ECA Marcellus Trust I Announces Quarterly Distribution

ECA MARCELLUS TRUST I (OTC Pink: ECTM) announced today that the Trust’s distribution for the quarter ended March 31, 2024, will be $0.021 per unit, which is expected to be distributed on or before May 31, 2024, to holders of record as of the close of business on May 21, 2024.

Since the first quarter of 2019, the Trustee has been gradually building a cash reserve for the payment of future known, anticipated or contingent expenses or liabilities of the Trust by withholding cash reserve amounts from each quarterly distribution. In November 2021, the Trustee notified Greylock Energy LLC that the Trustee had determined to increase the targeted cash reserve from the initially stated amount of approximately $1.8 million, to approximately $3.8 million. From the first quarter of 2019 through the fourth quarter of 2022, the Trustee withheld an amount from each distribution equal to the greater of $90,000 or 10% of the funds otherwise available for distribution each quarter. Since achieving the initial target of $1.8 million in the quarter ended December 31, 2022, the Trustee has been withholding, and currently plans to continue to withhold, $90,000 per quarter until a total of approximately $3.8 million in cash reserves is withheld. The Trustee may increase or decrease the targeted amount at any time and may increase or decrease the rate at which it is withholding funds to build the cash reserve at any time, without advance notice to the unitholders. Cash held in reserve will be invested as required by the trust agreement. Any cash reserved in excess of the amount necessary to pay or provide for the payment of future known, anticipated or contingent expenses or liabilities of the Trust eventually will be distributed to unitholders, together with interest earned on the funds. The Trustee has elected to withhold approximately $90,000 this quarter.

The Trust was formed to own royalty interests in natural gas properties now held by Greylock Energy LLC and certain of its wholly owned subsidiaries (“Greylock”) in the Marcellus Shale formation in Greene County, Pennsylvania. The Trust is entitled to receive certain amounts of the proceeds attributable to Greylock’s interest in the sale of production from the properties. As described in the Trust's filings, the amount of the quarterly distributions is expected to fluctuate from quarter to quarter, depending on the proceeds received by the Trust as a result of production and natural gas prices and the amount of the Trust's administrative expenses, among other factors. The amount of proceeds received or expected to be received by the Trust (and its ability to pay distributions) has been and will continue to be directly affected by the volatility in commodity prices, which have experienced significant fluctuation since the beginning of 2020 as a result of a variety of factors that are beyond the control of the Trust or Greylock. Low natural gas prices will reduce proceeds to which the Trust is entitled, which will reduce the amount of cash available for distribution to unitholders and in certain periods could result in no distributions to unitholders.