Halcon Resouces' Record Eagle Ford IP Comes From Step Out Well - Nears Acreage Target

El Halcon Eagle Ford Play Map

Halcon Resources set an initial production record from an Eagle Ford well in Brazos County that is a five mile step out from the nearest producing well. The Stasny-Honza 1H came online producing 1,262 boe/d.

Halcon has three rigs working in the area and plans to have four rigs active through 2014. The company spudded 13 wells and brought 19 wells to production in the third quarter. Net production from the area grew to 6,500 boe/d from 31 wells during the quarter. Eight wells are waiting to be completed and three wells are being drilled.

“Third quarter results were defined by continued expansion of our activities in the Williston Basin, El Halcón and other areas.”

— Floyd C. Wilson, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

The company continues to work toward and optimal drilling and completion combination. The average time from spud-to-total depth decreased to 14.4 days during the quarter and the average drilling cost per foot decreased 19%. A company record was set by drilling a well with an 8,000 ft lateral in 7.3 days.

Halcon is closing in on its target of leasing 100,000 net acres in the area. The company has secured leases or commitments on 90,000 plus acres to date.

Company-wide more than 40% production growth is expected in 2014. Read the full release at halconresources.com

Marathon Oil Expects to Exit 2013 Producing 100,000 boe/d from the Eagle Ford

Marathon Oil Eagle Ford Acreage Map & Improving Well Performance

Marathon Oil's Eagle Ford production averaged more than 90,000 boe/d at the end of October and is on pace to eclipse more than 100,000 boe/d by year-end 2013. Another important note is that more than 70% of oil production is now being transported by pipelines.

The company's production in the third quarter was roughly double that of the same period in 2012 at more than 81,000 boe/d. Production growth since the second quarter wasn't quite as impressive (up 1,200 boe/d or 3%), but the numbers were tempered by drilling to hold acreage in areas where the company has a lower working interest. A little less than 2/3rds of Marathon's production is considered oil and condensate, with the remainder split between NGLs and natural gas.

Marathon's average spud-to-total depth time averaged 12 days in the third quarter. That's 20% better than the more than 15 days the company spent in the third quarter of 2012. The company has also decreased its drilling and completion costs by more than 20% in the past year. One reason costs are down is 97% of wells in Q3 were drilled from pads. The average number of wells drilled per pad is up as well to 3.3 from 3.1 in the second quarter.

Marathon hit total depth on 70 gross wells and brought 71 gross wells to production during the third quarter. 85% of wells this year have been drilled on 60-acre spacing or less.

Read the full earnings press release at marathonoil.com

Marathon Oil's Eagle Ford Production Jumps 11% - Other Plays Look Promising

Marathon Oil Core Eagle Ford Acreage

Marathon Oil's Eagle Ford production jumped 11% to 80,000 boe/d during the second quarter.

Marathon drilled 82 gross Eagle Ford wells and brought 70 wells to production over the three month period. Marathon averaged more than three wells per Eagle Ford pad and 85% of its wells were drilled from pads in the second quarter. The company's spud to total depth drilling time as fallen to 12 days and spud-to-spud time averaged 18 days.

Expect well results from the company's 40-60 acre well pilots at the end of 2013.

Additional notes from the second quarter:

• Production grew from 72,000 to 80,000 boe/d
• Producing more gas. The percentage of oil production fell from 64% to 62%
• Amount of production moving by pipeline grew from 65% to 70%

Austin Chalk & Pearsall Formations Proving Viable

Marathon has completed four Austin Chalk wells with horizontal laterals of a little more than 4,000 ft and initial production rates of almost 1,000 boe/d. A little less than half of the production stream is oil and condensate. The company compares the production stream to that of many Eagle Ford condensate wells.

The company also completed a Pearsall Shale well in the second quarter. The well came online at a 24-hour initial production rate of 580 boe/d.

Read the company's full press release at marathonoil.com

Halcon Allocating More Capital To Its Brazos County Eagle Ford Development

Halcon Eagle Ford Activity Map

Halcon announced plans to spend $100 million targeting the Eagle Ford in Brazos County in 2013 just two months ago. Now, the company might spend double or triple that number.

The company didn't say how much more capital would be allocated to the play, but said "capital is being reallocated to El Halcon from the Woodbine..."

When plans were to spend $100 million in the play, Halcon stated it would operate 1-3 rigs throughout the year. It's just June and the company already has 5 rigs working the play. The company had planned to spend ~$390 million in the Woodbine, so if we assume half of the capital is reallocated to the Eagle Ford, it is very likely Halcon will spend between $200-300 million this year alone.

Eagle Ford Laterals Getting Longer

The two most recent wells drilled in the area have average laterals of 8,349 ft and came online at more than 1,100 boe/d (94% oil) each. Those rates were achieved with a 16/64 choke and represent improvement of 18% over recent wells.

The Bison 1H well in Brazos County was drilled from spud to total depth in less than 11 days, including a 9,000+ ft lateral.

Halcon is also utilizing pad drilling where possible and set casing on three wells in just nine days.

Halcon has 9 wells producing in the area, 5 wells awaiting completion and 5 wells being drilled.

Highlights from the operations update weren't limited to the Eagle Ford, Halcon also announced a Bakken well that produced more than 3,000 boe/d. Read the full operations update at halconresources.com

Goodrich Petroleum's Eagle Ford Drilling Time Down To 10 Days

Goodrich Petroleum Eagle Ford and Pearsall Activity Map

Goodrich Petroleum has driven its drilling time down to ten days for wells with 6,000 ft laterals. That equates to 13 days from spud to rig release and 20 days spud-to-spud.

That's almost 60% less than what Goodrich was doing two short years ago. Faster drilling has led to a larger number of drilled, but uncompleted wells. Goodrich now has 9 gross (6 net) wells waiting to be completed.

The company is behind target on completions due to pad drilling, but now expects to complete 25 gross (16.8 net) wells during the year. That's one more well than planned at the beginning of the year.

Goodrich is spending 58% or $115 million of its $200 million, company-wide, budget in the Eagle Ford this year. Goodrich is a historically natural gas focused company, but is now developing the Eagle Ford and exploring the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale. At the end of 2013, the company expects production will have shifted from almost all gas a few years ago to approximately 12% liquids.

If gas prices recover, watch for Goodrich to perform well. Their Eagle Ford acreage is also prospective for the Pearsall Shale.

Read the full press release at goodrichpetroleum.com