Coterra Energy Inc. is a company engaged in

hydrocarbon exploration Hydrocarbon exploration (or oil and gas exploration) is the search by petroleum geologists and geophysicists for deposits of hydrocarbons, particularly petroleum and natural gas, in the Earth using petroleum geology. Exploration methods Vis ...

organized in

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

and based in

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

. The company has operations in the

Permian Basin The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years from the end of the Carboniferous Period million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.9 Mya. It is the last period of the Paleoz ...

Marcellus Shale Marcellus may refer to: * Marcellus (name) * Marcus Claudius Marcellus, Roman commander Places * Marcellus, Lot-et-Garonne, France * Marcellus Township, Michigan ** Marcellus, Michigan, a village in Marcellus Township ** Marcellus Community Sch ...

, and the

Anadarko Basin The Anadarko Basin is a geologic depositional and structural basin centered in the western part of the state of Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle, and extending into southwestern Kansas and southeastern Colorado. The basin covers an area of . By th ...

. As of December 31, 2021, the company had of estimated proved reserves, of which 85% was natural gas, 7% was petroleum, and 8% was natural gas liquids.

History

The company was formed as Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation, a subsidiary of

Cabot Corporation Cabot Corporation is an American specialty chemicals and performance materials company headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. The company operates in over 20 countries with 36 manufacturing plants, eight research and development facilities and ...

. It became a

public company A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) company can be listed on a stock exchange (l ...

via an

initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...

in February 1990. In March 1991, the company became 100% publicly owned. In 1994, the company acquired Washington Energy Resources in a $180 million stock transaction. In May 1995, the company ousted John Lollar, its

chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

and

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

, in part due to the ill-timing of the acquisition of Washington Energy Resources. In 1997, the company sold oil reserves and land in northwest Pennsylvania for $92.5 million. In 2001, the company acquired Cody Energy for $230 million. In June 2008, the company was added to the

S&P 500 The Standard and Poor's 500, or simply the S&P 500, is a stock market index tracking the stock performance of 500 large companies listed on stock exchanges in the United States. It is one of the most commonly followed equity indices. As of D ...

. In 2013, the company sold its assets in the Marmaton play of

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

and

West Texas West Texas is a loosely defined region in the U.S. state of Texas, generally encompassing the arid and semiarid lands west of a line drawn between the cities of Wichita Falls, Abilene, and Del Rio. No consensus exists on the boundary betwee ...

for $160 million. In March 2018, the company sold its assets in the

Eagle Ford Group The Eagle Ford Group (also called the Eagle Ford Shale) is a Sedimentary rock, sedimentary rock formation deposited during the Cenomanian and Turonian ages of the Late Cretaceous over much of the modern-day state of Texas. The Eagle Ford is pr ...

KKR KKR & Co. Inc., also known as Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., is an American global investment company that manages multiple alternative asset classes, including private equity, energy, infrastructure, real estate, credit, and, through its strateg ...

and Venado Oil & Gas. In October 2021, the company acquired

Cimarex Energy Cimarex Energy Co. was a company engaged in hydrocarbon exploration, particularly shale oil and gas drilling. It was organized in Delaware and headquartered in Denver, Colorado, with operations primarily in Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico. As ...

and was renamed Coterra Energy.

Controversies

Environmental damage

In 2009, the company was cited for violations in regard to spills of toxic

hydraulic fracturing Fracking (also known as hydraulic fracturing, hydrofracturing, or hydrofracking) is a well stimulation technique involving the fracturing of bedrock formations by a pressurized liquid. The process involves the high-pressure injection of "frack ...

fluids in

Northeastern Pennsylvania Northeastern Pennsylvania (NEPA) is a geographic region of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania that includes the Pocono Mountains, the Endless Mountains, and the industrial cities of Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Pittston, Hazleton, Nanticoke, and Carbon ...

. In 2012, the company was cited for improper well construction that had resulted in polluted drinking water.

Restraining order on anti-fracking activist

In January 2014, the company sought, and a judge granted, a temporary injunction barring anti-fracking activist Vera Scroggins from entering on any of the 312.5 square miles of land in Pennsylvania owned or leased by the company. The company acknowledged that Scroggins had not violated any laws, but the lawsuit was due to her being a "nuisance" at company sites. In March 2014, the judge narrowed the injunction to prevent Scroggins only from going within 100 feet of an active well pad and 25 feet of an inactive well pad, access road or access road entrance.

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1989 establishments in Texas Companies based in Houston Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange Natural gas companies of the United States Non-renewable resource companies established in 1989