Eagle Ford Shale drilling declined ten rigs over the past week to 259 rigs active. The bulk of the decline was attributable to La Salle (30 rigs) and Karnes (32 rigs) counties. Interestingly enough, November of 2011 was the last time the rig count in Karnes County was as low as 32. No one operator accounted for the change. A few rigs simply shifted out of the county into other areas.
We were in the heat of earnings season this week. The highlight was hearing more "Monster Well" results from EOG Resources and Marathon Oil. Marathon's Burrow 2-H well in Gonzales County produced at a peak 24-hour rate of 6,275 boe/d. Almost 75% (4,646 boe) was attributable to oil and condensate. EOG's Baker-DeForest Unit #4H well tested at 4,598 b/d of oil and 4 mmcfd of rich natural gas at normal choke rates. Truly amazing production rates.
Eagle Ford Oil & Gas Rigs
The natural gas rig count fell one rig to 54 running in the region. The stock market didn't have the best week after the election, but gas prices held relatively flat at $3.50 per mmbtu.
The oil rig count fell eight rigs to 205 running. That's the lowest level since the first week of September when we had 207 oil rigs running in the region. None of the bits drilling holes this week are drilling service wells.
Just like natural gas, WTI was relatively flat on the week as well. WTI crude futures were trading at approximately $86 per barrel on Friday. Eagle Ford crude priced at $97.50/bbl on the 9th of November. Light crude and condensate in the area traded at $82.50 and $81.50, respectively. Eagle Ford prices were up on the week. A first in over a month's time.
There are 247 horizontal rigs running in the region. Karnes County leads development with 32 rigs running. La Salle with 30 rigs, McMullen (30), Webb (26), Dimmit (22), Gonzales (22), DeWitt (18), Live Oak (12), Atascosa (10), and Fayette (8) round out the top Eagle Ford counties.
News items this week included:
- Chesapeake is Selling Eagle Ford Acreage in its Northern Block
- Marathon Brings on a Company Record Well in the Eagle Ford
- EOG's Monster Wells are Getting Bigger
- Carrizo Plans a Pearsall Shale Test Well - Buys 2,000 Eagle Ford Acres
Be sure to visit our South Texas Oilfield Job Listings to search openings and come back weekly for updates or sign up for alerts.
Eagle Ford 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.
Eagle Ford Shale Drilling by County
