The Eagle Ford Shale drilling rig count grew to average 274 rigs over the past week. That's another 2013 high and the highest number since September of 2012. Oil drilling levels fell further from the high of 241 set two weeks ago to settle at 234 rigs.

The U.S. rig count is up 6 to 1,782, of which 851 are running in Texas. A total of 388 rigs are targeting natural gas and 1,388 are targeting oil in the U.S. The remainder are drilling service wells (e.g. disposal wells, injection wells, etc.).

News this week was highlighted by earnings releases from several major operators in the Eagle Ford, but on Monday we released data from Baker Hughes that shows more than 1,000 wells are drilled per quarter in the Eagle Ford. That's more than 4,000 wells per year at the current pace of drilling. You can read more in the article - Did You Know Drilling Starts On Over 1,000 Eagle Ford Wells Per Quarter?

We covered Anadarko's, Comstock's, Pioneer's, and Chesapeake's earning reports this week. We'll have more for you next week. You can find all four articles linked in the "news" section below.

*Note* Now quoting Baker Hughes. Baker Hughes also releases its own Eagle Ford Rig Count that covers the 14 core counties (~239 rigs). The rig count published here 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

[ic-l]Seven natural gas rigs were added in the region to bring the total running up to 40 rigs. Natural gas futures were trading near $3.35/mmbtu on Friday afternoon. Cooler summer weather across the country has driven prices down over the past two weeks.

The oil rig count declined by six to 234 rigs running in the region this week. WTI prices have held above $100 per barrel over the past four weeks the benchmark was trading just below $107/bbl on Friday. Eagle Ford light crude traded at $104.25/bbl on August 1st.

A total of 215 rigs are drilling horizontal wells and just 15 rigs are drilling true vertical wells. McMullen & Karnes counties lead development with 36 and 31 rigs running, respectively. See the full list of drilling by county below.

South Texas Oil & Gas News:

• Did You Know Drilling Starts On Over 1,000 Eagle Ford Wells Per Quarter?
• Protecting Worker From Unforeseen Hazards - MSA Press Release
• Andarko Began Drilling 96 Eagle Ford Wells In The Second Quarter
• Comstock Doubled Its Eagle Ford Rig Count Over The Past Few Months
• Pioneer's Eagle Ford Growth Will Be Weighted Toward The Fourth Quarter
• Chesapeake Increases Oil Production Forecast

Be sure to visit our South Texas Oilfield Job Listings to search openings and come back weekly for updates or sign up for alerts - Daily or Weekly Email Alerts

Eagle Ford Shale Drilling by County

Eagle Ford Operated Rig Count By Company

SmithBits no longer reports its operated rig count, but we'll have updated number for you from a new source soon. Until then, you can reference our numbers from mid-April. There has not been a significant change in the overall rig count since this date:

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.