EQT (EQT) Risk Analysis

Our business and operating results can be adversely affected by increases in interest rates or other increases in the cost of capital resulting from a reduction in our credit ratings or otherwise. These changes could cause our cost of doing business to increase, limit our ability to pursue acquisition opportunities, reduce cash flows used for operating and capital expenditures and place us at a competitive disadvantage. Disruptions or volatility in the financial markets may lead to a contraction in credit availability. A significant reduction in the availability of credit could materially and adversely affect our ability to implement our business strategy and achieve favorable operating results. In addition, we are exposed to credit risk related to EQT's revolving credit facility to the extent that one or more of our lenders may be unable to provide necessary funding to us under EQT's existing line of credit if we experience liquidity problems.

Our business is capital intensive. We make and expect to continue to make substantial capital expenditures for the development and acquisition of natural gas, NGLs and oil reserves, as well as processing facilities, pipelines and related infrastructure. Additionally, the construction of additions or modifications to our existing midstream systems involves numerous regulatory, environmental, political and legal uncertainties beyond our control and may require the expenditure of significant amounts of capital. If these projects are undertaken, they may not be completed on schedule, at the budgeted cost or at all. The construction of additions to our existing assets may require us to obtain new land rights and regulatory permits prior to constructing new pipelines or facilities, which may not be obtained in a timely, cost-effective fashion or in a way that allows us to connect new natural gas supplies to existing gathering pipelines or capitalize on other attractive expansion opportunities. We typically fund our capital expenditures with existing cash and cash generated by operations and, to the extent our capital expenditures exceed our cash resources, from borrowings under EQT's revolving credit facility and other external sources of capital. If we do not have sufficient borrowing availability under EQT's revolving credit facility, we may seek alternate debt or equity financing, sell assets or reduce our capital expenditures. The issuance of additional indebtedness would require that a portion of our cash flows from operations be used for the payment of interest and principal on our indebtedness, thereby reducing our ability to use cash flows from operations to fund working capital, capital expenditures, shareholder returns initiatives and acquisitions. The actual amount and timing of our future capital expenditures may differ materially from our estimates as a result of, among other things, natural gas prices, actual drilling results, the availability of drilling rigs and other services and equipment, and regulatory, technological and competitive developments. Our cash flows from operations and access to capital are subject to a number of variables, including: - our level of proved reserves and production;- the level of hydrocarbons we are able to produce from existing wells;- our access to, and the cost of accessing, end markets for our production;- the prices at which our production is sold;- our ability to acquire, locate and produce new reserves;- our ability to obtain and/or maintain necessary rights-of-way, real estate rights or permits or other government approvals, including approvals by regulatory agencies;- our ability to successfully integrate the infrastructure we build or acquire with our existing systems;- our success in securing or maintaining adequate customer commitments for our midstream services, including to use newly expanded facilities;- the levels of our operating expenses; and - our ability to access the public or private capital markets or borrow under EQT's revolving credit facility. If our cash flows from operations or the borrowing capacity under EQT's revolving credit facility are insufficient to fund our capital expenditures and we are unable to obtain the capital necessary for our planned capital budget or our operations, we could be required to curtail our operations and the development of our properties and infrastructure projects, which in turn could lead to a decline in our reserves, production, and demand for our midstream services, and could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial position.

Our future prospects are dependent upon our ability to identify optimal strategies for our business. Our operational strategy focuses on developing several multi-well pads in tandem through a process known as combo-development. In addition, we are pursuing opportunities geared at enhancing our core operational strategy, including LNG exports, midstream growth projects, the development of data centers and other energy-adjacent or infrastructure-oriented initiatives, as well as sustainability and energy transition initiatives. We have allocated a substantial portion of our financial, human capital and other resources to pursuing our strategy and these initiatives, including investing in new technologies and equipment, restructuring our workforce, building and acquiring new infrastructure, entering into new commercial arrangements, and pursuing projects that may involve new markets, counterparties, regulatory regimes and execution risks. We may not realize some or any of the anticipated strategic, financial, operational, environmental and other anticipated benefits from our operational strategy or strategic initiatives and the corresponding investments we have made in pursuing such opportunities. Our strategic initiatives may expose us to risks that differ from or exceed those associated with our traditional operations. Such projects may be delayed, cost more than expected, fail to reach final investment decisions, fail to achieve commercial operations, or be terminated altogether, and even if completed, may not generate the expected returns or cash flows. Additionally, we cannot be certain that we will be able to successfully execute combo-development projects, LNG export initiatives, midstream growth projects, data center development or other strategic projects at the pace and scale that we project, which may delay or reduce our production, reserves, revenues or expected benefits therefrom. If we fail to identify and successfully execute optimal business strategies, including the appropriate operational strategy and corresponding initiatives, or fail to optimize our capital investments and the use of our other resources in furtherance of optimal business strategies, our financial position and growth may be adversely affected. Moreover, economic or other circumstances may change from those contemplated by our business plans, and our failure to recognize or respond to those changes may limit our ability to achieve our objectives.

Successful asset acquisitions require an assessment of a number of factors beyond our control. These factors include estimates of recoverable reserves; exploration potential; future natural gas, NGLs and oil prices and their appropriate differentials; availability and cost of transportation of production to markets; availability and cost of drilling equipment and of skilled personnel; development and operating costs, including access to water; taxes; potential environmental and other liabilities; and regulatory, permitting and similar matters. These assessments are complex and inherently imprecise. Our review of the properties and other assets we acquire may not reveal all existing or potential problems. In addition, our review may not allow us to fully assess the potential deficiencies of the assets. We do not inspect every well, lease or pipeline that we acquire, and even when we inspect a well, lease or pipeline, we may not discover structural, subsurface or environmental problems that may exist or arise. There may be threatened or contemplated claims against the assets or businesses we acquire related to environmental, title, regulatory, tax, contract, litigation or other matters of which we are unaware, which could materially and adversely affect our production, revenues and results of operations. We often assume certain liabilities, and we may not be entitled to contractual indemnification for pre-closing liabilities, including environmental liabilities, and our contractual indemnification may not be effective. At times, we acquire interests in properties on an "as is" basis with limited representations and warranties and limited remedies for breaches of such representations and warranties. In addition, significant acquisitions can change the nature of our operations and business if the acquired assets have substantially different operating and geological characteristics or are in different geographic locations than our existing assets. Also, our ability to achieve the anticipated benefits of an acquisition will depend in part upon whether we can integrate the acquired assets and their operations into our existing business in an efficient and effective manner. The integration process may be subject to delays or changed circumstances, and we can give no assurance that assets we acquire will perform in accordance with our expectations or that our expectations with respect to integration or cost savings as a result of an acquisition will materialize.

We have entered into several joint ventures primarily pertaining to the construction and operation of certain midstream infrastructure, including the MVP Joint Venture, Eureka Midstream Holdings, LLC (Eureka Holdings) and the Midstream Joint Venture (defined in Note 9 to the Consolidated Financial Statements), and may in the future enter into additional joint venture arrangements with third parties. Joint venture arrangements may restrict our operational and corporate flexibility. Joint venture arrangements and dynamics can also divert management and operating resources in a manner that is disproportionate to our ownership percentage in such ventures. Because we do not control all of the decisions of our joint ventures or joint venture partners, it may be difficult or impossible for us to cause these joint ventures or partners to take actions that we believe would be in our or the joint venture's best interests. Moreover, joint venture arrangements involve various risks and uncertainties, such as committing that we fund operating and/or capital expenditures, the timing and amount of which we may not control, and our joint venture partners may not act in a manner that we believe would be in our or the joint venture's best interests, may elect not to support further pursuit of projects, and/or may not satisfy their financial obligations to the joint venture. The loss of joint venture partner support in further pursuing or funding a project may significantly adversely affect the ability to complete the project. In addition, such joint ventures are subject to many of the same risks to which we are subject.

We use financial derivative instruments to hedge the impact of fluctuations in natural gas, NGLs and oil prices on our results of operations and cash flows. As disclosed in Item 1., "Business – Regulation – Regulation of Our Operations," the Dodd-Frank Act, the rules adopted thereunder and various other foreign regulations could increase the cost of our derivative contracts, alter the terms of our derivative contracts, reduce the availability of derivatives to protect against the price risks we encounter, reduce our ability to monetize or restructure our existing derivative contracts, and lessen the number of available counterparties and, in turn, increase our exposure to less creditworthy counterparties. If our use of derivatives is reduced as a result of the Dodd-Frank Act, related regulations or such foreign regulations, our results of operations may become more volatile, and our cash flows may be less predictable, which could adversely affect our ability to plan for, and fund, our capital expenditure requirements. Any of these consequences could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position and results of operations. We have experienced increased, and anticipate additional, compliance costs and changes to current market practices as participants continue to adapt to a changing financial regulatory environment.

Our and the MVP Joint Venture's interstate natural gas transmission and storage operations, as applicable, are regulated by the FERC under the NGA and the NGPA and the regulations, rules and policies promulgated under those and other statutes. Our and the MVP Joint Venture's FERC-regulated operations are pursuant to tariffs approved by the FERC that establish rates (other than market-based rate authority), cost recovery mechanisms and terms and conditions of service to our customers. The FERC's authority extends to a variety of matters relevant to our operations. Pursuant to the NGA, existing interstate transmission and storage rates, terms and conditions of service, and contracts may be challenged by complaint and are subject to prospective change by the FERC. Additionally, rate increases, changes to terms and conditions of service and contracts proposed by a regulated interstate pipeline may be protested and such actions can be delayed and may ultimately be rejected by the FERC. As of December 31, 2025, we and the MVP Joint Venture hold authority from the FERC to charge and collect (i) "recourse rates," which are the maximum rates an interstate pipeline may charge for its services under its tariff, (ii) "discount rates," which are rates below the "recourse rates" and above a minimum level, (iii) "negotiated rates," which involve rates that may be above or below the "recourse rates," provided that the affected customers are willing to agree to such rates and that the FERC has approved the negotiated rate agreement, and (iv) market-based rates for some of our storage services from which we derive a small portion of our revenues. As of December 31, 2025, approximately 95% of our contracted firm transmission capacity was subscribed to by customers under negotiated rate agreements under our tariff, rather than recourse, discount or market-based rate contracts. There can be no guarantee that we or the MVP Joint Venture will be allowed to continue to operate under such rates or rate structures for the remainder of those assets' operating lives. Customers, the FERC or other interested stakeholders, such as state regulatory agencies, may challenge our or the MVP Joint Venture's rates offered to customers or the terms and conditions of service included in our tariffs. Neither we nor the MVP Joint Venture have an agreement in place that would prohibit customers from challenging our or the MVP Joint Venture's rates or tariffs. Any successful challenge against rates charged for our or the MVP Joint Venture's transmission and storage services, as applicable, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows. Any changes to the FERC's policies regarding the natural gas industry may have an impact on us, including the FERC's approach to pro-competitive policies as it considers matters such as interstate pipeline rates and rules and policies that may affect rights of access to natural gas transmission capacity and transmission and storage facilities. The FERC and Congress may continue to evaluate changes in the NGA or new or modified FERC regulations or policies that may impact our or the MVP Joint Venture's operations and affect our or the MVP Joint Venture's ability to construct new facilities and the timing and cost of such new facilities, as well as the rates charged to our or the MVP Joint Venture's customers and the services provided. Our and the MVP Joint Venture's significant construction projects generally require review by multiple governmental agencies, including state and local agencies, whose cooperation is important in completing the regulatory process on schedule. Any agency's delay in the issuance of, or refusal to issue, authorizations or permits, issuance of such authorizations or permits with unanticipated conditions, or the loss of a previously-issued authorization or permit, for one or more of these projects may mean that we will not be able to pursue these projects or that they will be constructed in a manner or with capital requirements that we did not anticipate (as was the case with MVP Mainline). Such delays, refusals, losses of permits, or resulting modifications to projects, certain of which was experienced with respect to MVP Mainline and the originally certificated MVP Southgate, could materially and negatively impact the revenues and costs expected from these projects or cause us or our joint venture partners to abandon planned projects. Failure to comply with applicable provisions of the NGA, the NGPA, federal pipeline safety laws and certain other laws, as well as with the regulations, rules, orders, restrictions and conditions associated with these laws, could result in the imposition of administrative and criminal remedies and civil penalties. For example, the FERC is authorized to impose civil penalties of up to approximately $1.6 million (as of February 11, 2026 and adjusted periodically for inflation) per violation, per day for violations of the NGA, the NGPA or the rules, regulations, restrictions, conditions and orders promulgated under those statutes. In addition, future federal, state or local legislation or regulations under which we or the MVP Joint Venture operate may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.

Our upstream operations are subject to various types of federal, state and local laws and regulations, including regulations related to the location of wells; the method of drilling, well construction, well stimulation, hydraulic fracturing and casing design; water withdrawal and procurement for well stimulation purposes; well production; spill prevention plans; the use, transportation, storage and disposal of water and other fluids and materials, including solid and hazardous wastes, incidental to natural gas and oil operations; surface usage and the reclamation of properties upon which wells or other facilities have been located; the plugging and abandoning of wells; the calculation, reporting and disbursement of royalties and taxes; and the gathering of production in certain circumstances. Our operations are also subject to conservation and correlative rights regulations, including the regulation of the size of drilling and spacing units or field rule units; setbacks; the number of wells that may be drilled in a unit or in close proximity to other wells; drilling in the vicinity of coal mining operations and certain other structures; and the unitization or pooling of properties. Some states allow the statutory pooling and unitization of tracts to facilitate development and exploration, as well as joint development of existing contiguous leases. In addition, state conservation and natural gas and oil laws generally limit the venting or flaring of natural gas and may set production allowances on the amount of annual production permitted from a well. Environmental and occupational health and safety legal requirements govern discharges of substances into the air, ground and water; the management and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes; the clean-up of contaminated sites; groundwater quality and availability; plant and wildlife protection; locations available for drilling; environmental impact studies and assessments prior to permitting; restoration of drilling properties after drilling is completed; and work practices related to employee health and safety. To conduct our operations in compliance with these laws and regulations, we must obtain and maintain numerous permits, approvals and certificates from various federal, state and local governmental authorities. Maintaining compliance with the laws, regulations and other legal requirements applicable to our business and any delays in obtaining related authorizations may affect the costs and timing of developing our natural gas, NGLs and oil resources. These requirements could also subject us to claims for personal injury, property damage and other damages. In addition, our costs of compliance may increase if existing laws and regulations are revised or reinterpreted, or if new laws and regulations become applicable to our operations. Such costs could materially adversely affect our results of operations, cash flows and financial position. Our failure to comply with the laws, regulations and other legal requirements applicable to our business, even if as a result of factors beyond our control, could result in the suspension or termination of our operations and subject us to administrative, civil and criminal penalties and damages as well as corrective action costs.

Growing geopolitical instability and armed conflicts (including in Venezuela, Russia and Ukraine, and the Middle East) has resulted in energy infrastructure becoming a more prominent target of attack by terrorists and conflicting countries. Natural gas, NGLs and oil related facilities, including those operated by us or our service providers, could be direct targets of physical or cyber-attacks, and, if infrastructure integral to our operations is destroyed or damaged, we may experience a significant disruption in our operations. Any such disruption could materially adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. Costs for insurance and other security may increase as a result of increased threats, and certain insurance coverage may become more difficult to obtain, if available at all.