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Ground has been broken on an $8-9 million La Salle County Airport expansion in Cotulla. The expansion will add over a mile of runway and additional airplane parking. The expansion is just one example of how Cotulla is changing with the Eagle Ford.
City officials hope to see additional investment from energy companies in the area. As the video states, more than $100 million has been invested in Cotulla to date and $200 million is not far way.
Double Eagle Pipeline, LLC, a joint venture between Kinder Morgan and Magellan Midstream, has started moving condensate to Corpus Christi.
The pipeline is part of a project that was started by Copano and Magellan, but is operated by Kinder Morgan who purchased Copano earlier in 2013.
Condensate is moving from a truck unloading facility in Three Rivers to Magellan's Corpus Christi Terminal. From the Corpus Terminal, condensate can reach local petrochemical plants, as well as water borne export options.
This leg is just a portion of what is a $150 million project that includes 140 miles of 12-inch pipelines. The system connects with other Kinder Morgan pipelines in the area as well.
The next leg of the pipeline from Gardendale (near Cotulla) to Three Rivers is expected to be online in the third quarter of 2013. Initial capacity is planned at 100,000 b/d, but the system can be expanded to handle 150,000 b/d.
The pipeline was supported by long-term commitments from Talisman and Statoil.
Sanchez Energy has raised it's Eagle Ford production exit rate guidance to 15,000-17,000 boe/d for 2013. Capital expenditures have also been revised to $475 million compared to $347 million previously.
The big increase is due to the purchase of 43,000 net acres from Hess. The deal closed on May 31, 2013, with a price tag of ~$280 million. Read more about the deal in the article: Sanchez - Hess Reach Eagle Ford Deal For $265 Million
Over 90% of the $475 million capital budget will be spent drilling and completing 65 gross (46.7 net) wells. Ten of those wells will be directed at the newly acquired Cotulla assets.
Tony Sanchez III, President and Chief Executive Officer of Sanchez Energy, commented: "As a result of the closing of our Cotulla asset acquisition and an updated review of our operational opportunities, we have increased our 2013 capital program and activity levels.
Sanchez is also increasing its development plans in the Palmetto area in Gonzales County, TX, after realizing better well results than expected. A total of 9 gross (4.5 net) more wells will be drilled in the area. That brings the total number of planned wells in the Palmetto area to 34 gross (17 net) this year.
Sanchez will run three rigs in the Palmetto area in the second half of the year.
Read the full press release at sanchezenergycorp.com
Plains All American Pipeline (PAA) has reached a $500 million deal to buy four rail facilities from U.S. Development Group. One of those facilities is part of the Gardendale Rail System near Cotulla, TX.
The four facilities are rail terminals:
The three crude terminals have daily loading capacity of 85,000 b/d and the rail terminal at St. James has unloading capacity of 140,000 b/d. An unloading facility is also planned for Bakersfield California.
“Plains has proven to be a great terminal and pipeline partner for USD, and we believe that this transaction will provide for the most efficient optimization of the assets involved.”
The Eagle Ford Crude Terminal receives oil by truck near Cotulla, TX, in the community of Gardendale. It's just off I-35 80 miles south of San Antonio. The facility has capacity for 200 loaded rail cars, and can move as much as 40,000 b/d. The terminal is serviced by Union Pacific Railroad and the Gardendale Railroad. Crude moving from the terminal ends up in St. James, LA, where the facility can handle 300 loaded railcars at one time or 130,000 b/d. The St. James Rail Terminal also ties into several pipelines, including one owned by PAA.
"These assets represent a very attractive addition to our existing North American rail activities...." said Greg L. Armstrong, Chairman and CEO of PAA. "Given recent and projected increases in North American crude oil production and volumetric and quality imbalances expected to occur in certain regions over the next several years, we believe that strategically located rail loading and unloading assets will continue to play an important role in the transportation of crude oil in North America."
Crude oil pricing is as dynamic as ever across the U.S. Growing production in the Bakken and West Texas have put downward pressure on WTI (priced at Cushing, OK). On December 10, 2012, WTI was trading at ~ $86.50 / bbl and Brent crude was trading a little over $108 / bbl. That's a wide spread that creates attractive crude by rail economics. Plains also has an extensive NGL rail network and expects to have as many as 6,700 rail cars under lease by year-end 2013.
Plains All American Pipeline's company wide crude oil loading capacity is now 250,000 b/d and unloading capacity is 335,000 b/d on the East Coast, Gulf Coast, and West Coast.
Read the full press release at paalp.com
School districts in the South Texas Eagle Ford Shale region are preparing to send millions back to the state in coming years. Eight local districts were added to the Texas Education Agency's list of property-wealthy districts.
The reason is skyrocketing property values. In the past two years, property values in the Carrizo Springs district have increased from $441 to $2.5 billion. Cotulla ISD has seen a similar rise.
This year Cotulla will pay in a little less than $1 million, but next year the payment could swell to as much as $15 million. The wealth is welcomed, but it comes with a host of other obstacles. Several of the disstricts employees are living in trailers on site because of an Eagle Ford Housing shortage.
Read the full story at fuelfix.com