Eagle Ford Shale Rig Count Increases by Three to 271

Top Oil Producing Counties in U.S.
Top Oil Producing Counties in U.S.

The Eagle Ford Shale rig count increased by three to 271 rigs running across our coverage area by the end of last week.

In recent Eagle Ford news, according to data from consultancy DrillingInfo, half of all U.S. crude oil production comes from just 20 counties/development areas. Included in the list are six Eagle Ford counties: Karnes, LaSalle, Dewitt, Dimmit, Gonzales and McMullen. Four counties in North Dakota covering another major shale play, the Bakken Shale, were also included.

Read moreSix Eagle Ford Counties Rank as Top U.S. Oil Producing Areas

The U.S. rig count increased by four to 1,858 rigs running by the end of last week. A total of 311 rigs were targeting natural gas (one more than the previous week) and 1,545 were targeting oil in the U.S. (three more than the previous week). The remainder were drilling service wells (e.g. disposal wells, injection wells, etc.). 889or ~48% of rigs active in the U.S. were running in Texas.

Baker Hughes rig count is quoted here. Baker Hughes also releases its own Eagle Ford Rig Count that covers the 14 core counties (215 rigs). The rig count published on EagleFordShale.com includes a 30 county area impacted by Eagle Ford development. A full list of the counties included can be found in the table near the bottom of this article.

Eagle Ford Oil & Gas Rigs

The natural gas rig count decreased by one to 12 rigs running by the end of last week. Average rig counts for natural gas production in 2012 were around 82 and then dropped to around 41 in 2013. Natural gas prices fell slightly from the previous week to $4.55/mmbtu on Friday afternoon.

The oil rig count increased by four to 259 rigs running by the end of last week. WTI oil prices remained relatively flat from the previous week, trading at $107.26/bbl on Friday afternoon. Eagle Ford light crude traded at $103.00/bbl on June 19th.

A total of 240 rigs are drilling horizontal wells, 13 rigs are drilling directional wells, and 18 rigs are drilling vertical wells. Karnes, La Salle, and De Witt each have at minimum 30 rigs running. De Witt County has the highest rig count this week at 32. See the full list below in the Eagle Ford Shale Drilling by County below

South Texas Oil & Gas News:

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Eagle Ford Shale Drilling by County

What is the Rig Count?

The Eagle Ford Shale Rig Count is an index of the total number of oil & gas drilling rigs running across a 30 county area in South Texas. The South Texas rigs referred to in this article are for ALL drilling reported by Baker Hughes and not solely wells targeting the Eagle Ford formation. All land rigs and onshore rig data shown here are based upon industry estimates provided by the Baker Hughes Rig Count and/or Smith Service Co's (Schlumberger) Smith Rig Count.