Chesapeake's Eagle Ford Performance Drives Oil Production Guidance Increase

Chesapeake Energy Oil Gas Production Graph
Chesapeake Energy Oil Gas Production Graph

Chesapeake has increased it oil production guidance for the year by 1 million barrels to 38-40 million barrels as more wells have come online in the Eagle Ford.

The companyconnected 140 wells to sales in the second quarter and averaged production of 190,000 gross (85,000 net) boe/d. Approximately 66% or almost 57,000 b/d of the production stream is crude oil. The number of wells brought to sales is up from 111 in the first quarter and production is up 14% from that period.

We are raising our full-year 2013 oil production guidance by 1 million barrels (mmbbls) to 38 – 40 mmbbls, representing a growth rate of 22 to 28% year over year, due to good well performance,an accelerated pace of well completions in the Eagle Ford Shale and timing of asset sales.
— Steve Dixon, COO

Chesapeake is running 15 rigs in the Eagle Ford currently, but plans to reduce it's rig count to 10 by the end of they year. The average time from spud to spud (drilling start to drilling start) in the Eagle Ford has fallen to 16 days from 21 a year ago. After the completion of the sale of acreage to EXCO, most of Chesapeake's acreage is held by production. Now, the company will shift to more efficient pad drilling across the play.

Chesapeake & EXCO Reach Eagle Ford Deal Worth $680 Million

Chesapeake Has Drilled Almost 1,000 Wells To Date

Chesapeake has drilled 963 wells as of the end of the second quarter.

  • 795 wells are producing
  • 144 wells are in some stage of completion
  • 24 wells are waiting for pipeline connection

The average well brought online in the second quarter produced an average of 900 boe/d.