Eagle Ford Shale Drilling Rig Count - October 7, 2011

October 7, 2011 R.T. Dukes

The Eagle Ford Shale drilling rig count jumped five to 241 active drilling rigs. That's higher than the Eagle Ford era record of 239 that we hit twice over the past two months. The number of natural gas rigs working increase six to 124, while losing one oil rig to fall to 117. Horizontal wells account for 210 of the 241 rigs drilling in the South Texas region. Webb and Gonzales counties saw the largest jumps in the week by adding three and four rigs, respectively. Several rigs moved around in the play, but no county lost more than two rigs during the week.

Chesapeake Energy (29) and EOG Resources (21) are the only operators with more than 20 rigs active in the play. 23 companies have more than two active drilling units.

Be sure to visit the site frequently next week as we'll provide more updates than normal, while attending the oil & gas conference in San Antonio on Tuesday (Oct 11) and Wednesday (Oct 12). You can also follow us on Twitter @EagleFord_Shale.

Eagle Ford News from the past week:

"Double" was the key term - Koch's staff in S. TX and Eagle Ford production are expected to double in 2011. Nothing short of biblical prophecy would have predicted a Beeville, TX, career fair would have 1,000 open jobs and 2,000 visitors seeking employment.

GeoResources Operations Update - Well results, 2012 drilling, and the Austin Chalk
Gulf Coast Refineries Are Benefitting From Eagle Ford Crude

Stay tuned each week for an update on the South Texas rig count.

Drilling Rig Count by Operator

What is the Rig Count?

The Eagle Ford Shale Rig Count is an index of the total number of oil & gas drilling rigs running across a 30 county area in South Texas. The South Texas rigs referred to in this article are for ALL drilling reported by SmithBits and not solely wells targeting the Eagle Ford Shale. All land rigs and onshore rig data shown here are based upon industry estimates provided by the Baker Hughes Rig Count and/or Smith Service Co's (Schlumberger) Smith Rig Count.

Drilling Rigs by County

Eagle Ford Shale Rig Count - September 30, 2011

September 30, 2011 R.T. Dukes

The Eagle Ford Shale rig count dropped 3 rigs to 236 active drilling rigs. That's down from an Eagle Ford era record of 239 last week. The number of natural gas rigs working dropped 3 to 118, while the oil rig count remained flat at 118. Horizontal wells account for 210 of the 236 rigs drilling in the South Texas region. La Salle and Dimmitt counties were the only two to add any rigs, while Gonzales County accounted for most of the lost rigs with 5. No other county lost more than 1 rig.

Chesapeake Energy (29) is the only operator with more than 20 rigs active in the play. 12 companies have more than five active drilling units.

The week was highlighted by another international company entering the Eagle Ford - GAIL-Carrizo Announce Joint Venture. Other news included more bullish oil production forecasts from across the U.S and a third party pipeline failure in Webb County that forced Swift Energy to shut in production:

Stay tuned each week for an update on the South Texas rig count.

Drilling Rig Count by Operator

What is the Rig Count?

Drilling by County

Eagle Ford Shale Rig Count - September 23, 2011

September 23, 2011 Kenny DuBose

The Eagle Ford Shale rig count is up six rigs to 239 active drilling rigs. The area has eclipsed the all time high from last week. The number of natural gas rigs working increased by five to a total of 121, while the oil rig count increased one rig to 118. Zero disposal wells or injection wells are being drilled. Horizontal rigs account for 209 of the 239 rigs drilling in the South Texas region. DeWitt, Dimmit, and Madison counties lost a total of seven rigs combined, while McMullen, Frio, and Robertson counties all increased by more than two rigs.

Chesapeake Energy (27) and EOG Resources (22) continue to work more than 20 rigs in the play. Six companies have more than 10 active drilling units. We had a well fire in Karnes County yesterday and we got updated well results from Magnum Hunter. Other notable news can be read through the following links:

Stay tuned each week for an update on the South Texas rig count.

Drilling Rig Count by Operator

What is the Rig Count?

Drilling by County

Eagle Ford Shale Rig Count - September 16, 2011

September 16, 2011 Kenny DuBose

The Eagle Ford Shale rig count is up three rigs to 233 active drilling rigs. The area is now back to the high we hit at the beginning of August. For reference, anywhere from 30-40 of these rigs are likely targeting formations other than the Eagle Ford, but still contribute to drilling intensity in the area. The number of natural gas rigs working increased by five to a total of 116, while the oil rig count decreased two rigs to 117. Zero disposal wells or injection wells are being drilled. Horizontal rigs account for 209 of the 233 rigs drilling in the South Texas region. Karnes and La Salle counties lost a total of six rigs combined, while Dimmit, Gonzales, Leon, Zavala and Atascosa counties all increased by more than one rig.

Chesapeake Energy (25) and EOG Resources (21) continue to work more than 20 rigs in the play. Six companies have more than 10 active drilling units.

On the Eagle Ford News front - We were cited by the CBS Evening News yesterday in a story on the job boom in South Texas. Earlier in the week, the Caller, in Corpus, had a good article on Eagle Ford Economic Impacts and Threats. The influx of oil money can also cause a couple of unintended consequences:

Stay tuned each week for an update on the South Texas rig count.

Drilling Rig Count by County and Operator

What is the Rig Count?

Drilling by Operator

Drilling by County

Eagle Ford Shale Rig Count - September 9, 2011

September 9, 2011 Kenny DuBose

Rig CThis week the Eagle Ford Shale rig count is up eight rigs to 230 active drilling rigs. The number of natural gas rigs working decreased by three to a total of 111, while the oil rig count increased 11 rigs to 119. Zero disposal wells or injection wells are being drilled at this time. Horizontal rigs account for 208 of the 230 rigs drilling in the South Texas region. DeWitt and Webb counties lost a total of five rigs combined, while Karnes, Frio, and Atascosa counties all experienced an uptick in drilling activity. That's a good rebound in the oil rig count! Expect a softer gas price in the coming weeks as forecasters expect more gas to be injected than normal. That might put pressure on the gas rig count, but remember in the Eagle Ford operators need to hold leases by drilling and producing hydrocarbons. An operator can hold a 640 acre lease with one gas well and only 160 acres with one oil well. That is playing a factor in supporting the gas rig count even at sub $4. More acreage HBP'd is a win for the operators.

Texas fires and the Big 12 dominated the news, but on the Eagle Ford front:

Stay tuned each week for an update on the South Texas rig count.