Koch Industries' South Texas staff will grow from 64 to 125 in the near future and Eagle Ford Shale production is all but guaranteed to double in 2011. First half 2011, oil and gas production matched 2010 rates with 101 Bcf and 3.5 million barrels produced. Don't expected that growth to let up this year. With almost 200 rigs active, you can bet production will easily exceed double that of 2010.

Estimates from the Texas Railroad Commission, which oversees drilling activity, show that the more than 3.5 million barrels of oil slurped from the ground between January and June this year is the same amount produced in all of 2010.

Natural gas follows the same trend: 101 billion cubic feet produced in the first half of 2011 almost overtakes the 107 billion reported in all of 2010.

In 2010, there were $2.9 billion in total revenues logged as of early this year, about $512 million paid in salaries and benefits to workers with about $60.9 million flowing into state coffers and $47.6 million into local governments across the 24-county Eagle Ford region, according to the UT-San Antonio report.

Pre-Eagle Ford, Koch Pipeline had a staff of 64 people across South Texas. Those numbers in the near future will double to about 125, company vice president Larry Van Horn said.