Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. said Feb. 4 it expects to reduce its drilling and completion activity in 2020, as a glut of shale gas keeps prices for the heating fuel at over two-decade lows.

The company said it plans to spend about $575 million in 2020, much lower than its 2019 capital budget of $800 to $820 million.

Cabot will evaluate further reductions in spending if prices continue to erode, CEO Dan Dinges said in a statement.

The move to cut spending comes when the world's largest oil companies face investor pressure to increase returns and cut down on investment to boost crude production.

Cabot gets a bulk of its revenue from natural gas, which is a by-product of oil drilling. The company said it now expects production to be about 2.457 billion cubic feet equivalent per day (Bcfe/d) in the quarter, higher than its previous guidance of 2.375 to 2.425 Bcfe/d.

The Houston-based company's core operations are focused primarily in the Marcellus Shale in northeast Pennsylvania.

Cabot said it expects an average net production rate of about 2.4 billion cubic feet per day for 2020. The company is expected to report fourth-quarter results on Feb. 20.

Onshore