Kalibr Nominally Hedged: The Iron Count

The Counterparty Read | Northeast Compression Report (Marcellus / Utica)

Ian Myers — Thu, 03 Sep 2026 12:04:29 GMT

Last issue we counted the Mid-Continent, the oldest iron on the board. This week: the country’s biggest gas basin. The Marcellus and Utica span three states in one book, Pennsylvania carrying 87 percent of the horsepower, and the count reads like no other basin we have published. Half of everything set since 2020 is turbine horsepower, the operator league is pipelines and processors nearly top to bottom, and not one of the 639 sets carries a compression vendor’s name on the public record.

This is Iron Count No. 04, a four-page brief of what six and a half years of the record holds for Appalachia. In this article: the setting pace with per-state coverage dates printed honestly, the newest cohort ranked, the engine families and the turbine story, the ownership league with corporate parentage verified against filings, and the rental layer the record cannot see, bounded from the vendors’ own disclosures.

Page one is free every Thursday. The full count is not: the $100 read opens pages two through four, the league tables, the PDF for your files, and everything Tuesday and Sunday carry.

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Behind this brief sits the complete read: a Northeast five-year supply and demand report, the standing fleet, what gets built, what retires, and where demand lands through 2031. It is for sale as a standalone, no subscription required. Message us and we will send the scope and the price.

The Iron Count, No. 3 | The Mid-Continent Compression Report

Ian Myers — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 11:03:44 GMT

Last Wednesday we published the Eagle Ford count, the fastest-growing basin on the board. This week: the oldest iron on it. The Mid-Continent spans three plays in one book, the Anadarko, the Texas Panhandle, and the Arkoma, and it runs on the deepest legacy layer we have measured: Waukesha frames and Cooper-Bessemer machines that were compressing gas before the shale era, rebuilt rather than replaced.

This is Iron Count No. 03, a four-page brief of what six and a half years of the record holds for the Mid-Continent. All of it is free: the setting pace with per-state coverage dates printed honestly, the 2025 setters ranked, the engine families and the build-vintage story, the ownership league with corporate parentage verified against filings, and the rental layer the record cannot see, bounded from the vendors’ own disclosures.

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Steady setting across three plays. Read the bars with their coverage dates.

Where the iron sits: the Anadarko carries 63 percent of the horsepower, and Arkansas is substantially one company’s story. Who set it in 2025: Energy Transfer leads, seven of the nine biggest books are gatherers and processors, and FourPoint is the E&P standout in the Panhandle.

Basin Activity

What drives the basin: the count’s deepest legacy layer, still running. Waukesha plus legacy big-bore iron is 29 percent of basin horsepower, 90 of the 124 dated engines predate 2010, and Flywheel’s 44 big-bore Cats make it the third E&P big-bore owner in this series, after EOG and EQT.

The Iron

Want to understand why Flywheel’s financial structure is likely to keep their M&A activity humming? Check out my podcast below:

The Counterparties

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The Iron Count | The Eagleford Compression Report

Ian Myers — Thu, 20 Aug 2026 11:02:35 GMT

Last Wednesday we published the Permian count. This week: the basin growing faster. The Eagle Ford set 676 compressors in 2025, more than the prior three years combined, and the first half of 2026 is running ahead of that pace. Every one of those sets is in the count: operator, vendor, engine, build date, horsepower, at the unit.

This is Iron Count No. 02, a four-page brief of what six and a half years of that record holds for the Gulf Coast and Eagle Ford. All of it is free: the setting pace since 2020, who set iron in the first half of 2026, the engine families that run the basin, every major operator’s vendor book, and the midstream own-versus-rent spectrum, audited against SEC filings.

One number to set the tone: Kodiak has led this basin since 2020, and in the first half of 2026 Archrock out-set it by 1.8 to 1. Vendor share is moving in the hottest basin in the count, which is exactly when your incumbent’s pricing assumptions deserve a second look.

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2025 set more iron than the prior three years combined and 2026 is running ahead of that pace. Who set the iron in H1: Verdun leads the E&P table ahead of EOG and ConocoPhillips, Lavaca Midstream leads the midstream side, and three-quarters of the basin’s horsepower lands in fifteen Texas counties on the Eagle Ford trend.

What drives the basin: engine families, and how old the iron really is. The G3516 is the default here too, the big-bore 3600s are the scarce class, and 95% of the dated iron predates this decade. Plus the exhibit nobody else has: six turbines in the Louisiana LNG corridor carrying 5.2% of the basin’s new horsepower.

ABS Operators should immediately go to the top of your targeting board if you are a compression provider. Find out why below:

Who set the iron, and whose iron it is. Twelve E&P vendor books with the leading vendor named, the midstream own-versus-rent spectrum, and three ownership verdicts audited against the filings, including the 98-unit book that shows 332 attributed horsepower.

The Iron Count covers a new basin every Thursday, biggest first. Mid-Con / Anadarko is next.

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The Iron Count, No. 1: The Permian Compression Report

Ian Myers — Wed, 12 Aug 2026 11:00:54 GMT

No customer filing in the Permian names a compression vendor. The 10-Ks say “third parties,” the vendors say utilization is functionally full, and everyone negotiates the gap between those two statements in the dark. We built the light switch: a unit-by-unit count of every compressor set in the basin since 2020, directly measured. Operator, vendor, engine model, engine build date, horsepower, at the unit.

This is the first Iron Count, a four-page brief of what six and a half years of that record holds for the Permian. All of it is free: the setting pace since 2020, who set iron in the first half of 2026, which engine families run the basin and how old that iron actually is, every major operator’s vendor book, and the midstream own-versus-rent spectrum, audited against SEC filings.

One number to set the tone: of the H1 2026 engines that carry a build date, 97% were built before 2020. When new iron takes 180-plus weeks to arrive, the market everyone actually trades in is redeployment. The count maps it, one unit at a time.

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Setting pace has nearly tripled since 2021, and 2026 is tracking the highs. Who set the iron in H1: ExxonMobil leads the E&P table, Energy Transfer the midstream side, and the Delaware out-counts the Midland while the Midland out-horsepowers the Delaware.

What drives the basin: engine families, and how old the iron really is. The G3516 is the default, the big-bore 3600s are the scarce class, and the build-vintage pie is the page to argue with: 97% of the dated iron predates this decade. At Waha prices, nobody cares.

Who set the iron, and whose iron it is. Twelve E&P vendor books with the leading vendor named, the midstream own-versus-rent spectrum, and three ownership verdicts audited against the filings.

Message us with your work e-mail to get the PDF for your files, and it travels well: forward it to whoever negotiates your compression. The Iron Count covers a new basin every Wednesday, biggest first. Gulf Coast / Eagle Ford is next.

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