total of 352.5 Bcfe, and is expected to increase again in
fiscal 2023. The December 2021 commencement of service for Seneca’s
330,000 Dth per day of incremental pipeline capacity on the Leidy
South Project, which was the companion project of the Company's
FM100 Project, contributed to the production growth in fiscal 2022.
This incremental pipeline capacity provides Seneca with the ability
to reach premium Transco Zone 6 (Non-New York)
markets.
On February 28, 2022, the Company entered into a Credit Agreement
(as amended from time to time, the "Credit Agreement") with a
syndicate of twelve banks. The Credit Agreement replaced the
previous Fourth Amended and Restated Credit Agreement and a
previous 364-Day Credit Agreement. The Credit Agreement provides a
$1.0 billion unsecured committed revolving credit facility with a
maturity date of February 26, 2027.
On June 30, 2022, the Company entered into a new 364-Day Credit
Agreement (the "364-Day Credit Agreement") with a syndicate of five
banks, all of which are also lenders under the Credit Agreement.
The 364-Day Credit Agreement provides an additional $250.0 million
unsecured committed delayed draw term loan credit facility with a
maturity date of June 29, 2023. The Company elected to draw $250.0
million under the facility on October 27, 2022. The Company is
using the proceeds for general corporate purposes, which will
include the redemption in November of a portion of the Company's
outstanding long-term debt maturing in March 2023. The Company does
not anticipate long-term refinancing for the $250.0 million drawn
under the facility or the maturing long-term debt in March
2023.
CRITICAL ACCOUNTING ESTIMATES
The Company has prepared its consolidated financial statements in
conformity with GAAP. The preparation of these financial statements
requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect
the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of
contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial
statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during
the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those
estimates. In the event estimates or assumptions prove to be
different from actual results, adjustments are made in subsequent
periods to reflect more current information. The following is a
summary of the Company’s most critical accounting estimates, which
are defined as those estimates whereby judgments or uncertainties
could affect the application of accounting policies and materially
different amounts could be reported under different conditions or
using different assumptions. For a complete discussion of the
Company’s significant accounting policies, refer to Item 8 at
Note A — Summary of Significant Accounting
Policies.
Oil and Gas Exploration and Development Costs. In
the Company's Exploration and Production segment, gas and oil
property acquisition, exploration and development costs are
capitalized under the full cost method of accounting, with natural
gas properties in the Appalachian region being the primary
component of these capitalized costs after the June 30, 2022 sale
of the Company's California oil and natural gas properties. That
sale is discussed in more detail in Item 8 at Note B — Asset
Acquisitions and Divestitures. Under this accounting methodology,
all costs associated with property acquisition, exploration and
development activities are capitalized, including internal costs
directly identified with acquisition, exploration and development
activities. The internal costs that are capitalized do not include
any costs related to production, general corporate overhead, or
similar activities. The Company does not recognize any gain or loss
on the sale or other disposition of oil and gas properties unless
the gain or loss would significantly alter the relationship between
capitalized costs and proved reserves of oil and gas attributable
to a cost center.
Proved reserves are estimated quantities of reserves that, based on
geologic and engineering data, appear with reasonable certainty to
be producible under existing economic and operating conditions.
Such estimates of proved reserves are inherently imprecise and may
be subject to substantial revisions as a result of numerous factors
including, but not limited to, additional development activity,
evolving production history and continual reassessment of the
viability of production under varying economic conditions. The
estimates involved in determining proved reserves are critical
accounting estimates because they serve as the basis over which
capitalized costs are depleted under the full cost method of
accounting (on a units-of-production basis). Unproved properties
are excluded from the depletion calculation until proved reserves
are found or it is determined that the unproved properties are
impaired. All costs related to unproved properties are reviewed
quarterly to determine if impairment has occurred. The amount of
any impairment is transferred to the pool of capitalized costs
being amortized.
In addition to depletion under the units-of-production method,
proved reserves are a major component in the SEC full cost ceiling
test. The full cost ceiling test is an impairment test prescribed
by SEC Regulation S-X Rule 4-10. The ceiling test, which
is performed each quarter, determines a limit, or ceiling, on the
amount of property acquisition, exploration and development costs
that can be capitalized. The ceiling under this test
represents (a) the present value of estimated future net cash
flows, excluding future cash outflows associated with settling
asset retirement obligations that have been accrued on the balance
sheet, using a discount factor of 10%, which is computed by
applying an unweighted arithmetic average of the first day of the
month oil and gas prices for each month within the twelve-month
period prior to the end of the reporting period (as adjusted for
hedging) to estimated future production of proved oil and gas
reserves as of the date of the latest balance sheet, less estimated
future expenditures, plus (b) the cost of unproved properties
not being depleted, less (c) income tax effects related to the
differences between the book and tax basis of the properties. The
estimates of future production and future expenditures are based on
internal budgets that reflect planned production from current wells
and expenditures necessary to sustain such future production. The
amount of the ceiling can fluctuate significantly from period to
period because of additions to or subtractions from proved reserves
and significant fluctuations in natural gas prices. The ceiling is
then compared to the capitalized cost of oil and gas properties
less accumulated depletion and related deferred income taxes. If
the capitalized costs of oil and gas properties less accumulated
depletion and related deferred taxes exceeds the ceiling at the end
of any fiscal quarter, a non-cash impairment charge must be
recorded to write down the book value of the reserves to their
present value. This non-cash impairment cannot be reversed at a
later date if the ceiling increases. It should also be noted that a
non-cash impairment to write down the book value of the reserves to
their present value in any given period causes a reduction in
future depletion expense. At September 30, 2022, the ceiling
exceeded the book value of the oil and gas properties by
approximately $3.2 billion. The 12-month average of the first day
of the month price for natural gas for each month during 2022,
based on the quoted Henry Hub spot price for natural gas, was $6.13
per MMBtu. (Note — because actual pricing of the Company’s
producing properties vary depending on their location and hedging,
the prices used to calculate the ceiling may differ from the Henry
Hub price, which is only indicative of 12-month average prices for
2022. Actual realized pricing includes adjustments for regional
market differentials, transportation fees and contractual
arrangements.) In regard to the sensitivity of the ceiling
test calculation to commodity price changes, if natural gas prices
were $0.25 per MMBtu lower than the average prices used at
September 30, 2022 in the ceiling test calculation, the ceiling
would have exceeded the book value of the Company's oil and gas
properties by approximately $2.9 billion (after-tax), which would
not have resulted in an impairment charge. This calculated amount
is based solely on price changes and does not take into account any
other changes to the ceiling test calculation, including, among
others, changes in reserve quantities and future cost
estimates.
It is difficult to predict what factors could lead to future
impairments under the SEC’s full cost ceiling test. As discussed
above, fluctuations in or subtractions from proved reserves,
increases in development costs for undeveloped reserves and
significant fluctuations in natural gas prices have an impact on
the amount of the ceiling at any point in time.
As discussed above, the full cost method of accounting provides a
ceiling to the amount of costs that can be capitalized in the full
cost pool. In accordance with current authoritative guidance, the
future cash outflows associated with plugging and abandoning wells
are excluded from the computation of the present value of estimated
future net revenues for purposes of the full cost ceiling
calculation.
Regulation. The
Company is subject to regulation by certain state and federal
authorities. The Company, in its Utility and Pipeline and Storage
segments, has accounting policies which conform to the FASB
authoritative guidance regarding accounting for certain types of
regulations, and which are in accordance with the accounting
requirements and ratemaking practices of the regulatory
authorities. The application of these accounting principles for
certain types of rate-regulated activities provide that certain
actual or anticipated costs that would otherwise be charged to
expense can be deferred as regulatory assets, based on the expected
recovery from customers in future rates. Likewise, certain actual
or anticipated credits that would otherwise reduce expense can be
deferred as regulatory liabilities, based on the expected flowback
to customers in future rates. Management’s assessment of the
probability of recovery or pass through of regulatory assets and
liabilities requires judgment and interpretation of laws and
regulatory commission orders. If, for any reason, the Company
ceases to meet the criteria for application of regulatory
accounting treatment for all or part of its operations, the
regulatory assets and liabilities related to those portions ceasing
to meet such criteria would be eliminated from the balance sheet
and included in the income statement for the period in which the
discontinuance of regulatory
accounting treatment occurs. Such amounts would be classified as an
extraordinary item. For further discussion of the Company’s
regulatory assets and liabilities, refer to Item 8 at
Note F — Regulatory Matters.
RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
EARNINGS
2022 Compared with 2021
The Company's earnings were $566.0 million in 2022 compared with
earnings of $363.6 million in 2021. The increase in earnings of
$202.4 million was primarily a result of higher earnings in all
reportable segments, slightly offset by losses in the Corporate and
All Other categories. In the discussion that follows, all amounts
used in the earnings discussions are after-tax amounts, unless
otherwise noted. Earnings were impacted by the following events in
2022 and 2021:
2022 Events
•The
reversal of a deferred tax valuation allowance of $24.9 million
recorded in the Exploration and Production and Gathering
segments.
•A
$28.4 million remeasurement of accumulated deferred income taxes,
primarily in the Exploration and Production and Gathering segments,
related to a reduction in the Pennsylvania state corporate income
tax rate that was signed into law in July 2022.
•A
gain recognized on the sale of Seneca's California assets of $12.7
million ($9.5 million after-tax) recorded during 2022 in the
Exploration and Production segment related to a portion of the sale
price that was applied to assets that were not subject to the full
cost method of accounting.
•A
loss of $44.6 million ($33.3 million after-tax) recorded during
2022 in the Exploration and Production segment related to the
termination of this segment's remaining crude oil derivative
contracts as a result of the sale of Seneca's California
assets.
•Transaction
and severance costs of $9.7 million ($7.2 million after-tax)
incurred during 2022 in the Exploration and Production segment
related to the sale of Seneca's California assets.
•The
reduction of an OPEB regulatory liability that increased earnings
by $18.5 million ($14.6 million after-tax) recorded during 2022 in
the Utility segment in accordance with a regulatory proceeding in
Distribution Corporation's Pennsylvania service
territory.
2021 Events
•Non-cash
impairment charges of $76.2 million ($55.2 million after-tax)
recorded during 2021 for the Exploration and Production segment's
oil and gas producing properties.
•A
gain recognized on the sale of timber properties of $51.1 million
($37.0 million after-tax) recorded during 2021 in the Company's All
Other category.
•A
loss of $15.7 million ($11.4. million after-tax) recorded in the
Exploration and Production and Gathering segments during 2021 for
the premium paid on early redemption of long-term
debt.
Earnings (Loss) by Segment
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Year Ended September 30 |
|
2022 |
|
2021 |
|
2020 |
|
(Thousands) |
Exploration and Production |
$ |
306,064 |
|
|
$ |
101,916 |
|
|
$ |
(326,904) |
|
Pipeline and Storage |
102,557 |
|
|
92,542 |
|
|
78,860 |
|
Gathering |
101,111 |
|
|
80,274 |
|
|
68,631 |
|
Utility |
68,948 |
|
|
54,335 |
|
|
57,366 |
|
Total Reported Segments |
578,680 |
|
|
329,067 |
|
|
(122,047) |
|
All Other |
(9) |
|
|
37,645 |
|
|
(269) |
|
Corporate |
(12,650) |
|
|
(3,065) |
|
|
(1,456) |
|
Total Consolidated |
$ |
566,021 |
|
|
$ |
363,647 |
|
|
$ |
(123,772) |
|
EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION
Revenues
Exploration and Production Operating Revenues
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Year Ended September 30 |
|
2022 |
|
2021 |
|
|
|
(Thousands) |
Gas (after Hedging) |
$ |
930,130 |
|
|
$ |
705,326 |
|
|
|
Oil (after Hedging)(1) |
113,588 |
|
|
126,369 |
|
|
|
Gas Processing Plant |
3,511 |
|
|
2,960 |
|
|
|
Other |
(36,765) |
|
|
2,042 |
|
|
|
Operating Revenues |
$ |
1,010,464 |
|
|
$ |
836,697 |
|
|
|
Production
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Year Ended September 30 |
|
2022 |
|
2021 |
|
|
Gas Production
(MMcf)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Appalachia |
341,700 |
|
|
312,300 |
|
|
|
West Coast |
1,211 |
|
|
1,720 |
|
|
|
Total Production |
342,911 |
|
|
314,020 |
|
|
|
Oil Production
(Mbbl)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Appalachia |
16 |
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
West Coast |
1,588 |
|
|
2,233 |
|
|
|
Total Production |
1,604 |
|
|
2,235 |
|
|
|
Average Prices
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Year Ended September 30 |
|
2022 |
|
2021 |
|
|
Average Gas Price/Mcf |
|
|
|
|
|
Appalachia |
$ |
5.03 |
|
|
$ |
2.46 |
|
|
|
West Coast |
$ |
10.03 |
|
|
$ |
6.34 |
|
|
|
Weighted Average |
$ |
5.05 |
|
|
$ |
2.49 |
|
|
|
Weighted Average After Hedging(2) |
$ |
2.71 |
|
|
$ |
2.25 |
|
|
|
Average Oil Price/Barrel (Bbl) |
|
|
|
|
|
Appalachia |
$ |
97.82 |
|
|
$ |
48.02 |
|
|
|
West Coast |
$ |
94.06 |
|
|
$ |
60.50 |
|
|
|
Weighted Average |
$ |
94.10 |
|
|
$ |
60.49 |
|
|
|
Weighted Average After Hedging(1)(2) |
$ |
70.80 |
|
|
$ |
56.54 |
|
|
|
(1)Oil
revenue and weighted average oil price after hedging for the year
ended September 30, 2022 excludes a loss on discontinuance of crude
oil cash flow hedges of $44.6 million. This loss is presented in
other revenue in the table above.
(2)Refer
to further discussion of hedging activities below under “Market
Risk Sensitive Instruments” and in Note J — Financial
Instruments in Item 8 of this report.
2022 Compared with 2021
Operating revenues for the Exploration and Production
segment
increased $173.8 million in
2022 as compared with 2021.
Gas production revenue after hedging increased $224.8 million
primarily due to a $0.46 per Mcf increase in the weighted average
price of gas after hedging coupled with a 28.9 Bcf increase in gas
production. The increase in gas production was largely due to new
Marcellus and Utica wells in the Appalachian region. Oil production
revenue after hedging decreased $12.8 million primarily due to a
631 Mbbl decrease in crude oil production, partially offset by a
$14.26 per Bbl increase in the weighted average price of oil after
hedging. The decrease in oil production is mainly attributed to the
sale of California assets at June 30, 2022. In addition, other
revenue decreased $38.8 million and plant revenue increased $0.6
million. The decrease in other revenue was primarily attributed to
a loss on the discontinuance of crude oil cash flow hedges related
to the sale of California assets combined with royalty shut-in
payments made in accordance with lease agreements. These were
partially offset by a temporary capacity release of Leidy South and
TC Pipeline transportation contracts. Finally, other revenue also
increased from Highland Field Services water treatment plants
acquired at the end of fiscal 2021.
Refer to further discussion of derivative financial instruments in
the “Market Risk Sensitive Instruments” section that follows. Refer
to the tables above for production and price
information.
Earnings
2022 Compared with 2021
The Exploration and Production segment’s earnings
for 2022 were $306.1 million, an increase of $204.2 million when
compared with earnings of $101.9 million for 2021. The increase in
earnings was primarily attributable to higher natural gas prices
after hedging ($126.3 million), higher natural gas production
($51.3 million), and higher oil prices after hedging ($18.1
million). Additionally, a $55.2 million impairment was recorded
during 2021 that did not recur during 2022. Certain deferred tax
adjustments during 2022 also contributed to the earnings increase.
The Exploration and Production segment reversed a valuation
allowance ($28.6 million) on deferred tax assets related to certain
state net operating loss and credit carryforwards as these deferred
tax assets are now expected to be realized in the future. The
Exploration and Production segment also recorded an income tax
benefit ($16.2 million) from the remeasurement of deferred income
taxes related to a state corporate income tax rate reduction in
Pennsylvania that was signed into law in July 2022. The
law
reduces the Pennsylvania corporate income tax rate to 8.99% for
fiscal 2024, and starting with fiscal 2025, the rate is further
reduced by 0.5% annually until it reaches 4.99% for fiscal
2032.
In addition to the factors discussed above, the Exploration and
Production segment's earnings were also impacted by the following
factors. Factors that increased earnings included a 2022 gain ($9.5
million) that was recognized on the sale of the Exploration and
Production segment's California non-full cost pool assets as well
as a 2021 loss ($10.7 million) recognized for this segment's share
of the premium paid by the Company to redeem $500 million of the
Company's 4.90% notes that were scheduled to mature in December
2021. Factors that reduced earnings included a loss related to the
discontinuance of this segment's crude oil cash flow hedges ($33.3
million), which was driven by the sale of the California assets,
lower crude oil production ($28.2 million), higher lease operating
and transportation expenses ($13.1 million), higher depletion
expense ($20.3 million), higher other operating expenses ($5.4
million), an unrealized loss on a derivative asset ($3.2 million),
higher other taxes ($2.5 million) and a higher effective tax rate
($6.3 million). The Company also recorded transaction and severance
costs ($7.2 million) during 2022 associated with the sale of the
California assets. The increase in lease operating and
transportation expenses was primarily due to increased gathering
and transportation costs in the Appalachian region offset by lower
costs in the West Coast region due to selling the assets on June
30, 2022. The increase in depletion expense was primarily due to
the increase in production, combined with a $0.03 per Mcfe increase
in the depletion rate. The increase in other operating expenses was
primarily attributed to abandonment costs related to certain
offshore Gulf of Mexico wells formally owned by the Company. In
addition, the increase in other operating expenses was attributed
to operating costs associated with the Highland Field Services
water treatment plants acquired at the end of fiscal 2021. The
unrealized loss on a derivative asset represents an adjustment to
the contingent consideration received for the sale of the
California assets. The increase in other taxes was mainly
attributed to increased Impact Fees in the Appalachian region as a
result of an increase in natural gas prices. The Impact Fees are
calculated annually based on calendar year NYMEX natural gas
prices. The increase in the effective tax rate was primarily driven
by a reduction to the valuation allowance recorded in fiscal
2021.
PIPELINE AND STORAGE
Revenues
Pipeline and Storage Operating Revenues
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Year Ended September 30 |
|
2022 |
|
2021 |
|
|
|
(Thousands) |
Firm Transportation |
$ |
287,486 |
|
|
$ |
254,853 |
|
|
|
Interruptible Transportation |
2,481 |
|
|
996 |
|
|
|
|
289,967 |
|
|
255,849 |
|
|
|
Firm Storage Service |
84,565 |
|
|
83,032 |
|
|
|
Interruptible Storage Service |
— |
|
|
48 |
|
|
|
|
84,565 |
|
|
83,080 |
|
|
|
Other |
2,512 |
|
|
4,628 |
|
|
|
|
$ |
377,044 |
|
|
$ |
343,557 |
|
|
|
Pipeline and Storage Throughput — (MMcf)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Year Ended September 30 |
|
2022 |
|
2021 |
|
|
Firm Transportation |
790,417 |
|
|
770,284 |
|
|
|
Interruptible Transportation |
5,612 |
|
|
1,460 |
|
|
|
|
796,029 |
|
|
771,744 |
|
|
|
2022 Compared with 2021
Operating revenues for the Pipeline and Storage segment increased
$33.5 million in 2022 as compared with 2021. The increase in
operating revenues was primarily due to an increase in
transportation revenues of $34.1 million and an increase in storage
revenues of $1.5 million, partially offset by a decrease in other
revenue of $2.1 million. The increase in transportation revenues
was primarily attributable to new demand charges for transportation
service from Supply Corporation's FM100 Project, which was placed
into service in December 2021. The increase from the FM100 Project
includes the impact of a negotiated revenue step-up to Period 2
Rates that went into effect April 1, 2022, as specified in Supply
Corporation's 2020 rate case settlement. This increase was
partially offset by a decline in revenues associated with
miscellaneous contract terminations and revisions. The increase in
storage revenues was partially due to the Period 2 Rates that went
into effect April 1, 2022 related to the FM100 Project, as
discussed above. In addition, the Pipeline Safety and Greenhouse
Gas Regulatory Costs (PS/GHG Regulatory Costs) surcharge that went
into effect in November 2020 associated with Supply Corporation's
2020 rate case settlement also contributed to the increase in both
transportation and storage revenues. The decrease in other revenue
primarily reflects the non-recurrence of revenue associated with a
contract buyout that occurred during the quarter ended December 31,
2020, combined with lower electric surcharge true-up revenues,
partially offset by higher cashout revenues. Revenues collected
through the electric surcharge mechanism are completely offset by
electric power costs recorded in operation and maintenance expense.
Cashout revenues are completely offset by purchased gas
expense.
Transportation volume increased by 24.3 Bcf in 2022 as
compared with 2021, primarily due to incremental volume from the
FM100 Project, which was brought online in December 2021, as well
as an increase in short-term contracts. These were partially offset
by lower capacity utilization with certain contract shippers.
Volume fluctuations, other than those caused by the addition or
termination of contracts, generally do not have a significant
impact on revenues as a result of the straight fixed-variable rate
design utilized by Supply Corporation and Empire.
The majority of Supply Corporation's and Empire's transportation
and storage contracts allow either party to terminate the contract
upon six or twelve months' notice effective at the end of the
primary term and include "evergreen" language that allows for
annual term extension(s). The amount of firm transportation
capacity contracted on the Pipeline and Storage segment's
facilities is expected to decrease in fiscal 2023, primarily due to
the termination of two long-term contracts with a nonaffiliated
party totaling 300 MDth per day. Lower contracted quantities at the
time of a future rate proceeding would be taken into account and
would be the basis for setting new rates. The timing of Supply
Corporation's next rate filing is discussed below under Rate
Matters.
Earnings
2022 Compared with 2021
The Pipeline and Storage segment’s earnings in 2022 were $102.6
million, an increase of $10.1 million when compared with
earnings of $92.5 million in 2021. The increase in earnings
was primarily due to the impact of higher operating revenues of
$26.5 million, as discussed above, which was partially offset by an
increase in depreciation expense ($4.2 million), higher property
taxes ($0.8 million), an increase in operating expenses ($7.6
million) and higher income tax expense ($2.3 million). The increase
in depreciation expense was primarily due to incremental
depreciation from the FM100 Project going into service in December
2021. The increase in property taxes was primarily due to the
first-time assessment of property taxes for the Empire North
project's Farmington compressor station. The increase in operating
expenses was primarily due to a decrease in the reserve for
preliminary project costs recorded during fiscal 2021 that did not
recur in fiscal 2022, as well as an increase in personnel and
technology-related costs and higher vehicle fuel costs. This was
partially offset by lower power costs related to Empire's electric
motor drive compressor station. The Pipeline and Storage segment
also experienced higher purchased gas costs ($0.7 million), largely
related to Empire's natural gas-driven compressor stations. The
electric power costs and purchased gas costs are offset by an equal
amount of revenue, as discussed above. The increase in income tax
expense was mainly due to a reduction in benefits associated with
the tax sharing agreement with affiliated companies combined with
higher state income tax expense due to higher pre-tax earnings for
fiscal 2022.
GATHERING
Revenues
Gathering Operating Revenues
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Year Ended September 30 |
|
2022 |
|
2021 |
|
|
|
(Thousands) |
Gathering |
$ |
214,843 |
|
|
$ |
193,264 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gathering Volume — (MMcf)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Year Ended September 30 |
|
2022 |
|
2021 |
|
|
Gathered Volume |
419,332 |
|
|
366,033 |
|
|
|
2022 Compared with 2021
Operating revenues for the
Gathering segment increased $21.6 million in 2022 as compared with
2021, which was driven primarily by a 53.3 Bcf increase in gathered
volume. The increase in gathered volume can be attributed primarily
to an increase in natural gas production on the Covington,
Wellsboro, Clermont and Trout Run gathering systems, which recorded
increases of 17.9 Bcf, 11.7 Bcf, 10.1 Bcf and 13.6 Bcf,
respectively. The increase in gathered volume can be attributed to
the increase in gross natural gas production in the Appalachian
region by producers connected to the aforementioned gathering
systems.
Earnings
2022 Compared with 2021
The Gathering segment’s earnings in 2022
were $101.1 million, an increase of $20.8 million
when
compared with earnings of $80.3 million in 2021. The
increase in earnings was primarily attributable to higher gathering
revenues ($17.0 million) driven by the increase in gathered volume
(discussed above). Additionally, the Gathering segment recorded an
income tax benefit ($11.9 million) from the remeasurement of
deferred income taxes related to a state corporate income tax rate
reduction in Pennsylvania that was signed into law in July 2022 (as
discussed above, in the Exploration and Production segment).
Earnings also increased as a result of the Gathering segment's
recognition of a loss during the quarter end March 31, 2021 ($0.7
million) for its share of the premium paid by the Company to redeem
$500 million of the Company's 4.90% notes that were scheduled to
mature in December 2021. However, the Gathering segment's earnings
were negatively impacted by the recording of deferred income tax
expense ($3.7 million) as an offset to the reversal of the
valuation allowance recorded by the Exploration and Production
segment during the quarter ended September 30, 2022. This offset is
a result of the Gathering and Exploration and Production segments'
subsidiaries filing a combined state tax return. Earnings also
decreased due to higher operating expenses ($3.2 million), higher
depreciation expense ($1.3 million) and higher income tax expense
($0.6 million). The increase in operating expenses was largely due
to higher costs for labor, major overhaul maintenance of compressor
units at Trout Run gathering system compressor stations during
fiscal 2022 and higher costs for material used to operate the
compressor stations at the Trout Run, Covington and Clermont
gathering systems. The increase in depreciation expense was largely
due to higher plant balances associated with the Clermont and
Covington gathering systems. The increase in income tax expense was
primarily driven by a higher effective state income tax
rate.
UTILITY
Revenues
Utility Operating Revenues
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Year Ended September 30 |
|
2022 |
|
2021 |
|
|
|
(Thousands) |
Retail Revenues: |
|
|
|
|
|
Residential |
$ |
691,034 |
|
|
$ |
497,244 |
|
|
|
Commercial |
95,120 |
|
|
63,954 |
|
|
|
Industrial |
4,913 |
|
|
3,089 |
|
|
|
|
791,067 |
|
|
564,287 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Transportation |
111,072 |
|
|
108,213 |
|
|
|
Other |
(3,918) |
|
|
(5,249) |
|
|
|
|
$ |
898,221 |
|
|
$ |
667,251 |
|
|
|
Utility Throughput — million cubic feet (MMcf)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Year Ended September 30 |
|
2022 |
|
2021 |
|
|
Retail Sales: |
|
|
|
|
|
Residential |
64,011 |
|
|
61,038 |
|
|
|
Commercial |
9,621 |
|
|
8,741 |
|
|
|
Industrial |
541 |
|
|
475 |
|
|
|
|
74,173 |
|
|
70,254 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Transportation |
65,993 |
|
|
66,012 |
|
|
|
|
140,166 |
|
|
136,266 |
|
|
|
Degree Days
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Percent (Warmer)
Colder Than |
Year Ended September 30 |
|
|
Normal |
|
Actual |
|
Normal(1) |
|
Prior Year(1) |
2022 |
Buffalo, NY |
|
6,617 |
|
|
5,769 |
|
|
(12.8) |
% |
|
0.7 |
% |
|
Erie, PA |
|
6,147 |
|
|
5,368 |
|
|
(12.7) |
% |
|
2.8 |
% |
2021 |
Buffalo, NY |
|
6,617 |
|
|
5,731 |
|
|
(13.4) |
% |
|
(6.1) |
% |
|
Erie, PA |
|
6,147 |
|
|
5,221 |
|
|
(15.1) |
% |
|
(4.2) |
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(1)Percents
compare actual degree days to normal degree days and actual degree
days to actual prior year degree days.
2022 Compared with 2021
Operating revenues for the Utility segment increased
$231.0 million in 2022 compared with 2021. The increase
resulted from a $226.8 million increase in retail gas sales
revenues, which was primarily due to a significant increase in the
cost of gas sold (per Mcf). In addition, there was a $2.9 million
increase in transportation revenues and a $1.3 million increase in
other revenues. The increase in transportation revenues, despite a
small decrease in throughput, was largely due to an increase in
marketer sales cashouts and an increase in the system modernization
tracker allocation to transportation customers, which was partially
offset by the migration of residential transportation customers
previously served by marketers to retail service provided by the
Utility segment. The increase in other revenues was primarily due
to higher capacity release revenues and higher late payment charges
billed to customers.
Purchased Gas
The cost of purchased gas is one of the Company’s largest operating
expenses. Annual variations in purchased gas costs are attributed
directly to changes in gas sales volume, the price of gas purchased
and the operation of purchased gas adjustment clauses. Distribution
Corporation recorded $498.0 million and $274.8 million of
Purchased Gas expense during 2022 and 2021, respectively. Under its
purchased gas adjustment clauses in New York and Pennsylvania,
Distribution Corporation is not allowed to profit from fluctuations
in gas costs. Purchased Gas expense recorded on the consolidated
income statement matches the revenues collected from customers, a
component of Operating Revenues on the consolidated income
statement. Under mechanisms approved by the NYPSC in New York and
the PaPUC in Pennsylvania, any difference between actual purchased
gas costs and what has been collected from the customer is deferred
on the consolidated balance sheet as either an asset, Unrecovered
Purchased Gas Costs, or a liability, Amounts Payable to Customers.
These deferrals are subsequently collected from the customer or
passed back to the customer, subject to review by the NYPSC and the
PaPUC. Absent disallowance of full recovery of Distribution
Corporation’s purchased gas costs, such costs do not impact the
profitability of the Company. Purchased gas costs impact cash flow
from operations due to the timing of recovery of such costs versus
the actual purchased gas costs incurred during a particular period.
Distribution Corporation’s purchased gas adjustment clauses seek to
mitigate this impact by adjusting revenues on either a quarterly or
monthly basis.
Distribution Corporation contracts for firm long-term
transportation and storage capacity with rights-of-first-refusal
from ten upstream pipeline companies including Supply Corporation
for transportation and storage and Empire for transportation.
Distribution Corporation contracts for firm gas supplies on term
and spot bases with various producers, marketers and two local
distribution companies to meet its gas purchase requirements.
Additional discussion of the Utility segment’s gas purchases
appears under the heading “Sources and Availability of Raw
Materials” in Item 1.
Earnings
2022 Compared with 2021
The Utility segment’s earnings in 2022 were $68.9 million, an
increase of $14.6 million when compared with earnings of $54.3
million in 2021. The increase was primarily attributable to the
conclusion of a regulatory proceeding by the PaPUC in February
2022, which resulted in the reduction of an OPEB-related regulatory
liability that increased earnings ($14.6 million). While the
regulatory proceeding reduced base rates in Pennsylvania by $5.6
million, this impact was more than offset by a decrease in
non-service post-retirement benefit costs ($11.5 million) as
Distribution Corporation's Pennsylvania service territory
recognized OPEB income during fiscal 2022, compared to the prior
year when it recognized OPEB expenses to match against the OPEB
amounts collected in base rates. Additional details related to the
regulatory proceeding are discussed in Note F — Regulatory
Matters.
Other factors contributing to the increase in earnings included the
positive earnings impact of a system modernization tracker in New
York ($3.6 million), which is a rate mechanism that provides
recovery of qualified leak prone pipe replacement costs, higher
usage and the impact of weather on customer margins ($2.9 million),
and a decrease in income tax expense ($0.6 million). These
increases were partially offset by higher operating expenses ($9.5
million), which were primarily the result of higher personnel
costs, transportation fuel costs, and outside services partially
offset by a decrease in the provision for uncollectible accounts.
The decrease in the provision for uncollectible accounts reflects
the recording of incremental expense in 2021 due to the potential
for future customer non-payment as a result of the COVID-19
pandemic. In addition, earnings were negatively impacted by higher
interest expense ($2.0 million), which was largely the result of a
higher weighted average interest rate on intercompany short-term
borrowings, and higher depreciation expense ($1.8 million),
primarily due to higher plant balances.
The impact of weather variations on earnings in the Utility
segment's New York rate jurisdiction is largely mitigated by that
jurisdiction's weather normalization clause (WNC). The WNC in New
York, which covers the eight-month period from October through May,
has had a stabilizing effect on earnings for the New York rate
jurisdiction. In addition, in periods of colder than normal
weather, the WNC benefits the Utility segment's New York customers.
For 2022, the WNC contributed approximately $4.8 million to
earnings, as the weather was
warmer than normal. In 2021, the WNC contributed approximately $4.5
million to earnings, as the weather was warmer than
normal.
ALL OTHER AND CORPORATE OPERATIONS
All Other and Corporate operations primarily includes the
operations of Seneca’s Northeast Division and corporate operations.
Seneca’s Northeast Division previously marketed timber from its New
York and Pennsylvania land holdings. On December 10, 2020, the
Company completed the sale of substantially all timber properties.
Please refer to Item 8 at Note B
—
Asset Acquisitions and Divestitures for further discussion of the
sale of timber properties.
Earnings
2022 Compared with 2021
All Other and Corporate operations recorded a loss of $12.7 million
in 2022, a decrease of $47.3 million when compared with earnings of
$34.6 million in 2021. The decrease was primarily attributable to
the non-recurrence of a $51.1 million gain ($37.0 million gain
after-tax) on the sale of timber properties recorded by Seneca’s
Northeast Division in 2021. Changes in unrealized gains and losses
on investments in equity securities also contributed to the
decrease. In 2022, the Company recorded unrealized losses of $9.2
million, while in 2021, the Company recorded unrealized gains of
$0.1 million.
OTHER INCOME (DEDUCTIONS)
Although most of the variances in Other Income (Deductions) are
discussed in the earnings discussion by segment above, the
following is a summary on a consolidated basis (amounts below are
pre-tax amounts):
Net other deductions on the Consolidated Statement of Income
decreased $13.7 million in 2022 as compared to 2021. This change is
primarily attributable to non-service pension and post-retirement
benefit income of $3.6 million for 2022 compared to non-service
pension and post-retirement benefit costs of $31.3 million for
2021. As discussed above in the Utility segment, this is largely
related to the February 2022 conclusion of the regulatory
proceeding in Distribution Corporation's Pennsylvania service
territory that addressed Distribution Corporation's recovery of
OPEB expenses. In addition, there was an increase in other interest
income of $1.7 million. This was partially offset by changes in
unrealized gains and losses on investments in equity securities.
During 2022, the Company recorded pre-tax unrealized losses of
$13.8 million. During 2021, the Company recorded pre-tax unrealized
gains of $0.2 million. Other income (deductions) was also impacted
by a decrease in the cash surrender value of life insurance
policies of $1.9 million, as well as a decrease in allowance for
funds used during construction (equity component) of $2.5 million
primarily
as a result of the FM100 Project being placed into service in
December 2021.
There was also a mark-to-market revaluation that decreased
contingent consideration by $4.4 million from the sale of Seneca's
California assets. For further discussion, refer to
Note J — Financial Instruments.
INTEREST CHARGES
Although most of the variances in Interest Charges are discussed in
the earnings discussion by segment above, the following is a
summary on a consolidated basis (amounts below are pre-tax
amounts):
Interest on long-term debt decreased $21.0 million in 2022 as
compared to 2021. The Company redeemed $500.0 million of 4.90%
notes in March 2021 and paid an early redemption premium of $15.7
million that was recorded as interest expense on long-term debt.
The remaining decrease is due largely to a lower weighted average
interest rate on long-term debt, stemming from the Company's
issuance of $500.0 million of 2.95% notes in February 2021, which
replaced $500.0 million of 4.90% notes that were retired in March
2021.
Other interest expense increased $5.0 million in 2022 as compared
to 2021. The increase was primarily due to higher average interest
rates for 2022 combined with higher average short-term debt
balances in 2022 compared to 2021.
CAPITAL RESOURCES AND LIQUIDITY
The primary sources and uses of cash during the last two years are
summarized in the following condensed statement of cash
flows:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Year Ended September 30 |
|
2022 |
|
2021 |
|
|
|
(Millions) |
Provided by Operating Activities |
$ |
812.5 |
|
|
$ |
791.6 |
|
|
|
Capital Expenditures |
(811.8) |
|
|
(751.7) |
|
|
|
Net Proceeds from Sale of Oil and Gas Producing
Properties |
254.4 |
|
|
— |
|
|
|
Net Proceeds from Sale of Timber Properties |
— |
|
|
104.6 |
|
|
|
Sale of Fixed Income Mutual Fund Shares in Grantor
Trust |
30.0 |
|
|
— |
|
|
|
Other Investing Activities |
8.7 |
|
|
13.8 |
|
|
|
Reduction of Long-Term Debt |
— |
|
|
(515.7) |
|
|
|
Change in Notes Payable to Banks and Commercial Paper |
(98.5) |
|
|
128.5 |
|
|
|
Net Proceeds from Issuance of Long-Term Debt |
— |
|
|
495.3 |
|
|
|
Net Repurchases of Common Stock |
(9.6) |
|
|
(3.7) |
|
|
|
Dividends Paid on Common Stock |
(168.1) |
|
|
(163.1) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net Increase in Cash, Cash Equivalents, and Restricted
Cash |
$ |
17.6 |
|
|
$ |
99.6 |
|
|
|
The Company expects to have adequate amounts of cash available to
meet both its short-term and long-term cash requirements for at
least the next twelve months and for the foreseeable future
thereafter. During 2023, cash provided by operating activities is
expected to increase over the amount of cash provided by operating
activities during 2022 and will be used to fund the Company's
capital expenditures. There are two long-term debt maturities in
March 2023, totaling $549 million. The Company expects to repay
those securities through the use of cash on hand at the date of
maturity and short-term borrowings. Looking at 2023 and 2024, based
on current commodity prices, cash provided by operating activities
is expected to exceed capital expenditures in each of those years.
This is expected to provide the Company with the option to consider
additional growth investments, further reductions in short-term or
long-term debt, and increasing the amount of cash flow returned to
shareholders, either through increases to the Company’s dividend or
via repurchases of common stock. These cash flow projections do not
reflect the impact of acquisitions or divestitures that may arise
in the future.
OPERATING CASH FLOW
Internally generated cash from operating activities consists of net
income available for common stock, adjusted for non-cash expenses,
non-cash income, gains and losses associated with investing and
financing activities, and changes in operating assets and
liabilities. Non-cash items include depreciation, depletion and
amortization, impairment of oil and gas producing properties,
deferred income taxes, the reduction of an other post-retirement
regulatory liability and stock-based compensation.
Cash provided by operating activities in the Utility and Pipeline
and Storage segments may vary substantially from year to year
because of the impact of rate cases. In the Utility segment,
supplier refunds, over- or under-recovered purchased gas costs and
weather may also significantly impact cash flow. The impact of
weather on cash flow is tempered in the Utility segment’s New York
rate jurisdiction by its WNC and in the Pipeline and Storage
segment by the straight fixed-variable rate design used by Supply
Corporation and Empire.
Cash provided by operating activities in the Exploration and
Production segment may vary from year to year as a result of
changes in the commodity prices of natural gas as well as changes
in production. The Company uses various derivative financial
instruments, including price swap agreements and no cost collars,
in an attempt to manage this energy commodity price
risk.
The Company, in its Utility segment and Exploration and Production
segment, has entered into contractual commitments in the ordinary
course of business, including commitments to purchase gas,
transportation, and storage service to meet customer gas supply
needs. Refer to Item 8 at Note L —
Commitments and Contingencies under the heading “Other” for
additional discussion concerning these contractual commitments as
well as the amounts of future gas purchase, transportation and
storage contract commitments expected to be incurred during the
next five years and thereafter. Also refer to Item 8 at Note D —
Leases for a discussion of the Company’s operating lease
arrangements and a schedule of lease payments during the next five
years and thereafter.
Net cash provided by operating activities totaled $812.5 million in
2022, an increase of $20.9 million compared with the $791.6 million
provided by operating activities in 2021. The increase in cash
provided by operating activities primarily reflects higher cash
provided by operating activities in the Exploration and Production
segment and the Gathering segment, partially offset by lower cash
provided by operating activities in the Utility segment. The
increase in the Exploration and Production segment and the
Gathering segment was primarily due to higher cash receipts from
natural gas production and gathering services in the Appalachian
region. The decrease in Utility segment is primarily due to lower
rates in the Utility segment's Pennsylvania service territory that
went into effect October 1, 2021 combined with the timing of gas
cost recovery, timing of gas receivables and other regulatory
true-ups. The rates that went into effect included a one-time
customer bill credit of $25 million in October 2021 for previously
overcollected OPEB expenses and the beginning of a 5-year pass back
of an additional $29 million in previously overcollected OPEB
expenses. Please refer to the Rate Matters section that follows for
additional discussion of this matter.
INVESTING CASH FLOW
Expenditures for Long-Lived Assets
The Company’s expenditures for long-lived assets, including
non-cash capital expenditures, totaled $829.4 million and $769.9
million in 2022 and 2021, respectively. The table below presents
these expenditures:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Year Ended September 30 |
|
|
|
|
|
2022 |
|
|
2021 |
|
|
|
|
|
(Millions) |
|
Exploration and Production: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Capital Expenditures |
$ |
565.8 |
|
(1) |
|
$ |
381.4 |
|
(2) |
|
|
|
Pipeline and Storage: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Capital Expenditures |
95.8 |
|
(1) |
|
252.3 |
|
(2) |
|
|
|
Gathering: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Capital Expenditures |
55.5 |
|
(1) |
|
34.7 |
|
(2) |
|
|
|
Utility: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Capital Expenditures |
111.0 |
|
(1) |
|
100.8 |
|
(2) |
|
|
|
All Other and Corporate: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Capital Expenditures |
1.3 |
|
|
|
0.5 |
|
|
|
|
|
Eliminations |
— |
|
|
|
0.2 |
|
|
|
|
|
Total Expenditures |
$ |
829.4 |
|
|
|
$ |
769.9 |
|
|
|
|
|
(1)2022
capital expenditures for the Exploration and Production segment,
the Pipeline and Storage segment, the Gathering segment and the
Utility segment include $83.0 million, $15.2 million, $10.7 million
and $11.4 million, respectively, of non-cash capital
expenditures.
(2)2021
capital expenditures for the Exploration and Production segment,
the Pipeline and Storage segment, the Gathering segment and the
Utility segment include $47.9 million, $39.4 million, $4.8 million
and $10.6 million, respectively, of non-cash capital
expenditures.
Exploration and Production
In 2022, the Exploration and Production segment capital
expenditures were primarily well drilling and completion
expenditures and included approximately $547.1 million for the
Appalachian region (including $161.4 million in the Marcellus Shale
area and $370.6 million in the Utica Shale area) and $18.7 million
for the West Coast region. These amounts included approximately
$154.3 million spent to develop proved undeveloped
reserves.
In 2021, the majority of the Exploration and Production segment
capital expenditures were primarily well drilling and completion
expenditures and included approximately $368.1 million for the
Appalachian region (including $117.2 million in the Marcellus Shale
area and $213.8 million in the Utica Shale area) and $13.3 million
for the West Coast region. These amounts included approximately
$81.2 million spent to develop proved undeveloped
reserves.
Pipeline and Storage
The Pipeline and Storage segment’s capital expenditures for 2022
were primarily for additions, improvements and replacements to this
segment's transmission and gas storage systems, which included
system modernization expenditures that enhance the reliability and
safety of the systems and reduce emissions. In addition, the
Pipeline and Storage segment capital expenditures for 2022 include
expenditures related to Supply Corporation's FM100 Project ($25.2
million). The FM100 Project upgraded a 1950's era pipeline in
northwestern Pennsylvania and created approximately 330,000 Dth per
day of additional transportation capacity in Pennsylvania from a
receipt point with NFG Midstream Clermont, LLC in McKean County to
the Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company, LLC (“Transco”) system
at Leidy, Pennsylvania. Supply Corporation and Transco executed a
precedent agreement whereby Transco has leased this additional
capacity as part of a Transco expansion project ("Leidy South"),
creating incremental transportation capacity to Transco Zone 6
(Non-New York) markets. Seneca is an anchor shipper on Leidy South,
which provides it with an outlet to premium markets from both its
Eastern and Western development areas. Construction activities on
the expansion portion of the FM100 Project are complete and the
project commenced partial in-service on December 1, 2021, with full
in-service on December 19, 2021. Abandonment activities on the
project continue in calendar year 2022. As of September 30, 2022,
approximately $211.3 million has been spent on the FM100 Project,
all of which is included in Property, Plant and Equipment on the
Consolidated Balance Sheet at September 30, 2022.
The Pipeline and Storage segment’s capital expenditures for 2021
were primarily for expenditures related to Supply Corporation's
FM100 Project ($179.0 million). In addition, the Pipeline and
Storage segment capital expenditures for 2021 included additions,
improvements and replacements to this segment's transmission and
gas storage systems.
Gathering
The majority of the Gathering segment's capital expenditures for
2022 included expenditures related to the continued expansion of
Midstream Company's Clermont, Covington, Trout Run and Wellsboro
gathering systems, as discussed below. Midstream Company spent
$20.9 million, $27.0 million, $4.9 million and $2.3 million in 2022
on the development of the Clermont, Covington, Trout Run and
Wellsboro gathering systems, respectively. These expenditures were
largely attributable to the installation of new in-field gathering
pipelines in the Clermont gathering system, as well as the
continued expansion of centralized station facilities, including
increased compression horsepower at the Clermont, Trout Run, and
Wellsboro gathering systems. In the Tioga gathering system, which
is part of Midstream Covington, expenditures were largely
attributable to the installation of in-field gathering pipelines
and upgraded station facilities related to new
development.
The majority of the Gathering segment's capital expenditures for
2021 included expenditures related to the continued expansion of
Midstream Company's Clermont, Covington and Wellsboro gathering
systems. Midstream Company spent $23.1 million, $4.4 million and
$3.7 million in 2021 on the development of the Clermont, Covington
and Wellsboro gathering systems, respectively. These expenditures
were largely attributable to new Clermont gathering pipelines, a
new tie-in between the legacy Covington gathering system and the
midstream gathering assets acquired from SWEPI LP, a subsidiary of
Royal Dutch Shell plc ("Shell"), which is now referred to as the
Tioga gathering system, as well as the continued development of
centralized station facilities, including increased compression
horsepower at the Clermont and Wellsboro gathering systems and
additional dehydration on the Clermont gathering
system.
Utility
The majority of the Utility segment’s capital expenditures for 2022
and 2021 were made for main and service line improvements and
replacements that enhance the reliability and safety of the system
and reduce emissions. Expenditures were also made for main
extensions.
Other Investing Activities
On December 10, 2020, the Company completed the sale of
substantially all timber properties in Pennsylvania to Lyme
Emporium Highlands III LLC and Lyme Allegheny Land Company II LLC
for net proceeds of $104.6 million. After purchase price
adjustments and transaction costs, a gain of $51.1 million was
recognized on the sale of these assets ($37.0 million after-tax).
The sale of the timber properties completed a reverse like-kind
exchange pursuant to Section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code, as
amended (“Reverse 1031 Exchange”). On July 31, 2020, the Company
completed its acquisition of certain upstream assets and midstream
gathering assets in Pennsylvania from Shell for total consideration
of $506.3 million. The purchase and sale agreement with Shell was
structured, in part, as a Reverse 1031 Exchange. Refer to Item 8 at
Note B — Asset Acquisitions and Divestitures for additional
information concerning the Company’s acquisition of certain
upstream assets and midstream gathering assets from
Shell.
In October 2021, the Company sold $30 million of fixed income
mutual fund shares held in a grantor trust that was established for
the benefit of Pennsylvania ratepayers. The proceeds were used in
the Utility segment’s Pennsylvania service territory to fund a
one-time customer bill credit of $25 million in October 2021 for
previously overcollected OPEB expenses and the first year
installment of a 5-year pass back of an additional $29 million in
previously overcollected OPEB expenses in accordance with new rates
that went into effect on October 1, 2021. Please refer to the Rate
Matters section that follows for additional discussion of this
matter.
In March 2022, the Company completed the sale of certain oil and
gas assets located in Tioga County, Pennsylvania, effective as of
October 1, 2021. The Company received net proceeds of $13.5 million
from this sale. Under the full cost method of accounting for oil
and natural gas properties, the sale proceeds were accounted for as
a reduction of capitalized costs. Since the disposition did not
significantly alter the relationship between capitalized costs and
proved reserves of oil and gas attributable to the cost center, the
Company did not record any gain or loss from this
sale.
On June 30, 2022, the Company completed the sale of Seneca’s
California assets to Sentinel Peak Resources California LLC for a
total sale price of $253.5 million, consisting of $240.9 million in
cash and contingent consideration valued at $12.6 million at
closing. The Company pursued this sale given the strong commodity
price environment and the Company’s strategic focus in the
Appalachian Basin. Under the terms of the purchase and sale
agreement, the Company can receive up to three annual contingent
payments between calendar year 2023 and calendar year 2025, not to
exceed $10 million per year, with the amount of each annual payment
calculated as $1.0 million for each $1 per barrel that the ICE
Brent Average for each calendar year exceeds $95 per barrel up to
$105 per barrel. The sale price, which reflected an effective date
of April 1, 2022, was reduced for production revenues less expenses
that were retained by Seneca from the effective date to the closing
date. Under the full cost method of accounting for oil and natural
gas properties, $220.7 million of the sale price at closing was
accounted for as a reduction of capitalized costs since the
disposition did not alter the relationship between capitalized
costs and proved reserves of oil and gas attributable to the cost
center. The remainder of the sale price ($32.8 million) was applied
against assets that are not subject to the full cost method of
accounting, with the Company recognizing a gain of $12.7 million on
the sale of such assets. The majority of this gain related to the
sale of emission allowances.
Estimated Capital Expenditures
The Company’s estimated capital expenditures for the next three
years are:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Year Ended September 30 |
|
2023 |
|
2024 |
|
2025 |
|
(Millions) |
Exploration and Production(1) |
$ |
550 |
|
|
$ |
525 |
|
|
$ |
515 |
|
Pipeline and Storage |
120 |
|
|
105 |
|
|
90 |
|
Gathering |
95 |
|
|
110 |
|
|
95 |
|
Utility(2) |
120 |
|
|
135 |
|
|
135 |
|
All Other |
— |
|
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
|
$ |
885 |
|
|
$ |
875 |
|
|
$ |
835 |
|
(1)Includes
estimated expenditures for the years ended September 30, 2023,
2024 and 2025 of approximately $308 million, $95 million
and $82 million, respectively, to develop proved undeveloped
reserves. The Company is committed to developing its proved
undeveloped reserves within five years as required by the SEC’s
final rule on Modernization of Oil and Gas Reporting.
(2)Includes
estimated expenditures for the years ended September 30, 2023,
2024, and 2025 of approximately $95 million, $100 million and $100
million, respectively, for system modernization and safety to
enhance the reliability and safety of the system and reduce
emissions.
Exploration and Production
Capital expenditures for the Exploration and Production segment in
2023 through 2025 are expected to be primarily well drilling and
completion expenditures in the Appalachian region.
Pipeline and Storage
Capital expenditures for the Pipeline and Storage segment in 2023
through 2025 are expected to include: the replacement and
modernization of transmission and storage facilities, the
reconditioning of storage wells, improvements of compressor
stations and emissions reduction initiatives.
In addition, due to the continuing demand for pipeline
capacity to move natural gas from new wells being drilled in
Appalachia, specifically in the Marcellus and Utica Shale producing
areas, Supply Corporation and Empire have completed and continue to
pursue expansion projects designed to move anticipated Marcellus
and Utica production gas to other interstate pipelines and to
on-system markets, and markets beyond the Supply Corporation and
Empire pipeline systems. Capital expenditures in 2023 through 2025
include minimal capital expenditures related to system expansion
and forecasted amounts will be adjusted in the future to
incorporate any new projects that are expected to be developed by
the Company.
Gathering
The majority of the Gathering segment capital expenditures in 2023
through 2025, included in the table above, are expected to be for
construction and expansion of gathering systems, as discussed
below. The Gathering segment primarily invests capital to support
Seneca's drilling and completion activity in their long-term
development plan. Seneca has been in the process of shifting a
larger share of its activity from its Western Development Area to
Tioga County, Pennsylvania. As a result, the Gathering segment is
expecting to see near-term increases in capital expenditures as it
constructs the necessary infrastructure to support Seneca's
activity in the region.
NFG Midstream Covington, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of
Midstream Company, operates its Covington gathering system as well
as the Tioga gathering system acquired from Shell on July 31, 2020,
both in Tioga County, Pennsylvania. The current Covington gathering
system consists of two compressor stations and backbone and
in-field gathering pipelines. The Tioga gathering system consists
of 16 compressor stations and backbone and in-field gathering
pipelines. Estimated capital expenditures in 2023 through 2025
include anticipated expenditures in the range of $150 million to
$180 million for continued expansion of the Tioga gathering
system.
NFG Midstream Clermont, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Midstream
Company, continues to develop an extensive gathering system with
compression in the Pennsylvania counties of McKean, Elk and
Cameron. The Clermont gathering system was initially placed in
service in July 2014. The current system consists of three
compressor stations and backbone and in-field gathering pipelines.
The total cost estimate for the continued buildout will be
dependent on the nature and timing of Seneca's long-term plans.
Estimated capital expenditures in 2023 through 2025 include
anticipated expenditures in the range of $50 million to $70 million
for the continued expansion of the Clermont gathering
system.
NFG Midstream Wellsboro, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of
Midstream Company, continues to develop its Wellsboro gathering
system in Tioga County, Pennsylvania. The current system consists
of one compressor station and backbone and in-field gathering
pipelines. Estimated capital expenditures in 2023 through 2025
include anticipated expenditures in the range of $50 million to $60
million for the continued expansion of the Wellsboro gathering
system.
NFG Midstream Trout Run, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of
Midstream Company, continues to develop its Trout Run gathering
system in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania. The Trout Run gathering
system was initially placed in service in May 2012. The current
system consists of three compressor stations and backbone and
in-field gathering pipelines. Estimated capital
expenditures in 2023 through 2025 include anticipated expenditures
in the range of $15 million to $25 million for the continued
expansion of the Trout Run gathering system.
Utility
Capital expenditures for the Utility segment in 2023 through 2025
are expected to be concentrated in the areas of main and service
line improvements and replacements and, to a lesser extent, the
purchase of new equipment. Additionally, capital expenditures are
expected to increase after 2023 largely due to the anticipated
implementation of a Distribution System Improvement Charge (DSIC)
mechanism in the Utility's Pennsylvania Division upon completion of
the rate proceeding initiated on October 28, 2022.
Project Funding
Over the past two years, the Company has been financing capital
expenditures with cash from operations, short-term and long-term
debt, common stock, and proceeds from the sale of timber properties
and the Company's California assets. During fiscal 2022, capital
expenditures were funded with cash from operations, short-term debt
and proceeds from the sale of the Company's California assets. The
Company issued long-term debt and common stock in June 2020 to help
finance the acquisition of upstream assets and midstream gathering
assets from Shell. The financing of the asset acquisition from
Shell was completed in December 2020 when the Company completed the
sale of substantially all of its timber properties, through the
completion of the Reverse 1031 Exchange discussed above. Going
forward, the Company expects to use cash on hand, cash from
operations and short-term borrowings to finance capital
expenditures. The level of short-term borrowings will depend upon
the amount of cash provided by operations, which, in turn, will
likely be most impacted by the timing of gas cost recovery in the
Utility segment. It will also depend on natural gas production, and
the associated commodity price realizations, as well as the level
of hedging collateral deposits in the Exploration and Production
segment.
In the Exploration and Production segment, the Company has entered
into contractual obligations to support its development activities
and operations in Pennsylvania, including hydraulic fracturing and
other well completion services, well tending services, well
workover activities, tubing and casing purchases, production
equipment purchases, water hauling services and contracts for
drilling rig services. Refer to Item 8 at Note L — Commitments and
Contingencies under the heading “Other” for the amounts of
contractual obligations expected to be incurred during the next
five years and thereafter to support the Company’s exploration and
development activities. These amounts are largely a subset of the
estimated capital expenditures for the Exploration and Production
segment shown above.
The Company, in its Pipeline and Storage segment, Gathering segment
and Utility segment, has entered into several contractual
commitments associated with various pipeline, compressor and
gathering system modernization and expansion projects. Refer to
Item 8 at Note L — Commitments and Contingencies under the heading
“Other” for the amounts of contractual commitments expected to be
incurred during the next five years
and thereafter associated with the Company’s pipeline, compressor
and gathering system modernization and expansion projects. These
amounts are a subset of the estimated capital expenditures for the
Pipeline and Storage segment, Gathering segment and Utility segment
that are shown above.
The Company continuously evaluates capital expenditures and
potential investments in corporations, partnerships, and other
business entities. The amounts are subject to modification for
opportunities such as the acquisition of attractive natural gas
properties, quicker development of existing natural gas properties,
natural gas storage and transmission facilities, natural gas
gathering and compression facilities and the expansion of natural
gas transmission line capacities, regulated utility assets and
other opportunities as they may arise. While the majority of
capital expenditures in the Utility segment are necessitated by the
continued need for replacement and upgrading of mains and service
lines, the magnitude of future capital expenditures or other
investments in the Company’s other business segments depends, to a
large degree, upon market and regulatory conditions as well as
legislative actions.
FINANCING CASH FLOW
Consolidated short-term debt decreased $98.5 million, to a total of
$60.0 million, when comparing the balance sheet at September 30,
2022 to the balance sheet at September 30, 2021. The maximum amount
of short-term debt outstanding during the year ended September 30,
2022 was $675.4 million. In addition to cash provided by operating
activities, the Company continues to consider short-term debt
(consisting of short-term notes payable to banks and commercial
paper) an important source of cash for temporarily financing
capital expenditures, gas-in-storage inventory, unrecovered
purchased gas costs, margin calls on derivative financial
instruments, other working capital needs and repayment of long-term
debt. Fluctuations in these items can have a significant impact on
the amount and timing of short-term debt. For example, elevated
commodity prices relative to its existing portfolio of derivative
financial instruments led to the Company posting margin of $91.7
million with a number of its derivative counterparties as of
September 30, 2022. The maximum amount of margin posted during the
year ended September 30, 2022 was $430.6 million. The Company's
margin deposits are reflected on the balance sheet as a current
asset titled Hedging Collateral Deposits. To meet these margin
requirements and other near-term cash flow needs, the Company
utilized short-term debt in the form of commercial paper and
borrowings under its revolving credit facility. At September 30,
2022, the Company had outstanding short-term notes payable to banks
of $60.0 million. The Company did not have any commercial paper
outstanding at September 30, 2022.
On February 28, 2022, the Company entered into the Credit Agreement
with a syndicate of twelve banks. The Credit Agreement replaced the
previous Fourth Amended and Restated Credit Agreement and a
previous 364-Day Credit Agreement. The Credit Agreement provides a
$1.0 billion unsecured committed revolving credit facility with a
maturity date of February 26, 2027.
On June 30, 2022, the Company entered into the 364-Day Credit
Agreement with a syndicate of five banks, all of which are also
lenders under the Credit Agreement. The 364-Day Credit Agreement
provides an additional $250.0 million unsecured committed delayed
draw term loan credit facility with a maturity date of June 29,
2023. The Company elected to draw $250.0 million under the facility
on October 27, 2022. The Company is using the proceeds for general
corporate purposes, which will include the redemption in November
of a portion of the Company's outstanding long-term debt maturing
in March 2023.
The Company also has uncommitted lines of credit with financial
institutions for general corporate purposes. Borrowings under these
uncommitted lines of credit would be made at competitive market
rates. The uncommitted credit lines are revocable at the option of
the financial institution and are reviewed on an annual basis. The
Company anticipates that its uncommitted lines of credit generally
will be renewed or substantially replaced by similar lines. Other
financial institutions may also provide the Company with
uncommitted or discretionary lines of credit in the
future.
The total amount available to be issued under the Company’s
commercial paper program is $500.0 million. The commercial
paper program is backed by the Credit Agreement, which provides
that the Company's debt to capitalization ratio will not exceed .65
at the last day of any fiscal quarter. For purposes of calculating
the debt to capitalization ratio, the Company's total
capitalization will be increased by adding back 50% of the
aggregate after-tax amount of non-cash charges directly arising
from any ceiling test impairment
occurring on or after July 1, 2018, not to exceed $400 million.
Since July 1, 2018, the Company recorded non-cash, after-tax
ceiling test impairments totaling $381.4 million. As a result, at
September 30, 2022, $190.7 million was added back to the Company's
total capitalization for purposes of the calculation under the
Credit Agreement and 364-Day Credit Agreement. On May 3, 2022, the
Company entered into Amendment No. 1 to the Credit Agreement with
the same twelve banks under the initial Credit Agreement. The
amendment further modified the definition of consolidated
capitalization, for purposes of calculating the debt to
capitalization ratio under the Credit Agreement, to exclude,
beginning with the quarter ended June 30, 2022, all unrealized
gains or losses on commodity-related derivative financial
instruments and up to $10 million in unrealized gains or losses on
other derivative financial instruments included in Accumulated
Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) within Total Comprehensive
Shareholders' Equity on the Company's consolidated balance sheet.
Under the Credit Agreement, such unrealized losses will not
negatively affect the calculation of the debt to capitalization
ratio, and such unrealized gains will not positively affect the
calculation. The 364-Day Credit Agreement includes the same debt to
capitalization covenant and the same exclusions of unrealized gains
or losses on derivative financial instruments as the Credit
Agreement. At September 30, 2022, the Company’s debt to
capitalization ratio, as calculated under the Credit Agreement and
364-Day Credit Agreement, was .49. The constraints specified in the
Credit Agreement and 364-Day Credit Agreement would have permitted
an additional $2.56 billion in short-term and/or long-term debt to
be outstanding at September 30, 2022 (further limited by the
indenture covenants discussed below) before the Company’s debt to
capitalization ratio exceeded .65.
A downgrade in the Company’s credit ratings could increase
borrowing costs, negatively impact the availability of capital from
banks, commercial paper purchasers and other sources, and require
the Company's subsidiaries to post letters of credit, cash or other
assets as collateral with certain counterparties. If the Company is
not able to maintain investment-grade credit ratings, it may not be
able to access commercial paper markets. However, the Company
expects that it could borrow under its credit facilities or rely
upon other liquidity sources.
The Credit Agreement and 364-Day Credit Agreement contain a
cross-default provision whereby the failure by the Company or its
significant subsidiaries to make payments under other borrowing
arrangements, or the occurrence of certain events affecting those
other borrowing arrangements, could trigger an obligation to repay
any amounts outstanding under the Credit Agreement and 364-Day
Credit Agreement. In particular, a repayment obligation could be
triggered if (i) the Company or any of its significant
subsidiaries fails to make a payment when due of any principal or
interest on any other indebtedness aggregating $40.0 million
or more or (ii) an event occurs that causes, or would permit
the holders of any other indebtedness aggregating
$40.0 million or more to cause, such indebtedness to become
due prior to its stated maturity.
On February 24, 2021, the Company issued $500.0 million of 2.95%
notes due March 1, 2031. After deducting underwriting discounts,
commissions and other debt issuance costs, the net proceeds to the
Company amounted to $495.3 million. The holders of the notes may
require the Company to repurchase their notes at a price equal to
101% of the principal amount in the event of both a change in
control and a ratings downgrade to a rating below investment grade.
Additionally, the interest rate payable on the notes will be
subject to adjustment from time to time, with a maximum adjustment
of 2.00%, such that the coupon will not exceed 4.95%, if certain
change of control events involving a material subsidiary result in
a downgrade of the credit rating assigned to the notes to a rating
below investment grade. A downgrade with a resulting increase to
the coupon does not preclude the coupon from returning to its
original rate if the Company's credit rating is subsequently
upgraded. The proceeds of this debt issuance were used for general
corporate purposes, including the redemption of $500.0 million of
the Company's 4.90% notes on March 11, 2021 that were scheduled to
mature in December 2021. The Company redeemed those notes for
$515.7 million, plus accrued interest.
The Current Portion of Long-Term Debt at September 30, 2022
consists of $500.0 million of 3.75% notes and $49.0 million of
7.395% notes, that each mature in March 2023. The Company does not
anticipate long-term refinancing for these maturities. None of the
Company's long-term debt as of September 30, 2021 had a maturity
date within the following twelve-month period. As of September 30,
2022, the future contractual obligations related to aggregate
principal amounts of long-term debt, including interest expense,
maturing during the next five years and thereafter are as follows:
$654.1 million in 2023, $95.4 million in 2024, $589.4 million in
2025, $548.9 million in 2026, $340.4 million in 2027, and $863.5
million thereafter. Refer to Item 8
at Note H — Capitalization and Short-Term Borrowings, as well as
the table under Interest Rate Risk in the Market Risk Sensitive
Instruments section below, for the amounts excluding interest
expense. Principal payments of long-term debt are a component of
cash used in financing activities while interest payments on
long-term debt are a component of cash used in operating
activities.
The Company’s embedded cost of long-term debt was 4.48% at both
September 30, 2022 and September 30, 2021. Refer to
“Interest Rate Risk” in this Item for a more detailed breakdown of
the Company’s embedded cost of long-term debt.
Under the Company's existing indenture covenants at September 30,
2022, the Company would have been permitted to issue up to a
maximum of approximately $2.0 billion in additional unsubordinated
long-term indebtedness at then current market interest rates, in
addition to being able to issue new indebtedness to replace
existing debt. The Company's present liquidity position is believed
to be adequate to satisfy known demands. It is possible, depending
on amounts reported in various income statement and balance sheet
line items, that the indenture covenants could, for a period of
time, prevent the Company from issuing incremental unsubordinated
long-term debt, or significantly limit the amount of such debt that
could be issued. Losses incurred as a result of significant
impairments of oil and gas properties have in the past resulted in
such temporary restrictions. The indenture covenants would not
preclude the Company from issuing new long-term debt to replace
existing long-term debt, or from issuing additional short-term
debt. Please refer to the Critical Accounting Estimates section
above for a sensitivity analysis concerning commodity price changes
and their impact on the ceiling test.
The Company’s 1974 indenture pursuant to which $99.0 million
(or 3.7%) of the Company’s long-term debt (as of September 30,
2022) was issued, contains a cross-default provision whereby
the failure by the Company to perform certain obligations under
other borrowing arrangements could trigger an obligation to repay
the debt outstanding under the indenture. In particular, a
repayment obligation could be triggered if the Company fails
(i) to pay any scheduled principal or interest on any debt
under any other indenture or agreement, or (ii) to perform any
other term in any other such indenture or agreement, and the effect
of the failure causes, or would permit the holders of the debt to
cause, the debt under such indenture or agreement to become due
prior to its stated maturity, unless cured or waived.
OTHER MATTERS
In addition to the environmental and other matters discussed in
this Item 7 and in Item 8 at Note L —
Commitments and Contingencies, the Company is involved in other
litigation and regulatory matters arising in the normal course of
business. These other matters may include, for example, negligence
claims and tax, regulatory or other governmental audits,
inspections, investigations or other proceedings. These matters may
involve state and federal taxes, safety, compliance with
regulations, rate base, cost of service and purchased gas cost
issues, among other things. While these normal-course matters could
have a material effect on earnings and cash flows in the period in
which they are resolved, they are not expected to change materially
the Company’s present liquidity position, nor are they expected to
have a material adverse effect on the financial condition of the
Company.
Supply Corporation and Empire have developed a project which would
move significant prospective Marcellus and Utica production from
Seneca's Western Development Area at Clermont to an Empire
interconnection with the TC Energy pipeline at Chippawa and an
interconnection with TGP's 200 Line in East Aurora, New York (the
“Northern Access project”). The Northern Access project would
provide an outlet to Dawn-indexed markets in Canada and to the TGP
line serving the U.S. Northeast. The Northern Access project
involves the construction of approximately 99 miles of largely 24”
pipeline and approximately 27,500 horsepower of compression on the
two systems. Supply Corporation, Empire and Seneca executed anchor
shipper agreements for 350,000 Dth per day of firm transportation
delivery capacity to Chippawa and 140,000 Dth per day of firm
transportation capacity to a new interconnection with TGP's 200
Line on this project. The Company remains committed to the project
and, on June 29, 2022, received an extension of time from FERC,
until December 31, 2024, to construct the project. The Company will
update the $500 million preliminary cost estimate and expected
in-service date for the project when there is further clarity on
the timing of receipt of necessary regulatory approvals. As of
September 30, 2022, approximately $55.8 million has been spent on
the Northern Access project, including $24.2 million that has been
spent to study the project. The remaining $31.6
million spent on the project is included in Property, Plant and
Equipment on the Consolidated Balance Sheet at September 30,
2022.
The Company has a tax-qualified, noncontributory defined-benefit
retirement plan (Retirement Plan). The Company has been making
contributions to the Retirement Plan over the last several years
and anticipates that it may continue making contributions to the
Retirement Plan in the future. During 2022, the Company contributed
$20.4 million to the Retirement Plan. The Company anticipates
that the annual contribution to the Retirement Plan in 2023 will be
in the range of zero to $8.0 million. For further discussion of the
Company’s Retirement Plan, including actuarial assumptions, refer
to Item 8 at Note K — Retirement Plan and Other
Post-Retirement Benefits. As noted in that footnote, the Retirement
Plan has been closed to new participants since 2003. In that
regard, the average remaining service life of active participants
in the Retirement Plan is approximately 6 years.
The Company provides health care and life insurance benefits (other
post-retirement benefits) for a majority of its retired employees.
The Company has established VEBA trusts and 401(h) accounts for its
other post-retirement benefits. The Company has been making
contributions to its VEBA trusts and/or 401(h) accounts over the
last several years and does not anticipate making contributions to
the VEBA trusts and/or 401(h) accounts in the near term. However,
this will be subject to future review. During 2022, the Company
contributed $2.8 million to its VEBA trusts. In addition, the
Company made direct payments of $0.3 million to retirees not
covered by the VEBA trusts and 401(h) accounts during 2022. The
Company does not expect to make any contributions to its VEBA
trusts in 2023. For further discussion of the Company’s other
post-retirement benefits, including actuarial assumptions, refer to
Item 8 at Note K — Retirement Plan and Other
Post-Retirement Benefits. As noted in that footnote, the other
post-retirement benefits provided by the Company have been closed
to new participants since 2003. In that regard, the average
remaining service life of active participants is approximately 4
years for those eligible for other post-retirement
benefits.
The Company has made certain guarantees on behalf of its
subsidiaries. The guarantees relate primarily to: (i) obligations
under derivative financial instruments, which are included on the
Consolidated Balance Sheets in accordance with the authoritative
guidance (see Item 7, MD&A under the heading “Critical
Accounting Estimates - Accounting for Derivative Financial
Instruments”); and (ii) other obligations which are reflected on
the Consolidated Balance Sheets. The Company believes that the
likelihood it would be required to make payments under the
guarantees is remote.
MARKET RISK SENSITIVE INSTRUMENTS
Energy Commodity Price Risk
The Company uses various derivative financial instruments
(derivatives), including price swap agreements and no cost collars,
as part of the Company’s overall energy commodity price risk
management strategy in its Exploration and Production segment.
Under this strategy, the Company manages a portion of the market
risk associated with fluctuations in the price of natural gas,
thereby attempting to provide more stability to operating results.
The Company has operating procedures in place that are administered
by experienced management to monitor compliance with the Company’s
risk management policies. The derivatives are not held for trading
purposes. The fair value of these derivatives, as shown below,
represents the amount that the Company would receive from, or pay
to, the respective counterparties at September 30, 2022 to
terminate the derivatives. However, the tables below and the fair
value that is disclosed do not consider the physical side of the
natural gas transactions that are related to the financial
instruments.
On July 21, 2010, the Dodd-Frank Act was signed into
law. The Dodd-Frank Act required the CFTC, SEC and other
regulatory agencies to promulgate rules and regulations
implementing the legislation, and includes provisions related to
the swaps and over-the-counter derivatives markets that are
designed to promote transparency, mitigate systemic risk and
protect against market abuse. Although regulators have
issued certain regulations, other rules that may impact the Company
have yet to be finalized. Rules developed by the CFTC and other
regulators could impact the Company. While many of those
rules place specific conditions on the operations of swap dealers
and major swap participants, concern remains that swap dealers and
major swap participants will pass along their increased costs
stemming from final rules through higher transaction costs and
prices or other direct or indirect costs. Additionally, given the
enforcement authority granted to the CFTC on anti-market
manipulation, anti-fraud and disruptive trading practices, it is
difficult to predict how the evolving
enforcement priorities of the CFTC will impact our
business. Should the Company violate any laws or
regulations applicable to our hedging activities, it could be
subject to CFTC enforcement action and material penalties and
sanctions. The Company continues to monitor these enforcement
and other regulatory developments, but cannot predict the impact
that evolving application of the Dodd-Frank Act may have on its
operations.
The authoritative guidance for fair value measurements and
disclosures require consideration of the impact of nonperformance
risk (including credit risk) from a market participant perspective
in the measurement of the fair value of assets and liabilities. At
September 30, 2022, the Company determined that nonperformance
risk associated with the price swap agreements, no cost collars and
foreign currency contracts would have no material impact on its
financial position or results of operation. To assess
nonperformance risk, the Company considered information such as any
applicable collateral posted, master netting arrangements, and
applied a market-based method by using the counterparty's (assuming
the derivative is in a gain position) or the Company’s (assuming
the derivative is in a loss position) credit default swaps
rates.
The following tables disclose natural gas price swap information by
expected maturity dates for agreements in which the Company
receives a fixed price in exchange for paying a variable price as
quoted in various national natural gas publications or on the
NYMEX. Notional amounts (quantities) are used to calculate the
contractual payments to be exchanged under the contract. The
weighted average variable prices represent the weighted average
settlement prices by expected maturity date as of
September 30, 2022. At September 30, 2022, the Company
had not entered into any natural gas price swap agreements
extending beyond 2026.
Natural Gas Price Swap Agreements
|
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Expected Maturity Dates |
|
2023 |
|
2024 |
|
2025 |
|
2026 |
|
|
|
Total |
Notional Quantities (Equivalent Bcf) |
112.8 |
|
|
65.7 |
|
|
26.8 |
|
|
2.0 |
|
|
|
|
207.3 |
|
Weighted Average Fixed Rate (per Mcf) |
$ |
2.88 |
|
|
$ |
3.07 |
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|
$ |
3.16 |
|
|
$ |
3.18 |
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|
|
|
$ |
2.98 |
|
Weighted Average Variable Rate (per Mcf) |
$ |
6.02 |
|
|
$ |
4.86 |
|
|
$ |
4.55 |
|
|
$ |
4.32 |
|
|
|
|
$ |
5.45 |
|
At September 30, 2022, the Company would have paid its respective
counterparties an aggregate of approximately $512.3 million to
terminate the natural gas price swap agreements outstanding at that
date.
At September 30, 2021, the Company had natural gas price swap
agreements covering 398.8 Bcf at a weighted average fixed rate of
$2.84 per Mcf.
No Cost Collars
The following table discloses the notional quantities, the weighted
average ceiling price and the weighted average floor price for the
no cost collars used by the Company to manage natural gas price
risk. The no cost collars provide for the Company to receive
monthly payments from (or make payments to) other parties when a
variable price falls below an established floor price (the Company
receives payment from the counterparty) or exceeds an established
ceiling price (the Company pays the counterparty). At September 30,
2022, the Company had not entered into any natural gas no cost
collars extending beyond 2027.
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Expected Maturity Dates |
|
2023 |
|
2024 |
|
2025 |
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2026 |
|
2027 |
|
Total |
Natural Gas |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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|
|
|
Notional Quantities (Equivalent Bcf) |
68.3 |
|
|
57.5 |
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|
42.7 |
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|
41.5 |
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|
3.5 |
|
|
213.5 |
|
Weighted Average Ceiling Price (per Mcf) |
$ |
3.75 |
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|
$ |
3.89 |
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$ |
4.79 |
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|
$ |
4.90 |
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$ |
4.90 |
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$ |
4.24 |
|
Weighted Average Floor Price (per Mcf) |
$ |
3.20 |
|
|
$ |
3.30 |
|
|
$ |
3.60 |
|
|
$ |
3.63 |
|
|
$ |
3.63 |
|
|
$ |
3.40 |
|
At September 30, 2022, the Company would have had to pay an
aggregate of approximately $270.5 million to terminate the
natural gas no cost collars outstanding at that date.
At September 30, 2021, the Company had no cost collars agreements
covering 20.9 Bcf at a weighted average ceiling price of $3.25 per
Mcf and a weighted average floor price of $2.81 per
Mcf.
Foreign Exchange Risk
The Company uses foreign exchange forward contracts to manage the
risk of currency fluctuations associated with transportation costs
denominated in Canadian currency in the Exploration and Production
segment. All of these transactions are forecasted.
The following table discloses foreign exchange contract information
by expected maturity dates. The Company receives a fixed price in
exchange for paying a variable price as noted in the Canadian to
U.S. dollar forward exchange rates. Notional amounts (Canadian
dollars) are used to calculate the contractual payments to be
exchanged under contract. The weighted average variable prices
represent the weighted average settlement prices by expected
maturity date as of September 30, 2022. At September 30, 2022, the
Company had not entered into any foreign currency exchange
contracts extending beyond 2030.
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Expected Maturity Dates |
|
2023 |
|
2024 |
|
2025 |
|
2026 |
|
2027 |
|
Thereafter |
|
Total |
Notional Quantities (Canadian Dollar in millions)
|
$ |
14.7 |
|
|
$ |
12.9 |
|
|
$ |
10.9 |
|
|
$ |
3.1 |
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$ |
2.4 |
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$ |
5.4 |
|
|
$ |
49.4 |
|
Weighted Average Fixed Rate ($Cdn/$US) |
$ |
1.29 |
|
|
$ |
1.29 |
|
|
$ |
1.28 |
|
|
$ |
1.32 |
|
|
$ |
1.33 |
|
|
$ |
1.34 |
|
|
$ |
1.29 |
|
Weighted Average Variable Rate ($Cdn/$US) |
$ |
1.34 |
|
|
$ |
1.33 |
|
|
$ |
1.32 |
|
|
$ |
1.34 |
|
|
$ |
1.34 |
|
|
$ |
1.34 |
|
|
$ |
1.33 |
|
At September 30, 2022, absent other positions with the same
counterparties, the Company would have paid to its respective
counterparties an aggregate of $1.9 million to terminate these
foreign exchange contracts.
Refer to Item 8 at Note J — Financial Instruments for a
discussion of the Company’s exposure to credit risk related to its
derivative financial instruments.
Interest Rate Risk
The fair value of long-term fixed rate debt is $2.5 billion at
September 30, 2022. This fair value amount is not intended to
reflect principal amounts that the Company will ultimately be
required to pay. The following table presents the principal cash
repayments and related weighted average interest rates by expected
maturity date for the Company’s long-term fixed rate
debt:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Principal Amounts by Expected Maturity Dates |
|
2023 |
|
2024 |
|
2025 |
|
2026 |
|
2027 |
|
Thereafter |
|
Total |
|
(Dollars in millions) |
Long-Term Fixed Rate Debt |
$ |
549.0 |
|
$ |
— |
|
$ |
500.0 |
|
$ |
500.0 |
|
$ |
300.0 |
|
$ |
800.0 |
|
$ |
2,649.0 |
Weighted Average Interest Rate Paid
|
4.1% |
|
— |
|
5.4% |
|
5.5% |
|
4.0% |
|
3.6% |
|
4.5% |
RATE MATTERS
Utility Operation
Delivery rates for both the New York and Pennsylvania divisions are
regulated by the states’ respective public utility commissions and
typically are changed only when approved through a procedure known
as a “rate case.” As noted below, the Pennsylvania division
currently has a rate case on file. In both jurisdictions, delivery
rates do not reflect the recovery of purchased gas costs.
Prudently-incurred gas costs are recovered through operation of
automatic adjustment clauses, and are collected primarily through a
separately-stated “supply charge” on the customer
bill.
New York Jurisdiction
Distribution Corporation's current delivery rates in its New York
jurisdiction were approved by the NYPSC in an order issued on April
20, 2017 with rates becoming effective May 1, 2017. The order
provided for a return on equity of 8.7%, and directed the
implementation of an earnings sharing mechanism to be in place
beginning on April 1, 2018. The order also authorized the Company
to recover approximately $15 million annually for pension and other
post-employment benefit ("OPEB") expenses from customers. Because
the Company's future pension and OPEB costs were projected to be
satisfied with existing funds held in reserve, in July,
Distribution Corporation made a filing with the NYPSC to effectuate
a pension and OPEB surcredit to customers to offset these amounts
being collected in base rates effective October 1, 2022. On
September 16,
2022, the NYPSC issued an order approving the filing. With the
implementation of this surcredit, Distribution Corporation will no
longer be funding the pension from its New York jurisdiction and it
will not be funding its VEBA trusts in its New York
jurisdiction.
On August 13, 2021, the NYPSC issued an order extending the date
through which qualified pipeline replacement costs incurred by the
Company can be recovered using the existing system modernization
tracker for two years (until March 31, 2023). The extension is
contingent on the Company not filing a base rate case that would
result in new rates becoming effective prior to April 1,
2023.
Pennsylvania Jurisdiction
Distribution Corporation’s current delivery rates in its
Pennsylvania jurisdiction were approved by the PaPUC on November
30, 2006 as part of a settlement agreement that became effective
January 1, 2007. On October 28, 2022, Distribution Corporation made
a filing with the PaPUC seeking an increase in its annual base rate
operating revenues of $28.1 million with a proposed effective date
of December 27, 2022. The Company is also proposing, among other
things, to implement a weather normalization adjustment mechanism
and a new energy efficiency and conservation pilot program for
residential customers. The filing will be suspended for seven
months by operation of law unless directed otherwise by the
PaPUC.
Effective October 1, 2021, pursuant to a tariff supplement filed
with the PaPUC, Distribution Corporation reduced base rates by $7.7
million in order to stop collecting OPEB expenses from customers.
It also began to refund to customers overcollected OPEB expenses in
the amount of $50.0 million. Certain other matters in the tariff
supplement were unresolved. These matters were resolved with the
PaPUC's approval of an Administrative Law Judge's Recommended
Decision on February 24, 2022. Concurrent with that decision, the
Company discontinued regulatory accounting for OPEB expenses and
recorded an $18.5 million adjustment during the quarter ended March
31, 2022 to reduce its regulatory liability for previously deferred
OPEB income amounts through September 30, 2021 and to increase
Other Income (Deductions) on the consolidated financial statements
by a like amount. The Company also increased customer refunds of
overcollected OPEB expenses from $50.0 million to 54.0 million. All
refunds specified in the tariff supplement are being funded
entirely by grantor trust assets held by the Company, most of which
are included in a fixed income mutual fund that is a component of
Other Investments on the Company's Consolidated Balance Sheet. With
the elimination of OPEB expenses in base rates, Distribution
Corporation is no longer funding the grantor trust or its VEBA
trusts in its Pennsylvania jurisdiction.
Pipeline and Storage
Supply Corporation’s 2020 rate settlement provides that no party
may make a rate filing for new rates to be effective before
February 1, 2024, except that Supply Corporation may file an NGA
general Section 4 rate case to change rates if the corporate
federal income tax rate is increased. If no case has been filed,
Supply Corporation must file for rates to be effective February 1,
2025.
Empire’s 2019 rate settlement provides that Empire must make a rate
case filing no later than May 1, 2025.
ENVIRONMENTAL MATTERS
The Company is subject to various federal, state and local laws and
regulations relating to the protection of the environment. The
Company has established procedures for the ongoing evaluation of
its operations to identify potential environmental exposures and
comply with regulatory requirements. In 2021, the Company set
methane intensity reduction targets at each of its businesses, an
absolute greenhouse gas emissions reduction target for the
consolidated Company, and greenhouse gas reduction targets
associated with the Company’s utility delivery system. In 2022, the
Company began measuring progress against these reduction targets.
The Company's ability to estimate accurately the time, costs and
resources necessary to meet emissions targets may change as
environmental exposures and opportunities change and regulatory
updates are issued.
For further discussion of the Company's environmental exposures,
refer to Item 8 at Note L — Commitments and
Contingencies under the heading “Environmental
Matters.”
While changes in environmental laws and regulations could have an
adverse financial impact on the Company, legislation or regulation
that sets a price on or otherwise restricts carbon emissions could
also benefit the Company by increasing demand for natural gas,
because substantially fewer carbon emissions per Btu of heat
generated are associated with the use of natural gas than with
certain alternate fuels such as coal and oil. The effect (material
or not) on the Company of any new legislative or regulatory
measures will depend on the particular provisions that are
ultimately adopted.
Environmental Regulation
Legislative and regulatory measures to address climate change and
greenhouse gas emissions are in various phases of discussion or
implementation in the United States. These efforts include
legislation, legislative proposals and new regulations at the state
and federal level, and private party litigation related to
greenhouse gas emissions. Legislation or regulation that aims to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions could also include emissions
limits, reporting requirements, carbon taxes, restrictive
permitting, increased efficiency standards, and incentives or
mandates to conserve energy or use renewable energy sources. For
example, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA) legislation was
signed into law on August 16, 2022. The IRA includes a methane
charge that is expected to be applicable to the reported annual
methane emissions of certain oil and gas facilities, above
specified methane intensity thresholds, starting in calendar year
2024. This portion of the IRA is to be administered by the EPA and
potential fees will begin with emissions reported for calendar year
2024. The EPA regulates greenhouse gas emissions pursuant to the
Clean Air Act. The regulations implemented by the EPA impose more
stringent leak detection and repair requirements, and further
address reporting and control of methane and volatile organic
compound emissions. The Company must continue to comply with all
applicable regulations. Additionally, a number of states have
adopted energy strategies or plans with aggressive goals for the
reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Pennsylvania has a methane
reduction framework with the stated goal of reducing methane
emissions from well sites, compressor stations and pipelines.
Pennsylvania's Governor also entered the Commonwealth into a
cap-and-trade program known as the Regional Greenhouse Gas
Initiative, however, the Commonwealth's participation is currently
stayed due to ongoing litigation. Federal, state or local
governments may provide tax advantages and other subsidies to
support alternative energy sources, mandate the use of specific
fuels or technologies, or promote research into new technologies to
reduce the cost and increase the scalability of alternative energy
sources. The NYPSC, for example, initiated a proceeding to consider
climate-related financial disclosures at the utility operating
company level, and the New York State legislature passed the CLCPA
that mandates reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 40% from 1990
levels by 2030, and by 85% from 1990 levels by 2050, with the
remaining emission reduction achieved by controlled offsets. The
CLCPA also requires electric generators to meet 70% of demand with
renewable energy by 2030 and 100% with zero emissions generation by
2040. These climate change and greenhouse gas initiatives could
impact the Company's customer base and assets depending on the
promulgation of final regulations and on regulatory treatment
afforded in the process. Thus far, the only regulations promulgated
in connection with the CLCPA are greenhouse gas emissions limits
established by the NYDEC in 6 NYCRR Part 496, effective December
30, 2020. The NYDEC has until January 1, 2024 to issue further
rules and regulations implementing the statute. The
above-enumerated initiatives could also increase the Company’s cost
of environmental compliance by increasing reporting requirements,
requiring retrofitting of existing equipment, requiring
installation of new equipment, and/or requiring the purchase of
emission allowances. They could also delay or otherwise negatively
affect efforts to obtain permits and other regulatory approvals.
Changing market conditions and new regulatory requirements, as well
as unanticipated or inconsistent application of existing laws and
regulations by administrative agencies, make it difficult to
predict a long-term business impact across twenty or more
years.
EFFECTS OF INFLATION
The Company’s operations are sensitive to increases in the rate of
inflation because of its operational and capital spending
requirements in both its regulated and non-regulated businesses.
For the regulated businesses, recovery of increasing costs from
customers can be delayed by the regulatory process of a rate case
filing. For the non-regulated businesses, prices received for
services performed or products produced are determined by market
factors that are not necessarily correlated to the underlying costs
required to provide the service or product.
SAFE HARBOR FOR FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
The Company is including the following cautionary statement in this
Form 10-K to make applicable and take advantage of the safe
harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995 for any forward-looking statements made by, or on behalf
of, the Company. Forward-looking statements include statements
concerning plans, objectives, goals, projections, strategies,
future events or performance, and underlying assumptions and other
statements which are other than statements of historical facts.
From time to time, the Company may publish or otherwise make
available forward-looking statements of this nature. All such
subsequent forward-looking statements, whether written or oral and
whether made by or on behalf of the Company, are also expressly
qualified by these cautionary statements. Certain statements
contained in this report, including, without limitation, statements
regarding future prospects, plans, objectives, goals, projections,
estimates of oil and gas quantities, strategies, future events or
performance and underlying assumptions, capital structure,
anticipated capital expenditures, completion of construction
projects, projections for pension and other post-retirement benefit
obligations, impacts of the adoption of new authoritative
accounting and reporting guidance, and possible outcomes of
litigation or regulatory proceedings, as well as statements that
are identified by the use of the words “anticipates,” “estimates,”
“expects,” “forecasts,” “intends,” “plans,” “predicts,” “projects,”
“believes,” “seeks,” “will,” “may,” and similar expressions, are
“forward-looking statements” as defined in the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and accordingly involve risks and
uncertainties which could cause actual results or outcomes to
differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking
statements. The Company’s expectations, beliefs and projections are
expressed in good faith and are believed by the Company to have a
reasonable basis, but there can be no assurance that management’s
expectations, beliefs or projections will result or be achieved or
accomplished. In addition to other factors and matters discussed
elsewhere herein, the following are important factors that, in the
view of the Company, could cause actual results to differ
materially from those discussed in the forward-looking
statements:
1.Changes
in laws, regulations or judicial interpretations to which the
Company is subject, including those involving derivatives, taxes,
safety, employment, climate change, other environmental matters,
real property, and exploration and production activities such as
hydraulic fracturing;
2.Governmental/regulatory
actions, initiatives and proceedings, including those involving
rate cases (which address, among other things, target rates of
return, rate design, retained natural gas and system
modernization), environmental/safety requirements, affiliate
relationships, industry structure, and franchise
renewal;
3.The
Company’s ability to estimate accurately the time and resources
necessary to meet emissions targets;
4.Governmental/regulatory
actions and/or market pressures to reduce or eliminate reliance on
natural gas;
5.Changes
in economic conditions, including inflationary pressures, supply
chain issues, liquidity challenges, and global, national or
regional recessions, and their effect on the demand for, and
customers’ ability to pay for, the Company’s products and
services;
6.Changes
in the price of natural gas;
7.The
creditworthiness or performance of the Company’s key suppliers,
customers and counterparties;
8.Financial
and economic conditions, including the availability of credit, and
occurrences affecting the Company’s ability to obtain financing on
acceptable terms for working capital, capital expenditures and
other investments, including any downgrades in the Company’s credit
ratings and changes in interest rates and other capital market
conditions;
9.Impairments
under the SEC’s full cost ceiling test for natural gas
reserves;
10.Increased
costs or delays or changes in plans with respect to Company
projects or related projects of other companies, as well as
difficulties or delays in obtaining necessary governmental
approvals, permits or orders or in obtaining the cooperation of
interconnecting facility operators;
11.The
Company's ability to complete planned strategic
transactions;
12.The
Company's ability to successfully integrate acquired assets and
achieve expected cost synergies;
13.Changes
in price differentials between similar quantities of natural gas
sold at different geographic locations, and the effect of such
changes on commodity production, revenues and demand for pipeline
transportation capacity to or from such locations;
14.The
impact of information technology disruptions, cybersecurity or data
security breaches;
15.Factors
affecting the Company’s ability to successfully identify, drill for
and produce economically viable natural gas reserves, including
among others geology, lease availability and costs, title disputes,
weather conditions, shortages, delays or unavailability of
equipment and services required in drilling operations,
insufficient gathering, processing and transportation capacity, the
need to obtain governmental approvals and permits, and compliance
with environmental laws and regulations;
16.Increasing
health care costs and the resulting effect on health insurance
premiums and on the obligation to provide other post-retirement
benefits;
17.Other
changes in price differentials between similar quantities of
natural gas having different quality, heating value, hydrocarbon
mix or delivery date;
18.The
cost and effects of legal and administrative claims against the
Company or activist shareholder campaigns to effect changes at the
Company;
19.Negotiations
with the collective bargaining units representing the Company's
workforce, including potential work stoppages during
negotiations;
20.Uncertainty
of gas reserve estimates;
21.Significant
differences between the Company’s projected and actual production
levels for natural gas;
22.Changes
in demographic patterns and weather conditions (including those
related to climate change);
23.Changes
in the availability, price or accounting treatment of derivative
financial instruments;
24.Changes
in laws, actuarial assumptions, the interest rate environment and
the return on plan/trust assets related to the Company’s pension
and other post-retirement benefits, which can affect future funding
obligations and costs and plan liabilities;
25.Economic
disruptions or uninsured losses resulting from major accidents,
fires, severe weather, natural disasters, terrorist activities or
acts of war, as well as economic and operational disruptions due to
third-party outages;
26.Significant
differences between the Company’s projected and actual capital
expenditures and operating expenses; or
27.Increasing
costs of insurance, changes in coverage and the ability to obtain
insurance.
The Company disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking
statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date
hereof.
Forward-looking and other statements in this Annual Report on Form
10-K regarding methane and greenhouse gas reduction plans and goals
are not an indication that these statements are necessarily
material to investors or required to be disclosed in our filings
with the SEC. In addition, historical, current and forward-looking
statements regarding methane and greenhouse gas emissions may be
based on standards for measuring progress that are still
developing, internal controls and processes that continue to evolve
and assumptions that are subject to change in the
future.
INDUSTRY AND MARKET DATA DISCLOSURE
The market data and certain other statistical information used
throughout this Form 10-K are based on independent industry
publications, government publications or other published
independent sources. Some data is also based on the Company's good
faith estimates. Although the Company believes these third-party
sources are reliable and that the information is accurate and
complete, it has not independently verified the
information.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Item 7A |
Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market
Risk |
Refer to the “Market Risk Sensitive Instruments” section in
Item 7, MD&A.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Item 8 |
Financial Statements and Supplementary Data |
Index to Financial Statements
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Page |
Financial Statements: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
All schedules are omitted because they are not applicable or the
required information is shown in the Consolidated Financial
Statements or Notes thereto.
Supplementary Data
Supplementary data that is included in Note N — Supplementary
Information for Oil and Gas Producing Activities (unaudited),
appears under this Item, and reference is made
thereto.
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting
Firm
To the Board of Directors and Shareholders of National Fuel Gas
Company
Opinions on the Financial Statements and Internal Control over
Financial Reporting
We have audited the consolidated financial statements, including
the related notes, of National Fuel Gas Company and its
subsidiaries (the “Company”) as listed in the accompanying index
(collectively referred to as the “consolidated financial
statements”). We also have audited the Company's internal control
over financial reporting as of September 30, 2022, based on
criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework
(2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the
Treadway Commission (COSO).
In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements referred to
above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial
position of the Company as of September 30, 2022 and 2021, and the
results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three
years in the period ended September 30, 2022 in conformity with
accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of
America. Also in our opinion, the Company maintained, in all
material respects, effective internal control over financial
reporting as of September 30, 2022, based on criteria established
in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the
COSO.
Basis for Opinions
The Company's management is responsible for these consolidated
financial statements, for maintaining effective internal control
over financial reporting, and for its assessment of the
effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting,
included in Management's Annual Report on Internal Control over
Financial Reporting appearing under Item 9A. Our responsibility is
to express opinions on the Company’s consolidated financial
statements and on the Company's internal control over financial
reporting based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm
registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board
(United States) (PCAOB) and are required to be independent with
respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal
securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the
Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the
PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audits
to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the consolidated
financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due
to error or fraud, and whether effective internal control over
financial reporting was maintained in all material
respects.
Our audits of the consolidated financial statements included
performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement
of the consolidated financial statements, whether due to error or
fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such
procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding
the amounts and disclosures in the consolidated financial
statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting
principles used and significant estimates made by management, as
well as evaluating the overall presentation of the consolidated
financial statements. Our audit of internal control over financial
reporting included obtaining an understanding of internal control
over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material
weakness exists, and testing and evaluating the design and
operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed
risk. Our audits also included performing such other procedures as
we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our
audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinions.
Definition and Limitations of Internal Control over Financial
Reporting
A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process
designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability
of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements
for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted
accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial
reporting includes those policies and procedures that (i) pertain
to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail,
accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of
the assets of the company; (ii) provide reasonable assurance that
transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of
financial statements in accordance with generally accepted
accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the
company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of
management and directors of the company; and (iii) provide
reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of
unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s
assets that could have a material effect on the financial
statements.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over
financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also,
projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods
are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because
of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the
policies or procedures may deteriorate.
Critical Audit Matters
The critical audit matter communicated below is a matter arising
from the current period audit of the consolidated financial
statements that was communicated or required to be communicated to
the audit committee and that (i) relates to accounts or disclosures
that are material to the consolidated financial statements and (ii)
involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex
judgments. The communication of critical audit matters does not
alter in any way our opinion on the consolidated financial
statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the
critical audit matter below, providing a separate opinion on the
critical audit matter or on the accounts or disclosures to which it
relates.
The Impact of Proved Natural Gas Reserves on Natural Gas
Properties, Net
As described in Note A to the consolidated financial statements,
the Exploration and Production segment includes capitalized costs
relating to natural gas producing activities, net of depreciation,
depletion, and amortization (DD&A) of $1.9 billion as of
September 30, 2022. The Exploration and Production segment follows
the full cost method of accounting. Under this method, all costs
associated with property acquisition, exploration and development
activities are capitalized and DD&A is computed based on
quantities produced in relation to proved reserves using the units
of production method. As disclosed by management, in addition to
DD&A under the units-of-production method, proved reserves are
a major component in the SEC full cost ceiling test. The ceiling
test, which is performed each quarter, determines a limit, or
ceiling, on the amount of property acquisition, exploration and
development costs that can be capitalized. If capitalized costs,
net of accumulated DD&A and related deferred income taxes,
exceed the ceiling at the end of any quarter, a permanent
impairment is required to be charged to earnings in that quarter.
There were no ceiling test impairment charges for the year ended
September 30, 2022. As of September 30, 2022, the ceiling exceeded
the book value of the natural gas properties by approximately $3.2
billion. Estimates of the Company’s proved natural gas reserves and
the future net cash flows from those reserves were prepared by the
Company’s petroleum engineers and audited by independent petroleum
engineers (together referred to as “management’s specialists”).
Petroleum engineering involves significant assumptions in the
evaluation of available geological, geophysical, engineering and
economic data for each reservoir. Estimates of economically
recoverable natural gas reserves and of future net cash flows
depend upon a number of variable factors and assumptions, including
quantities of natural gas that are ultimately recovered, the timing
of the recovery of natural gas reserves, the production and
operating costs to be incurred, the amount and timing of future
development and abandonment expenditures, and the price received
for the production.
The principal considerations for our determination that performing
procedures relating to the impact of proved natural gas reserves on
natural gas properties, net is a critical audit matter are the
significant judgment by management, including the use of
management’s specialists, when developing the estimates of proved
natural gas reserves, which in turn led to a high degree of auditor
judgment, subjectivity and effort in performing procedures and
evaluating evidence related to the data, methods, and assumptions
used by management and its specialists in developing the estimates
of quantities of proved natural gas that are ultimately
recovered.
Addressing the matter involved performing procedures and evaluating
audit evidence in connection with forming our overall opinion on
the consolidated financial statements. These procedures included
testing the effectiveness of controls relating to management’s
estimates of proved natural gas reserves that are utilized in the
DD&A expense and ceiling test calculations. These procedures
also included, among others, evaluating the reasonableness of the
significant assumptions used by management related to the
quantities of natural gas that are ultimately recovered. Evaluating
the reasonableness of the significant assumptions included
evaluating information on additional development activity,
production history, if the assumptions used were reasonable
considering the past performance of the Company, and whether they
were consistent with evidence obtained in other areas of the audit.
The work of management’s specialists was used in performing the
procedures to evaluate the reasonableness of the estimates of
proved natural gas reserves. As a basis for using this work, the
specialists’ qualifications and objectivity were understood and the
Company’s relationship with the specialists assessed. The
procedures performed also included evaluation of the methods and
assumptions used by the specialists, tests of the data used by the
specialists and an evaluation of the specialists’
findings.
/s/ PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS
LLP
Buffalo, New York
November 18, 2022
We have served as the Company’s auditor since
1941.
NATIONAL FUEL GAS COMPANY
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME AND EARNINGS
REINVESTED IN THE BUSINESS
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Year Ended September 30 |
|
2022 |
|
2021 |
|
2020 |
|
(Thousands of dollars, except per common share
amounts) |
INCOME |
|
|
|
|
|
Operating Revenues: |
|
|
|
|
|
Utility and Energy Marketing Revenues |
$ |
897,916 |
|
|
$ |
667,549 |
|
|
$ |
728,336 |
|
Exploration and Production and Other Revenues |
1,010,629 |
|
|
837,597 |
|
|
611,885 |
|
Pipeline and Storage and Gathering Revenues |
277,501 |
|
|
237,513 |
|
|
206,070 |
|
|
2,186,046 |
|
|
1,742,659 |
|
|
1,546,291 |
|
Operating Expenses: |
|
|
|
|
|
Purchased Gas |
392,093 |
|
|
171,827 |
|
|
233,890 |
|
Operation and Maintenance: |
|
|
|
|
|
Utility and Energy Marketing
|
193,058 |
|
|
179,547 |
|
|
181,051 |
|
Exploration and Production and Other
|
191,572 |
|
|
173,041 |
|
|
148,856 |
|
Pipeline and Storage and Gathering
|
136,571 |
|
|
123,218 |
|
|
108,640 |
|
Property, Franchise and Other Taxes |
101,182 |
|
|
94,713 |
|
|
88,400 |
|
Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization |
369,790 |
|
|
335,303 |
|
|
306,158 |
|
Impairment of Oil and Gas Producing Properties |
— |
|
|
76,152 |
|
|
449,438 |
|
|
1,384,266 |
|
|
1,153,801 |
|
|
1,516,433 |
|
Gain on Sale of Assets |
12,736 |
|
|
51,066 |
|
|
— |
|
Operating Income |
814,516 |
|
|
639,924 |
|
|
29,858 |
|
Other Income (Expense): |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Other Income (Deductions) |
(1,509) |
|
|
(15,238) |
|
|
(17,814) |
|
Interest Expense on Long-Term Debt |
(120,507) |
|
|
(141,457) |
|
|
(110,012) |
|
Other Interest Expense |
(9,850) |
|
|
(4,900) |
|
|
(7,065) |
|
Income (Loss) Before Income Taxes |
682,650 |
|
|
478,329 |
|
|
(105,033) |
|
Income Tax Expense |
116,629 |
|
|
114,682 |
|
|
18,739 |
|
Net Income (Loss) Available for Common Stock |
566,021 |
|
|
363,647 |
|
|
(123,772) |
|
EARNINGS REINVESTED IN THE BUSINESS |
|
|
|
|
|
Balance at Beginning of Year |
1,191,175 |
|
|
991,630 |
|
|
1,272,601 |
|
|
1,757,196 |
|
|
1,355,277 |
|
|
1,148,829 |
|
Dividends on Common Stock |
(170,111) |
|
|
(164,102) |
|
|
(156,249) |
|
Cumulative Effect of Adoption of Authoritative Guidance
for
Hedging
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
|
(950) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Balance at End of Year |
$ |
1,587,085 |
|
|
$ |
1,191,175 |
|
|
$ |
991,630 |
|
Earnings (Loss) Per Common Share: |
|
|
|
|
|
Basic: |
|
|
|
|
|
Net Income (Loss) Available for Common Stock |
$ |
6.19 |
|
|
$ |
3.99 |
|
|
$ |
(1.41) |
|
Diluted: |
|
|
|
|
|
Net Income (Loss) Available for Common Stock |
$ |
6.15 |
|
|
$ |
3.97 |
|
|
$ |
(1.41) |
|
Weighted Average Common Shares Outstanding: |
|
|
|
|
|
Used in Basic Calculation |
91,410,625 |
|
|
91,130,941 |
|
|
87,968,895 |
|
Used in Diluted Calculation |
92,107,066 |
|
|
91,684,583 |
|
|
87,968,895 |
|
See Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
NATIONAL FUEL GAS COMPANY
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Year Ended September 30 |
|
2022 |
|
2021 |
|
2020 |
|
(Thousands of dollars) |
Net Income (Loss) Available for Common Stock |
$ |
566,021 |
|
|
$ |
363,647 |
|
|
$ |
(123,772) |
|
Other Comprehensive Income (Loss), Before Tax: |
|
|
|
|
|
Increase (Decrease) in the Funded Status of the Pension and Other
Post-Retirement Benefit Plans
|
9,561 |
|
|
17,862 |
|
|
(19,214) |
|
|