Washington County, TX and the Eagle Ford Shale Play
Washington County (621 sq miles) is in southeast Texas where the Eagle Ford Shale is prospective for both oil and gas. The Eagle Ford shale serves as the source rock and much of the oil and gas has been expelled into the overlying Austin Chalk.
Early Eagle Ford drilling results in this area were not positive enough to spark the boom seen in other counties. Approximately half of the county lies in the oil maturity window of the Eagle Ford and the other half in the gas-condensate window. The geology of the Eagle Ford formation in this area is not as conducive to production as it is to the southwest toward Fayette and DeWitt counties. In general, the formation is thinner and has a higher clay content than the more active areas of the play.
The county is historically known for producing Austin Chalk gas from the eastern portion of the Giddings Field.
County services of interest to oil and gas lease owners include the Washington County Appraisal District (tax collector) office and the Washington County Clerk (property records) office. The county seat is Brenham, the home of Blue Bell Ice Cream. The only other incorporated town in Washington County is the town of Burton.
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Major Operators in Washington County
Enervest is the largest producing company with operations in Washington County, TX. Almost all of the company's gas production is attributable to the Austin Chalk formation in the Giddings Field.
E&P Companies with Operations in Washington County
- Apache Corp.
- Chesapeake Energy
- Enervest Operating
- Santana Energy
- SM Energy (St. Mary Land & Exploration)
- WCS Oil & Gas
Washington County Pipeline Companies
- City of Brenham
- D. Hall Corp.
- Eagle Rock Desoto Pipeline (Eagle Rock Energy)
- Energy Transfer Co.
- Enterprise Products Operating