Cabot Oil and Gas Corporation (COG) Sued for Faulty Gas Wells and Water Pollution
Cabot failed to disclose and made misleading statements surrounding the company’s inadequate environmental controls and procedures, including its failure to fix faulty gas wells resulting in the pollution of local PA water supplies. Cabot consistently downplayed the potential civil and criminal liabilities that could result, despite the likelihood that these accusations would lead to serious governmental scrutiny and financial harm. On July 26, 2019, Cabot filed a Form 10-Q for the quarter ending June 30, 2019, disclosing that the company had received two notices of violation from the PA Department of Environmental Protection in June and November of 2017, for failing to prevent the migration of gas into local fresh groundwater sources. On this news, Cabot’s shares fell 12.07% the same day. Then, on June 15, 2020, following a grand jury investigation, the PA attorney general’s office charged Cabot with fifteen criminal counts related to the company’s failure to fix faulty gas wells and the resulting water pollution. On this news, Cabot’s shares fell 3.34%, closing at $19.40 per share on June 15, 2020
