Murphy Oil executives release 2015 numbers showing their Eagle Ford operations have remained resilient and exceed expectations.
Related: Murphy Oil's Operations in the Eagle Ford
In a press release last week, Murphy Oil announced a net loss of $587.1 million for 2015. The company's full year volumes were 200,753 boepd in the fourth quarter and 207,903 boepd for full-year 2015. Eagle Ford Highlights for 2015
The Eagle Ford Shale outperformed company expectations for 2015, with highlights including:
- Q4 production averaged over 57,000 boepd with 27 operated wells brought online.
- Full-year 2015 production averaged over 61,200 boepd with 136 operated wells brought online.
- Eagle Ford Shale had a fourth quarter operating expense of just under $8.50 per BOE. And we expect this to be a reasonable run rate going forward.
For 2016, Murphy is planning 2016 capital expenditures for operations to be $825.0 million with approximately 41 percent will be allocated toward the Eagle Ford Shale. This $340 million will be targeted primarily for drilling and completions in the Eagle Ford. The company also announced plans to drill a second Austin Chalk well in the first quarter of 2016.
“We have a lot of flexibility in the Eagle Ford. And we can go down $100 million there if we want to. And that’s the beauty of these plays is you can slow it down. More difficult in offshore.”
Murphy Oil End of Year 2015 Highlights
- Produced volumes of 200,753 boepd in the fourth quarter and 207,903 boepd for full-year 2015
- Spent $2.19 billion capital in 2015, $0.11 billion below guidance of $2.3 billion
- Recorded total proved reserve replacement of 123 percent in 2015, including 10 percent Malaysian sell-down in first quarter 2015
- Achieved first production at Dalmatian South #2 in the Gulf of Mexico
- Delivered 136 Eagle Ford Shale wells during 2015, with 648 operated wells at year-end
- Reduced lease operating expense per barrel by over 18 percent year-over-year
- Lowered G&A expense by approximately 16 percent year-over-year