The Eagle Ford Shale drilling rig count increased by 2 rigs over the past week. While November was a record month, we expect to continue seeing records fall in 2012. Marathon Oil's Eagle Ford budget provides capital to increase to 17 rigs in 2012 from the 9 the company is running currently. That's just one company. There will be others adding rigs as well. Oil and gas operators are on track to drill more than 2,500 wells next year. Oil futures prices continue to show strength (WTI <$100/bbl) and natural gas futures prices (HH<$3.30/mmbtu) seem to be on a never ending path to $3...... The January contract has fallen more than $0.30 over the past week and the recent cold snap in the South hasn't put a dent in storage levels. The natural gas rig count fell 1 to a total of 96 rigs. Don't expect it to fall dramatically any time soon. Many of the gas weighted areas in the Eagle Ford also produce higher value condensate and NGLs.
A total of 2 oil rigs were added to reach a total of 162. Also, one service well is being drilled in Duval County.
Webb (37) still leads the region, while Karnes (36), La Salle (30), Dimmit (24), DeWitt (23), McMullen (22), and Gonzales (19) round out the top seven counties in the area. The most significant change was Petrohawk (BHP) who added back the 3 rigs it dropped the week before.
News highlighted throughout the play included:
- Comstock Well Results in McMullen County
- Will Statoil Operate in the Eagle Ford?
- Magnum Hunter Lavaca County Well Results
Other news:
Stay tuned for updates on the South Texas drilling rig count.
Drilling Rig Count by Operator
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 SmithBits 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.
Drilling Rigs by County
