Noble Energy, a newcomer in the Eagle Ford, plans to spend $150 million dollars on its South Texas operations in 2016.
Related: Noble Cuts Eagle Ford Jobs
In a recent earnings call, Noble Energy executives reported 2015 as a year of 'outstanding operational and strategic execution'. They highlighted record sales volumes, record safety performance and $5 billion in liquidity at the end of the quarter.
Noble Energy moved into South Texas in July of 2015 by acquiring 50,000 net acres in the Eagle Ford Shale Play from Rosetta Resources in a $2.1 billion deal. The purchase has proved to be good for business.
“I expect higher volumes in 2016 versus 2015 pro forma, driven mostly by the Eagle Ford.”
Eagle Ford Highlights
Production volumes for the Eagle Ford averaged 60 MBoe/d in the fourth quarter of 2015, up 11 percent from the third quarter of 2015. Other highlights include:
- Drilled three Lower Eagle Ford wells
- Drilling times have been reduced significantly versus prior performance on these assets
- Commenced production on five Lower Eagle Ford wells
- The two most recent wells brought on production were designed to test enhanced completions on tighter lateral spacing (500 equivalent feet). The wells, Gates 05D 22-20 and 24-20 with an average lateral length of 6,500 feet, were completed with 40 foot cluster spacing and approximately 2,000 pounds of proppant per lateral foot. The 30-day IP for the wells was 4,200 and 3,870 Boe/d, respectively. Production from both wells, when normalized to a 5,000 foot lateral, is higher than the three million barrel type curve, which is based on wider lateral spacing.
- 40 wells drilled but uncompleted at the end of 2015
- Capital allocation for the Texas asset is approximately $250 million. 60% is expected to be spent in the Eagle Ford